Welcome to the neighbourhood.The Superhospital is moving to Vendome in 36 days and many Montreal hospital staff and visitors will finally have access to a real urban environment after being isolated on the mountain.
Unlike at the Vic and General, you won't be stuck brown-bagging it or eating at the cafeteria, as a nearby walkable neighbourhood awaits to serve your retail, restaurant and bar needs.
Restaurants
1-Chalet BBQ This reasonably-priced classic joint at Addington and Sherbrooke is five minute walk from the hospital and never disappoints.
3-Momesso's at Upper Lachine and Old Orchard is famous for their submarine sandwiches.
4-Ville du Souvlaki at Prudhomme and Sherbrooke is a standard souvlaki joint, spacious and reasonable but not huge servings.
5.Thai Express at Sherbrooke and Decarie is noodlicious fast-food that's not so wonderful once it gets cold.
6. Soba Sushi at Northcliffe and Sherbrooke has been a restaurant in various incarnations for decades and has now turned Japanese. There's Iranian on De Maisonneuve, Korean on Upper Lachine and Indian on Sherbrooke, a McDonald's and Second Cup at Claremont, a Subway near Decarie.
Bars
1-The nearest bar to the superhospital is the EB Lounge, on De Maisonneuve just west of Decarie. It's not much of an option. They advertise on Stretch Carr's excellent Caribbean radio show but I've never been as I can't figure out where the door is.2.Next Door Pub The old Buster Harvey's at Sherbrooke and Marlowe is cozy joint worth a visit.
3-Liquid Lounge this place on Sherbrooke just west of Claremont hasn't earned a great reputation and has been associated with various calamities but I've never seen trouble when I went.4-Maz Peter Sergakis recently
purchased this place on Sherbrooke just west of NDG Park and is still thinking of how to renovate/rename it. Call him with suggestions.5-Honey Martin's, the best option, is a cozy Irish place but it's a 19-minute walk. The Claremont or the joint at Oxford and Upper Lachine might also get added to the list if they're ever revived.
Places to stroll on your lunch break
1-Westmount Park It's an 11-minute trek but it is and has always been a heavenly spot, complete with library and greenhouse.
2-NDG Park Ample benches to sit and watch the action on Sherbrooke.3-Oxford Park A quiet spot where tai-chi is practiced but recent expansion of the basketball court has removed much of the green space.
4-Cote St. Antoine Some of the city's most charming architecture sits on a span of this ancient street just up the hill.
5-Sherbrooke between Claremont and Grosvenor is a charming spot full of boutiques, ice cream joints, delis and other charms.
Pick-Thai, at 5221 de Maisonneuve (at Marlowe). Recently open. Good addition in the neighbourhood. I would say hurry before the hospital opens!
ReplyDeletePlease don't use the language "superhospital." That word was invented by the mainstream media and isn't used by anyone at the MUHC. The building looks good, but there's nothing at all "super" about it. It's going to be an epic mess.
ReplyDeleteSuperhospital? Great name.
ReplyDeleteAnd who cares what the MUHC calls it?
Next Door Pub, Sherbrooke & Marlowe. Nice place and deserves a mention.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/nextdoor514
Thanks. I thought of that but neglected to punch it in. I've added it now.
ReplyDelete"Superhospital" = utterly stupid name. Used only by the mainstream anglophone media.
ReplyDelete"And who cares what the MUHC calls it?"
Uh, people who are unfamiliar with the city who want to know what/where it is? I guarantee you that on maps and publications, there will be no mention of "superhospital." By that logic, can you slap any nom du jour on whatever landmark you want? I think not.
While eateries such as Copoli will be reasonably handy to reach from the new hospital, I think it's a bit of a stretch to consider restaurants and bars on Sherbrooke Street as "nearby walkable" for everyone, particularly during bad weather, not to mention the inevitable problems associated with the seemingly neverending infrastructure upgrades occurring in the district; mud, dust, noise, heavy vehicles, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn any event, we can safely assume that new, more convenient places will open up.
As for the designation "Superhospital", I, for one, have no problem with it, nor will I be tossing and turning in my sleep in abject fury and outrage having heard someone mention it on the news or in public conversation. Some people really need to find more important things to worry about than words they don't happen to like for whatever reason.
The new French hospital is constantly referred to as the CHUM. I suppose there's something "wrong" with that as well? Could it be they stole that from the defunct radio station? See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHUM_Limited
Now let's see: in Germany they'd call it "Die Super-Krankenhaus"!
Hmmm...now that has a nice ring to it. Not a bad "earworm" at that.
In Russian? супер больница
There is nothing inside Chalet BBQ that would indicate it is not 1968. The placemat is the menu and the waitresses are even older than the furniture.
ReplyDeleteThe chicken is good but nothing else is.
BTW... What is it with old timey Montreal restaurants and that horrible lettuce and shredded carrot "salad"? I'm talking to you Chalet BBQ, Dunns, Mr Steer etc.
