June 30, 2006
Hello from Montreal: Mexican Delights at
La Iguana and a Peak at the Montreal Jazz Festival
The Plateau area is one of the trendiest areas of Montreal, so
I decided to explore it a little further after my discoveries
of Old Montreal. From my hotel I hopped into the subway at Place
d’Armes and took the blue train north to Sherbrooke. I enjoyed
a wonderful stroll through the St-Denis neighbourhood, considered
by many to be the most typical of Montreal’s neighbourhoods.
Hundreds of street cafés, restaurants and funky boutiques
line the street.
The artsy St-Denis neighbourhood
The streets in the area are characterized by duplexes or triplexes
that have the typical Montreal exterior staircases in the front,
many of which are used as comfortable places of rest and relaxation
by the local residents. Many of the houses also feature small balconies
on the upper floors, most of which are accompanied by small bistro
tables and chairs for the outdoor enjoyment of the apartment residents.
Montreal staircases always fascinate...
The rooflines of in this neighbourhood are also very unusual: dormers
and fake mansards add interest to the architectural mix. The atmosphere
is very relaxed, artsy and bohemian. I continued my walk west on
a small street call rue Roy and came across a Mexican restaurant
called “La
Iguana” that also has a small outdoor sitting area. Every
since my earlier trip to Mexico this year I have developed a taste
for authentic Mexican food and La Iguana with its Mexican flair
pulled me in.
I sat down at a comfortable table in the corner with a perfect
view of the restaurant and the street outside. Unfortunately, the
sky was clouding over and shortly after another tropical thunderstorm
was unleashed on the city, the third one today.
La Iguana - a place for a great Mexican meal
To find out more about this restaurant I asked the owner, Fred
Saunders, who jointly owns the restaurant with his wife Julie Chiasson,
to join me for a bit. Over a mojito he started to tell me about
La Iguana and how it all came about. Fred and Julie have travelled
numerous times to Mexico together and fallen in love with the country
and its flavours. Fred mentioned that they have visited many places
on the coast, including Acapulco, Ixtapa, Playa del Carmen as well
as Cozumel. Fred and Julie both enjoy scuba diving and have been
enjoying underwater adventures in Mexico for the last four years.
Fred Saunders
They started dreaming of creating their own Mexican restaurant
and finally three years ago, they opened “La Iguana”.
Fred mentioned that it is open seven days a week for dinner and
also opens Friday for lunch. Every Thursday to Saturday they feature
live Cuban music that entertains the crowd with hot Latin rhythms.
Fred mentioned that La Iguana also provides a catering service and
a musician rental service for two to 21 musicians, a new service
which they started a couple of months ago.
Fred further explained that the restaurant receives many guests
from various hotels and tourism establishments. Just a week earlier,
La Iguana hosted the British racing team which was in town for the
Montreal Grand Prix. Fred mentioned that they referred to their
experience at La Iguana as the "best Mexican food they have
ever had".
A huge variety of Tequila brands awaits at La Iguana
La
Iguana is actually quite a small restaurant. It seats 64 people
in total, including the tables on the sidewalk and the enclosed
terrace which is also heated in the winter. Fred indicated that
there are many nights when he has to turn away 50 to 60 people since
he simply does not have the capacity to accommodate all the guests.
For this reason he and Julie came up with the idea of opening another
“La Iguana”. The second location will be downtown, and
even beyond that Fred and Julie’s dreams extend to opening
more locations, later on even in Ontario and different parts of
Canada. Their dreams are to open a chain of “La Iguana”
restaurants that will bring their concept of Mexican food to Canadians
from coast to coast.
My medley appetizer: the La Iguana Special
Big plans are in store for the new edition of La Iguana which is
scheduled to open next spring in downtown Montreal. The new restaurant
will be more spacious and feature a grill, allowing guests to order
a whole fish hot off the grill. In addition it will also house a
museum with authentic artifacts that will be provided by the Mexican
Embassy. In addition, the new location will showcase live iguanas
and live parrots to create an authentic Mexican atmosphere.
Talking about the history of La Iguana, Fred shared with me that
right from the start the restaurant got good reviews. Their interesting
dishes and plentiful portions might have something to do with it.
Fred indicated that their fajitas and burritos are extremely popular.
Ceviche, an authentic Mexican dish with seafood marinated in lime
juice and coriander has also become a favourite. La Iguana’s
Camarones Acapulco consist of a half a pound of giant shrimps in
garlic butter with orange zest and flambéed with Grand Marnier.
This signature dish is a crowd pleaser and looks like a sun with
yellow rays.
Shrimps Acapulco - colourful and scrumptious
Fred describes the cuisine at La Iguana as upscale Mexican and
adds that the wine list is extensive with bottles ranging in price
anywhere from $28 to $800. In addition, he and Julie have gone on
research trips to Mexico and come back with 35 different types of
Tequila that are all privately imported, another unique feature
of La Iguana.
