🍦A 2000s time capsule secret, the wildest food fest lineup, plus can you really choose your family?

Bonjour-hi to you today mon ami / amie,

Many moons ago, fresh to the city, I thought I'd found a group of friends (This merits its own thing). After a night out, I found myself stranded; one hour from my motorcycle, no wallet, and caught in a sudden storm that soaked me to the bone. Desperate, I approached a taxi at the corner and explained my terrible situation. Without a word or change of expression, the driver simply said "get in" and drove me to my bike, refusing any payment.

That small act of kindness has stayed with me ever since. And as today's interview illustrates, you never know what kind of hell someone is experiencing at any given time and the burden that they carry with them. Be kind.

In this week’s issue…

• 🏙️ City News: 2000 time capsule opens, deadly heat wave eases.

• 💗 Feel-Good: Sun Youth’s backpack drive, Let’s Bond challenge, McCord Stewart’s summer events.

• 🤲 Non-Profit: Santropol Roulant—meals, gardens, community.

• 🍽️ Food: Michelin love for Beba, Le Petit Alep, Mon Lapin, Hoogan et Beaufort.

• 👩‍🔬 People: Valentin—choosing family, building resilience.

• 🎟️ Events: Italian Week, Streetfood MTL, LASSO, RibFest, Brickomanie, Marvel concert & more.

• 🍅 Neighbourhoods: Montréal-Nord—trails, Cajun crab, contrasts.

If you’d like to be a contributor for our lovely little publication then reply to this email!

CITY NEWS

🏙️ What's Happening Around Town

1. The 2000 time capsule, opened after 25 years, revealed children's drawings of "ultra-high-speed aircrafts" and "advanced cellphones." Twenty-five years later, we still can't fly to school, but hey, at your phone is your therapist now. The real treasure? A perfectly preserved Britney Spears CD that somehow survived longer than most streaming services.

2. One heat-related death has been reported to Montreal's public health department since extreme heat hit the city on Sunday. Behind the statistic lies a life lost, a family grieving. The summer sun beat down mercilessly, and somewhere in the city, someone didn't make it through the heat.

3. Fortunately, Montreal’s heat-wave is waning as cooler, less humid air moves in from the northwest with seasonal conditions returning Thursday.

FEEL GOOD

💗 Stories That Make Me Fall In Like With This City

Sun Youth's Back-to-School Party Brings Joy to 1,000 Children
Over the weekend of August 9, Sun Youth provided school supplies to 1,000 Montreal children in need. The event became a celebration with games, music, and activities, each backpack filled with brand-new items based on actual school lists.

Let's Bond Challenge Mobilizes Montreal for Mental Health
The 2025 Let's Bond Challenge unites runners and cyclists in a summer-long fundraiser for mental health and educational perseverance. Participants set goals, join Strava clubs or meetups, building on $160K+ raised in previous editions.

McCord Stewart Museum Launches Community Programs
The museum’s 2025 summer lineup includes four exhibitions, free youth admission, monthly “Pay What You Can” days, a Kezna Dalz mural with MURAL festival, and a “Capture Montreal” photography contest celebrating the city’s culture.

NON-PROFIT

🤲 A Cause Just Cause

Santropol Roulant - Community Food & Intergenerational Connection

Santropol Roulant stands out as Montreal's premier intergenerational community hub, bringing people together through food and social engagement since 1994.

What Makes Them Special: The Roulant operates as a comprehensive community food hub with multiple interconnected programs. Their flagship Meals-on-Wheels service delivers over 100 fresh meals daily to seniors and community members with reduced mobility, featuring locally sourced, organic ingredients often grown at their own urban agricultural sites. Beyond meal delivery, they operate rooftop gardens and run the Senneville Farm, creating a full food cycle from seed to plate.

Get Involved: Every Friday from 4-6 PM through October, they host the Kiosque Alimentaire/Friday Hang at Terrasses Roy (111 Roy Street East), featuring solidarity soup kitchens, fresh vegetable sales, and karaoke on the first Friday of each month.

FOOD

🍽️ Food & Drink Buzz - A Michelin Moment

Nothing says "trust me with your fine dining decisions" quite like a company that spends its days vulcanizing rubber. Yes, the same folks who measure tire pressure now decide what constitutes Montreal's culinary excellence. Because apparently expertise in radial construction translates seamlessly to recognizing perfect risotto. Makes total sense.

Beba (Verdun) 🥟✨🇦🇷
This Argentine fusion gem in Verdun earned a “Recommended” nod in Quebec’s inaugural Michelin Guide and ranks #7 in Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants 2025. Renowned for its caviar knish and ever-changing empanadas, Beba blends heritage flavours into an elegant, neighbourhood-y dining experience.