"...the waitresses are older than the furniture". Gotta love it! I'll have to stay clear of that place!
ReplyDelete(Does that mean the waitresses' dentures have been known to fall into a customer's soup when they bend over to serve you?).
Come to think of it I haven't been inside a St. Hubert BBQ or KFC in decades.
Chalet BBQ stuck-in-the-past? That is what gives it charm! :)
ReplyDeleteAs for their chicken, honestly, I feel it's gone WAY down in quality in recent years. It used to be so succulent I'd literally chew on the bones. Now? Meh, tastes like boring supermarket chicken (though the skin still has that unique flavor, if you're lucky enough to get a properly cooked piece).
Their french fries and sauce are still amazing but that's about it.
Don't understand what happened to the chicken, it's just not the same. Maybe they're cutting corners, new chefs, coasting on their reputation? Don't know but it's disappointing...
Rumour has it that these chicken joints snare the seagulls that plague their parking lots and then serve them to their unsuspecting customers.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the tale about a woman who brought her pet dog along to a restaurant in China and, after finishing her meal, realized that the dog was missing.
If so about the quality, then that's sad to hear about Chalet. What about Cote St. Luc Bar-B-Q? Weren't the founders of those two places related? Montreal was always barbecued chicken, smoked meat, steamies and unique egg rolls.
ReplyDeleteAccording the map, access to and from the Superhospital does not appear to be as convenient as will definitely be required.
ReplyDeleteFor example, Will the entrance and exit from Vendome exist only from the Metro's platforms or also from additional passageways which circumvent the turnstiles? One would hope so.
It looks as if Westmount has no intention of allowing any road or pedestrian access from their territory: no ramp or tunnel from Ste. Catherine Street West. This is going to develop into a real problem and will undoubtedly become the next political football, not to mention extremely poor public relations for Westmount. With the exception of their complaints about noise, do they even care? Typical short-sighted thinking.
Furthermore, will there be a brand new STM bus route which terminates near one of the hospital entrances? This will be needed.
With reference to restaurants, to those tired of the usual hot dog, hamburger, and BBQ fare, we could use a few more meat pie outlets such as exist everywhere downunder. Anyone familiar with these will know that these are much superior to our limited La Belle Fermiere products.
I will therefore shamelessly plug the only local meat pie eatery I am aware of--"TA" which is located at 4520 Park Avenue near Mount Royal Blvd. See:
http://ta-pies.com/en
For those unfamiliar, check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_pie_(Australia_and_New_Zealand)
"The new French hospital is constantly referred to as the CHUM."
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with that. Because that's what it's actually called.
"Superhospital" is fiction. But there's one exception:
It most certainly is super as a monumental icon of Quebec corruption.
Corruption is nothing new. What we actually know about is only the tip of the iceberg.
ReplyDeleteHow may realize that the construction of the Dominion Square Building (Montreal's downtown home of HMV) was financed by bootleg money?
How many other buildings, structures, and projects involved shady dealing, rigged bidding, shoddy workmanship, and kickbacks?
Should we be disgusted with it? Yes.
Should we lose sleep over it? No.
With passing time the culprits eventually get caught.
The consensus seems to indicate that "superhospital" sounds somewhat more professional than
ReplyDelete"Le Shoom". :-)
It is beginning to sink in that "The Glen" will likely be the most convenient description of choice when referring to the new MUHC Superhospital.
ReplyDeleteEasy to say, easy to remember.
I don't like calling it The Glen because a glen is a valley and this is not a valley. Besides when I grew up The Glen referred specifically to that area south of Landsdowne and St. Catherine. So it's a Westmount thing. Westmount has manipulated this process to avoid all burden, so they shouldn't get the name-rights glory.
ReplyDeleteIt was named The Glen when a beautiful stream used to run through that area into St. Henri des Tanneries’ Lac St. Pierre. In the 1800s the Scots in the area named it "The Glen" - it resembled a deep Scottish valley. (Today, the lake is drained and the stream flows under the road through a series of conduits).
DeletePoint well taken.
ReplyDeleteBut, somehow saying to the ambulance driver, "Take them to the MUHC or the CHUM" just doesn't ring right.
I imagine this nomenclature dilemma occurs at hospitals around the world, such as this:
http://twentytwowords.com/hospital-with-a-funny-almost-vulgar-name/
The video link doesn't seem to work anymore, however. :-(
Fauquier Hospital! Say it like an American would...arrgh! :-)
As most of us know by now, The new MUHC hospital was built upon the former CPR Glen Yards, which itself absorbed the property on which farmer Paul Decarie built his home, which, of course, was long before the Town of Westmount was incorporated.
ReplyDeleteSee: http://westmounthistorical.org/whawp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/WHA_FromTheArchives_Spring2003.pdf
Perhaps an official name for the hospital might eventually be chosen in some sort of public contest, but until then at least part of the complex will be referred to as the New Royal Victoria Hospital in the way that New Scotland Yard remains today.
How about the Soup!
ReplyDelete