Well, with all this talk of tasty delicacies I was getting hungry
and I wanted a chance to sample some of La
Iguana’s food first-hand. I decided to order the La Iguana
Special: a large platter featuring stuffed jalapeños, guacamole,
potato skins, cheese quesadilla, chicken wings, nopales (cactus)
and flautas (egg rolls), served with sour cream and a spicy sauce.
This dish gave me a great overview of La Iguana’s cuisine
and I savoured the tastes of Mexico. Then Fred surprised me with
Shrimps Acapulco, one of La Iguana’s signature dishes featuring
huge shrimp in a Grand Marnier sauce. My appetite was more than
satiated but I just had to try La Iguana’s fried icecream
for dessert which was a sinful and delicious way to cap off a very
satisfying meal.
Fried icecream for dessert
After some relaxing and listening to the live Cuban music I thanked
Fred and headed out into the warm summer night. I walked down Boulevard
St. Laurent, or “The Main”, Montreal’s principal
north-south connection that divides the city into an eastern (mostly
francophone) and western (mostly Anglophone) part. The many restaurants
were filled with people and street life was animated. I walked through
the pedestrian area on Prince Arthur Street, another popular restaurant
area, to head south to Sherbrooke Street, one of Montreal’s
main east-west thoroughfares. From there I made it to St. Catharines
Street, the headquarters of Montreal’s famous Jazz
Festival.
Entrance to the Montreal Street Festival
Montreal’s Jazz Festival is in its 27th year and over the
course of two weeks from June 28 to July 9, 2006 more than 400 concerts
will have been held, the vast majority of them free. B.B. King’s
80th Birthday Event was held on June 28. It is the largest jazz
festival in the world and a true signature event for the city, drawing
hundreds of thousands of visitors. The festival is centered around
Place des Arts and the Complexe Desjardins and with my packed schedule
over these next few days tonight was my only chance to get a sneak
peak at Montreal’s Jazz Festival. The crowds in front of the
main stage and on St. Catharines were filling the streets as far
as the eye could see and the audience were swaying to the rhythms
of Afrodizz, Montreal’s best Afrobeat group, in front of a
huge audience at the Scène General Motors .
Afrodizz charm the crowd
What started 27 years ago as the dream of jazz aficionado Alain
Simard has become the world’s
biggest jazz festival that has featured stars like Ray Charles,
Chick Corea, John Lee Hooker, Dave Brubeck, Muddy Waters, Dizzy
Gillespie, B.B. King, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Chuck Mangione,
Tony Bennett, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, George Benson,
Holly Cole, Al Jareau and hundreds more. This years lineup included
a tribute to Paul Simon, appearances by Dave Brubeck, Brad Mehldau,
Etta James and The Neville Brothers. More than 2000 musicians will
be coming to town to excite the crowds.
The streets are packed during Montreal's Jazz Festival
With African rhythms swirling through my head I strolled back
slowly to my hotel, reflecting on Montreal’s superb qualifications
as one of the world’s major festival cities. I needed to catch
enough rest for my early morning bicycle
tour of Montreal.
Useful books about travel to Montreal:
Related articles:
Hello from Montreal 2006 - My 4-day
explorations of Montreal
Hello from Montreal: An interesting
train ride and first impressions
Hello from Montreal: Getting
the lay of the land in a driving tour
Hello from Montreal: Dinner and a
little jazz at Modavie
Hello from Montreal: Reliving
history with the Old Montreal Ghost Tour
Hello from Montreal: Architectural
discoveries in the Old Montreal Walking Tour
Hello from Montreal: Exploring
the Chateau Ramezay during a torrential downpour
Hello from Montreal:
Mexican delights at La Iguana & a peak at the Jazz Festival
Hello from Montreal: A guided bicycle
tour to explore Montreal's neighbourhoods
Hello from Montreal:
Biking on the Lachine Canal - Industrial history turned into a recreational
opportunity
Hello from Montreal: A chat with
André Giroux about Bicycling in Montreal
Hello from Montreal: Savouring Italian
cuisine at Galiano's and Canada Day Celebrations
Hello from Montreal:
Exploring the Olympic Stadium, the Botanical Garden & Insectarium
and outdoor action at the Jean Talon Market
Hello from Montreal: A Peruvian immigrant
success story at Restaurant Mañana
Hello from Montreal: Friendly
neighbourhood encounters on Square St. Louis
Hello from Montreal: Exploring
the Casino de Montreal
Hello from Montreal: Gourmet
dining at Nuances and amazing fireworks at La Ronde
Hello from Montreal: A final walk
to discover amazing architectural beauties
Helpful links for travel to Montreal:
Tourisme
Montreal - Montreal's official tourism information office
Quebec Tourism
- Official tourism website for Quebec
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