🍦🐶 Puppy Yoga (Yeah!), Quebec Votes, Candle-Lit Concerts, A Neuroscientist Turned Musician

Bonjour-hi to you today mon ami / amie,

We welcome May, where hope springs eternal and so do the dandelions.

In this week’s issue…

• City News:  Quebec voted — and surgeons sound the alarm on shortages.

• Food: New openings to try: a polished brasserie and two Instagram darlings.

• Non-Profit: Mental health nonprofit Vent Over Tea celebrates 10 years.

• Gen’s D’ici: Meet Mari, a neuroscientist-musician who found her true self.

• Boroughs: Explore Hochelaga: riverside walks, and seriously yummy poutine.

• Events:  Plan your May 1–4 weekend: comedy, comics, & even puppy yoga.

• Live Music: Candlelight concerts, Bollywood beats, and jazz legends light up the stage.

Edited by Eleanor R.

CITY NEWS

🏙️ What's Happening Around Town

Federal Election Day in Quebec has come and gone, with the usual parade of hopefuls filing into community centres to become either tomorrow's disillusioned constituents or today's overpromoted disappointments. Meanwhile, the Rhinoceros Party secured 30 votes – a remarkable achievement for a group whose platform includes reversing the direction of escalators and declaring war on Belgium.

Quebec's surgeons are reporting staffing shortages, which seems like exactly the kind of news you want to hear right before your gallbladder operation. The medical association blames budget cuts and working conditions, while politicians blame the doctors for not being passionate enough to work eighty-hour weeks for the satisfaction of saving lives and a paycheck that barely covers their student loans (Don’t blame me, I voted Rhino).

Montreal has unveiled plans to transform the old Hippodrome racetrack into housing for 40,000 people, half of it supposedly "affordable," which is like a restaurant calling itself "delicious" – if you have to say it, it probably isn't true. I can already see the brochures: "Live where champions once galloped! Your bathroom might have been a winner's circle!" They're promising 20,000 units, as if cramming that many people into a place where horses once ran in circles will somehow solve the housing crisis— "Neigh, I say!"

FEEL GOOD

💗 Stories That Make Me Fall In Like With This City

1. "Kitty Candidates" In a rare moment of election season sanity, campaign posters for feline candidates have appeared across Montreal, featuring whisker-forward platforms like "Mandatory 3PM Naps" and "More Boxes, Less Taxes." While generally met with enthusiasm, not everyone's purring with approval, though—the local chapter of the Association of Black-capped Chickadees has organized tiny protests, their tiny signs barely visible without tiny binoculars.

2. The city launched its Blue and Green Patrols this week, an army of environmental crusaders armed with low-flow showerheads and compost evangelism. They're battling the urban scourge of "fatbergs," which sounds like something you'd find living under a bridge in a children's book, but is actually congealed cooking grease clogging the sewers. As they say, come to Montreal for the poutine, stay because your arteries—and the pipes—are too clogged to leave.

3. The Festival sur le Canal rose from financial death like a phoenix with a grant application, and the MURAL Festival prepares to transform St. Laurent into an Instagram backdrop for people who will appreciate the art for exactly as long as it takes to get the perfect selfie.

NON-PROFIT

🤲 A Cause Just Cause

Vent Over Tea Fundraising Event

Vent Over Tea is a Montreal-based nonprofit organization that provides free, accessible peer-to-peer active listening services to promote mental well-being. Founded approximately a decade ago, the organization connects trained volunteer listeners with individuals seeking a safe space to express their thoughts and feelings without judgment.

Currently celebrating their 10th anniversary with a week-long fundraising event (May 25-29, 2025), Vent Over Tea operates through both in-person meetups and virtual sessions, embodying their mission to destigmatize mental health conversations and create supportive community connections for those who simply need someone to talk to.

Tea-riffic! 🍵

FOOD

🍽️ Food & Drink Buzz

🐚 Molenne – Brasserie Québécoise with Swagger

Fresh off the press (or rather, the stove), Molenne is your new go-to for Québécois cuisine. It has that “je ne sais quoi” brasserie flair, oysters so fresh they might swim away, fish that’s basically a work of art, and pastries that make you wonder if dessert should be its own life goal. Brought to life by the minds behind Cabaret l’Enfer and Étoile sur Mer, this spot opened in February 2025 and already feels like it’s been here since New France—just with better lighting. Pro tip: Come hungry, leave in a foie gras coma.

☕ Royale Ginette – The Cool Girl of Cafés

If your local café wore vintage Levi’s, roller-skated to work, and casually quoted French New Wave cinema, it would be Royale Ginette. Tucked somewhere between “retro snack bar” and “set of an indie film,” this café is equal parts charm and caffeine. Ideal for laptop days, awkward third dates, or pretending you read poetry in your spare time. Pastries are flaky, coffee’s punchy, and yes—she’s a vibe.

🐒 Street Monkeys – Cambodian BBQ That Slaps

Bold, spicy, and unapologetically fun, Les Street Monkeys is Montreal’s only Cambodian BBQ spot where dinner feels like a party and fish sauce is a love language. The décor is neon, the cocktails come with a kick, and the skewers are not for the faint of heart. If you're the type who likes your food to fight back (flavour-wise), grab a table, order everything, and thank us later when your taste buds recover.

Got more? Reply to this email and tell us!

HUMAINS DE MONTREAL

🧍Mari Sild - The Neuroscientist Turned Musician

“Montreal pulled me in like a vortex“

Photo Credit: Jairam Lahir

“I have two lives.

In one, I’m a neuroscientist working in clinical research.

