MONTREAL – Walking briskly through Place Jacques Cartier in Old Montreal on Wednesday, Ali Mounadil said he wouldn’t mind the whiff of a hot dog stand amid the terraces and souvenir kiosks.
“I’d take a nice hot dog, New York-style, with mustard,” added Mounadil, 40, who works as a cook in a nearby restaurant.
Give it six months or a year and he might get his wish, but make that an haute-cuisine sausage, not a cheap wiener in a bun.
The city of Montreal will study the idea of allowing mobile food canteens on a regular basis, city Executive Committee Vice-Chairperson Richard Deschamps announced Wednesday, adding there is a definite preference for “quality and diversity.”
A common sight in other North American cities, food trucks have been largely snubbed in Montreal because of a 1947 bylaw, and historically were perceived as lacking hygiene and posing a competitive threat to Montreal’s more established eateries.
Right now, street food vendors are only permitted during festivals and on federal and provincial property in the city.
Hearings this summer will entertain ideas about what types of street food to allow, where and how often.
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City hall could propose new rules by the end of September, Deschamps said.
“We are a big festive city with an interest in good food,” said Deschamps, responsible for economic development.
There are lots of tryouts under way, with upcoming food stands this summer at Place Émilie Gamelin, Olympic Park and the Just for Laughs festival, he said, noting one company’s lobster sandwich.
Street food has evolved and become more sophisticated, Deschamps said, and he thinks Montreal foodies are ready for it.
“It’s happening in New York, Toronto and I saw it myself in London and Rome,” Deschamps said.
“Why would we be any different?”
Valérie Impala, co-owner of Lucky’s Truck Cuisine, which caters and has a food truck, said street food vendors like her serve up fresh produce and steer clear of pre-packaged foods.
Lucky’s Truck makes a pulled pork sandwich with spicy rum barbecue sauce for $7. The mini-poutine, made with sweet potatoes, is $4.50; the iced tea with pomegranate and mint, $2.75.
Deschamps said the city’s decision to hold hearings has nothing to do with a motion the opposition Vision Montreal party plans to propose at Monday’s city council meeting. It calls for city hall to provide more guidance in terms of standards and types of street foods allowed.
“We’re just happy the city is finally listening to what Montrealers want,” Véronique Fournier, a Vision Montreal city councillor from the Southwest Borough, said after Deschamps spoke.
François Meunier, vice-president of public affairs for the Quebec Restaurant Association, acknowledged there is a trend toward mobile food sales, but he advised a good deal of caution.
“We don’t think it would be a good idea if, all of a sudden, restaurants find themselves with a hundred more competitors,” Meunier said. Pollution from the trucks should be considered, he added.
“Do you think people will want to wake up tomorrow to a generator from a food truck parked under their condo window?”
In the federally-owned Old Port, Gina Eskenazi was smiling from her family-owned Monsieur Félix and Mr. Norton truck, and selling ebony and ivory, caramelt and lemon delight cookies, freshly baked in the truck’s oven, for $1.25 apiece, or $20 for 20.
The Montreal-based company is eager to grow, she said. The truck has a freezer, hot and cold running water and stainless steel counters. It is powered by propane and solar energy.
“We bought the truck because we wanted to figure out a way to bring our cookies to the people,” Eskenazi said.
What snacks would you like to be able to buy on the street?
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