Marcus Troy, fashion blogger (www.marcustroy.com)
Marcus Troy is Montreal's premiere street-style blogger who recently garnered national attention when it was rumored that ghost-wrote Kanye West's blog. (He doesn't.)
MY FAVORITE PLACE...
TO SHOP: I have a few favorite stores in Montreal, but I will share with you my two favorites at the moment, Duo on Prince Arthur and U&I on St-Laurent. I love them both for the same reasons -- for their merchandising and product selection. The boutiques are pretty small so everything is in eye view and straight to the point. The staff is very knowledgeable and very friendly. They carry some of my favorite brands like Engineered Garments, Comme des Garcond, Lanvin, Y-3 just to name a few.
TO EAT: My newfound love in Montreal has to be Romados! They make the best Portuguese chicken. You have to get there before 5 p.m. because most of the time they are sold out. I've never tasted such succulent chicken before with home cooked fries dipped in some special sauce. The Portuguese know what they are doing!
TO SEE MUSIC: Montreal is known for having one of the better jazz festivals in the world -- the Montreal Jazz Festival. Montreal usually sees an influx of tourists from all around the world who come to the Jazz Fest.
TO PARTY: Besides my house? Well I like to party at the Wunderbar in the W Hotel on Thursdays where the women are usually very beautiful and it's like Cheers, because everyone knows my name. If I'm not partying at the W it is for sure at Med listening to my homie DJ Toddy Flores kill the music.
TO WALK: My favorite walk in Montreal has to be the walk I try and accomplish every Saturday morning. I walk from Atwater all the way to University and I walk into every single store on that strip. I usually stop into The Off the Hook boutique when it's break time to chop it up with Harry and Angelo then I continue my journey.
TO PEOPLE WATCH: My favorite place to people watch would be St-Catherine Street which is what I do quite often; I post up on a wall and watch people as they stroll by. The place I would love to spend more time people-watching would have to be Old Montreal, the style of dress of the people in the Old Port is much more in tuned with what I like to see.
TO BE INSPIRED: My favorite place to be inspired in Montreal has to be the Montreal Trudeau airport. It means I am leaving for another trip or it means I am landing back home from another trip and it's always good to be home!
TO BE WHEN IT'S RIDICULOUSLY FREEZING OUT: My favorite thing to do in Montreal when it is too cold, is to invite some of my friends over to my house and play my famous game of World Monopoly. What makes this game special is that Montreal is actually on the board and it is the most expensive place on the board. I'm the Pharaoh piece so don't even think about it!
Jack Dylan, artist & co-founder of The Friendship Cove
Dylan is the co-founder of one of Montreal's neatest art/music/DIY spaces, The Friendship Cove, a massive loft-space which has played host to bands like The Gossip, Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes. He's also a noted poster artist, and has created over 200 posters for shows and events in Montreal and beyond.
MY FAVORITE PLACE...
TO PARTY: Friendship Cove, a loft venue in Montreal's Griffin Town. My pals there put on great shows, and it's this big weird space that's hard to get home from.
TO SEE ART: Telephone poles. Poster art is my fave. I think that you can measure the artistic pulse of a city by the quality of its posters.
TO SEE MUSIC: Phonopolis, a small music shop on Parc that crams people into its basement for miniature, mid-afternoon performances.
TO PEOPLE WATCH: Parc Ste. Viateur. It's the best place to spy on hipsters, Hasids, yuppies, teenagers and old folks. There's also a black and white cat there who tries to steel food from picnickers.
TO EAT: The "Special Bonjour" (Ham and cheese on croissant with latte and orange juice) at The Croissanterie on Fairmount and Hutchison.
TO WALK: Outremont, looking at the mansions
TO BE INSPIRED: I like the benches by the tennis courts at Parc Jeanne-Mance . I go there to think; I sometimes hold meetings there or eat sushi.
TO BE WHEN IT'S RIDICULOUSLY FREEZING OUT: House parties -- coats are piled up high in a mountain, the hallways are packed with people, everyone leaves their boots on and drinks Quebec beer. Everything gets covered in condensation, and you're afraid to go home because it's freezing outside.
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