In the other, I’m a musician — a pianist, a singer, a songwriter.

I grew up in the Estonian countryside, walking barefoot through forests, mushroom-picking with my grandmother, and listening to my family play piano. Music and nature were my first languages.

I came to Canada almost by accident—one email to a lab in Quebec City, and a single 'yes' changed everything. Montreal pulled me in like a vortex, with its conversations in half a dozen languages—its feeling that everyone carried secret layers.

For a long time, I wore masks to fit in. Now, I just want to be real.”

When asked about influences, she speaks reverently about Ivar Puura, a geologist, palaeontologist and friend of her parents. "He was an amazing, pure soul," she says. "When my father passed when I was 17, Ivan spent time with us, helping us heal, asking for nothing in return."

Ivan, an environmental activist who himself faced great personal loss, inspired her song Soulscapes.

"He described life as a voyage through the soul," she reflects. "He just wanted to make the world a better place."

Maybe that's the real goal — just to keep moving closer to that."

Make sure to explore Mari’s discography here.

BOROUGHS

🧭 NEIGHBOURHOOD SPOTLIGHT

📍 Hochelaga

Hochelaga—lovingly nicknamed “HoMa” by those too cool to say four syllables—is the kind of Montreal neighborhood where old-school depanneurs live side-by-side with microbreweries and tattoo parlors named after obscure herbs. Once known mostly for its edge, it's now the place where you can score a vegan bao bun and a surprisingly poetic conversation with someone’s grandpa, all on the same block.

Don’t miss: a walk in Parc de la Promenade-Bellerive, where the St. Lawrence River reminds you that there’s more to waterfront life than just dodging seagulls.

If you get hungry, grab a bite at Chez Simon Cantine Urbaine, that serves up a poutine with just the right amount of sauce and curds to make your arteries nervous and your soul sing.

Tell us which borough you want to see next!

EVENTS

🎟️🎪 Weekend Plans That Don't Suck

THURSDAY (May 1st)

FRIDAY (May 2nd)

SATURDAY (May 3rd)

SUNDAY (May the 4th Be With You)

LIVE MUSIC

🎶 Music & Nightlife

For those still possessing the energy for after-dark activities:

Thursday, May 1st, 2025

• Jeffrey Simons & Band
  Modavie | 🗓️ 7PM–10PM
  Bluesy tunes and wine pairings — this is how you pretend you’re cultured.

• Tramp of the Century
  Cabaret at Casino Montréal | 🗓️ May 1–3, 7:30PM
  A Supertramp tribute so accurate you might call your ex by accident.

• We Will Rock You
  Espace St-Denis | 🗓️ Begins May 1, 8PM
  Queen’s greatest hits + dystopia = musical chaos you can dance to.

Friday, May 2nd, 2025

• Candlelight Concerts: Queen vs ABBA
  Église Saint Jean-Baptiste | 🗓️ 9PM
  Classical strings battle it out over who gets your mom dancing first.

• Marianne Trudel Trio
  Dièse Onze Jazz Club | 🗓️ 7PM–9:30PM
  Sophisticated, smooth, and possibly good for your blood pressure.

• SHREEZ – Album Launch: ON FRAP II
  Club Soda | 🗓️ 8PM
  Local rap icon drops bars and probably a few jaws.

• Slavic Sceneries
  Maison symphonique | 🗓️ 7:30PM
  Classical music that makes you want to stare out a train window in Eastern Europe.

• Solane by Starlight Trio Swing
  Modavie | 🗓️ 7PM–10PM
  A jazzy excuse to order another round of duck confit.

• Rare Americans
  Théâtre Fairmount | 🗓️ 8PM
  Punk, pop, and weirdly wise lyrics — like a TED Talk that moshes.

• Après L’Asphalte + Sol Hess
  Quai des Brumes | 🗓️ 9PM
  Gritty alt-rock for people who still carry a Moleskine.

Saturday, May 3rd, 2025

• Virtual Riot
  MTelus | 🗓️ 10PM
  Dreamy dubstep to melt your face and heal your soul at the same time.

• Stavros Halkias
  Théâtre Olympia | 🗓️ 7PM
  He’s loud, hairy, and here to roast your existential crises.

• Bollywood in Montreal
  Newspeak | 🗓️ 10:30PM
  High-energy Desi beats in a venue that screams techno and dreams.

• Dave Mossing Quartet
  Dièse Onze Jazz Club | 🗓️ 7PM & 9:30PM
  Classy jazz from a guy whose name just sounds like a saxophone.

• Eric Harding – Hard Bop & Beyond
  Upstairs Jazz Bar | 🗓️ 7PM & 9:30PM
  For when you want your music to come with elbow patches and a scotch.

• Lova
  Le Ministère | 🗓️ 9PM
  Pop with heart — the soundtrack to your next main character moment.

• PANTS OFF Mtl
  CABARET BERLIN | 🗓️ 10PM
  The name says it all. Dress code: optional, vibes: mandatory.

• POUYA: They Could Never Make Me Tour
  Club Soda | 🗓️ 8PM
  Florida man brings chaotic energy and fire verses to MTL.

Sunday, May 4th, 2025

• Hollywood: The Golden Age of Cinema
  Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts | 🗓️ 3PM
  Old-school film scores played live — nostalgia, but make it orchestral.

OUTRO

Well I had fun, did you? If you found something useful, please share it with someone you know. If you didn't, then share this with someone you detest. Your landlord, probably.

Until next week,

If you have any suggestions on stories to cover, new restaurants or events then please reply directly to this email. We read every. single. email. 🥲

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