The Montreal hot dog (french: steamé), also known as a steamie, is one of several variations of

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

s served as a fast food staple at restaurants and diners in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and other parts of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. In Montreal (and elsewhere in the province of Quebec), the

hot dog bun A hot dog bun is a type of soft bun shaped specifically to contain a hot dog or another type of sausage. The side-loading bun is common in most of the United States, while the top-loading New England-style hot dog bun is popular in that regio ...

s used to prepare steamies are side loading, while a top loading (New England style) hot dog bun is used for toasted hot dogs. Montreal hot dogs are considered to be rather small and are generally sold for between $1.00 and $2.00 depending on the area of purchase and dressing. Popular brands include Lesters, Lafleur's, and Glatt's kosher. The city of Montreal did not permit street food carts from 1947 until 2011, leading to a proliferation of small "greasy spoon" restaurants which are variations on the classic Québécois ''casse-croute'' (snack bar) restaurants. These restaurants may serve hot dogs with fresh-cut fries (''patates frites'', often served "very brown and greasy"), ''

poutine Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding it ...

'', hamburgers, ''pogos'' (

corn dog A corn dog (also spelled corndog) is a sausage (usually a hot dog) on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried. It originated in the United States and is commonly found in American cuisine. History Newly ...

s),

hamburger steak Hamburg steak is a patty of ground beef. Made popular worldwide by migrating Germans, it became a mainstream dish around the start of the 19th century. It is similar to Salisbury steak. It is considered the origin of the ubiquitous hamburger, whe ...

s, in addition to Greek dishes (typically souvlaki and gyro), pizza, and

smoked meat Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds Flavor (taste), flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and ...

. Restaurant chains known for their hot dogs include La Belle Province, Valentine, and Lafleur Restaurants. One longstanding Montreal independent restaurant that offers hot dogs is the

Montreal Pool Room The Montreal Pool Room is a well-known and well-regarded greasy spoon restaurant, located in the city's former red-light district on Saint Laurent Boulevard, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The restaurant has been open since 1912 (registered 1921) an ...

. The 'steamie' hot dog variety has become quite popular across Canada, now frequently replacing the traditional one. Steamie parlours, called 'wieneries', have opened across Canada and are replacing typical hot dogs at franchised restaurants, too.

Variations

Montreal hot dogs may either be ''steamé'' (also ''stimé''), translated into English as "steamies", (a term briefly used by an Ontario chain affiliated with the La Belle Province chain), which are fresh from the steamer and rather soft, or ''toasté'' (referred to in English as "Toasties"), which are grilled or toasted until crisp. ''Toastés'' are slightly more expensive and less popular. In Montreal, hot dogs generally come dressed one of three ways: *''All-dressed (Montreal Style)'': This hot dog, usually a 'steamie', is topped with mustard, chopped onion, relish and fresh

coleslaw Coleslaw (from the Dutch term ''koolsla'' meaning 'cabbage salad'), also known as cole slaw, or simply as slaw, is a side dish consisting primarily of finely shredded raw cabbage with a salad dressing or condiment, commonly either vinaigrett ...

or plain chopped cabbage ("''choux''" in French); however,

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...

, or coleslaw of the creamy variety, is rarely used. An all-dressed hot dog typically does not include ketchup, which must be requested specifically. *'' Michigan hot dog'': This hot dog is topped with meat chili sauce or spaghetti sauce. It can be served with or without diced onions and mustard. *''Supreme'': The hot dog is topped with cheese and bacon. This variation comes from Lafleur Restaurants.

References

External links

''Moutarde-Choux'' by De Émilie Villeneuve and Olivier Blouin

Reviews and photos of the World Famous Decarie Hotdogs, Montreal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montreal Hot Dog Hot dogs Montreal cuisine Cuisine of Quebec Canadian cuisine

Variations

See also

References

External links