Le Petit Alep (Villeray) 🫓🌿🇸🇾🇦🇲
A Michelin-Bib Gourmand recipient in 2025, Le Petit Alep serves vibrant Syrian-Armenian mezze like stuffed grape leaves, mouhamara, and kebbe naye at moderate prices. Its authentic flavours and warm hospitality make it a beloved fixture in Montreal’s multicultural restaurant scene.

Mon Lapin (Little Italy) 🍷🦪🍞🇨🇦
Awarded a Michelin “Recommended” in 2025 and consistently ranking among Canada’s top restaurants, Mon Lapin is famed for its natural wine list and ever-changing, hyper-seasonal plates. Expect oysters, house-baked bread, and inventive vegetable-forward dishes in a cozy, candle-lit space.

Hoogan et Beaufort (Rosemont) 🔥🥩🥦🇨🇦
Michelin-starred in 2025, Hoogan et Beaufort crafts refined, wood-fired cuisine with local ingredients. The open-hearth kitchen turns out charred vegetables, perfectly grilled meats, and creative seafood plates, all served in a chic, industrial-style dining room inside a former factory.

PEOPLE OF MONTREAL / GENS D’ICI

🧍Valentin — Love, Resilience, and the Family You Choose

Valentin was born in Belgium to Vietnamese parents who had fled the war — his father’s side settling in Europe, his mother’s in Canada. At age 10, his family moved to Montreal, chasing opportunity and speaking the language they already knew.

As a teenager, he tested boundaries, even running away for six months while still showing up to school in uniform. That same persistence carried him through CEGEP, into psychology and philosophy studies, and into the life of his partner, Julie — the oldest of nine children.

Her mother’s neglect often left the younger siblings without food, rent unpaid, and no safety net. Valentin and Julie became that safety net. Those years were defined by scarcity — $125 a week for groceries, sleeping on friends’ couches, bringing the youngest to class, even stealing toilet paper from schools. But there was joy too: ten dollars for freezies and longboard rides could buy a whole day of happiness.

When they finally stood in court, they weren’t just fighting for custod; they were fighting for the childhood those kids deserved. They won. On the same week they graduated university, they walked out with one diploma, three children, and the unshakable truth that family is not something you’re given; it’s something you choose and protect with everything you have.

Among Valentin’s most formative memories is a summer spent with his father after getting into trouble as a teen. Every day he washed dishes, prepped food, and did math between shifts at his father’s restaurant. “I hated it then,” he recalls, “but it became one of my favourite memories — seeing who my dad really was shaped who I am today.” Seeing the blood, sweat and tears your father puts in day in day out, for you, really sheds them in a new light.

A turning point came when Valentin began working nights at La Banquise. The tips and steady income changed everything, allowing him to truly provide for the family. It gave them stability, an apartment of their own, and the chance to breathe. When he left, he wrote a heartfelt letter to the restaurant — a thank you from the soul for the lifeline it had been.

He continued barbering, built a business, then pivoted into UX design, an MBA — but his greatest accomplishment is the children they raised into self-sufficient, open-minded young adults.

Because for Valentin, success has never been measured in titles or paycheques, but in the sound of laughter echoing on walks home, in the sight of kids who believe in themselves because someone believed in them first. His life is proof that love, when fiercely protected, can change everything.

EVENTS

🎟️🎪 Weekend Plans That Don't Suck

Thursday (August 14)

FRIDAY (August 15)

SATURDAY (August 16)

SUNDAY (August 17)

NEIGHBOURHOODS

🍅 Montréal-Nord

Diverse roots & hidden contrasts
Once a quiet suburb, Montréal-Nord grew rapidly post-WWII and became one of Montreal’s most diverse, densely populated boroughs. Affluent pockets along Boulevard Gouin meet working-class grit, creating a unique cultural mosaic.

🌳 Must-Visit: Parc-nature de l’Île-de-la-Visitation
Long stretches of riverside trails, bike paths, and historic relics like old mills and heritage houses—an urban escape that feels miles away from the city.

🍽 Local Flavour: Seau de Crabe
Cajun-style crab, shrimp, and mussels served in a casual, lively setting—arguably the borough’s tastiest catch.

Montréal-Nord isn’t just a borough—it’s resilience, culture, and nature rolled into one.

OUTRO

Well I had fun, did you? If you found something useful, share it with a friend. If you didn't, share it with your ex. They're used to disappointment.

We’ve been so busy showing love to our amazing local spots that we forgot to do something just as important; getting to know each other.

So… we’re kicking off a brand-new series: Ask & Tell.
No filters, no small talk — just real questions, real stories, and the kind of answers that make this city feel like a big living room we all share (Which naturally comes with Netflix sharing privileges).

This week’s question…

Share a short story of a moment in Montreal that stuck with you — funny, moving, or totally unexpected. Click the button below or simply reply to this email!