It’s has always been so hard to find anyone these days who know how to fit a bra properly, so it was wonderful when a mother (44 years in the biz) and daughter teamed up to help us out.  However it is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that Chez Rose Marie Lingerie on Parc Avenue is closing for good. Everything in the store is 70% off which is less than they paid for some of the merchandise.

Bras had been stocked in sizes 30AA to 50J and there’s also undies,  lots of night wear, slips (full and 1/2), girdles (long and short), corselettes, maternity undies and hard to find items like clear bra straps, underarm shields, shoulder cushions, paste on bra cups, nipple concealers, bridal bustiers and garters.

Location: 5614 ave. du Parc
Phone: 514-272-0347
Corner: St-Viateur
Hours: Mon-Wed 10-6, Thurs 10-9, Fri 10-8, Sat 10-5
Dates: About two more weeks
www.chezrosemarie.com

Q1: Recently both the producer and I went shopping for eyeglasses and found the experience trying and pricey, do you have any information to help us?

There are tons of brands so it is pretty hard to comparison shop as you are comparing apples and oranges in most instances.
The glasses you choose are important as they change your whole face, define your personality and become part of your wardrobe. Bring a camera or your phone with you and take a photo of yourself in each pair that you like. Go home and look at yourself on your computer screen.

Q2:  So where can we buy them for decent prices?

Costco has an Optical department.
Some Walmart stores offers Greiche and Scaff outlets in them (e.g. Lasalle, Kirkland Carrefour Laval). Frames run $24.99-$100 there.
Laurier Optical is a home grown chain where you can buy progressives for  $99-299.
Lenscrafters is a huge North American chain. There ares lower prices as they buy in volume. Styles are more middle of the road and less trendy.

Q3: The cost for glasses with progressive lenses seems crazy, why are they so much more expensive?

With progressives, you just can’t  pluck a prescription of a lens off a shelf and slip it into a frame. Almost every lens is made to order because there are so many combinations of near vision, far vision and reading glasses. Also, they may not get the combination right for you the first time. If you are dealing with a good shop, you can come back within about 30/60/90 days, and they will offer to fix the combination for you if it doesn’t seem right – at no extra charge. This is built into that expensive price.

Q4: Any last words of wisdom?

– If the glasses don’t seem right (blurry, dizzy, the ground seems off), don’t let your eyes adjust to the problem, get the glasses corrected.
– Most optical stores anywhere in North America will offer you free minor adjustments (lens pops out, need screws) if you have a problem on the road.
– There are glasses that have no screws between the glass and the frame. They will never loosen and fall apart. You’ll never need that little screwdriver again.
– Carry a spare pair when you are traveling. Just keep your last pair and use those for an emergency.
– Titanium frames are unbreakable. If you are klutzy, you might want to consider them – but they are pricey.

One of my favorite flooring businesses just got better. I was visiting Tapis Lanctot in St-Isidore on the South Shore when Denis Lanctot, a 4th generation Lanctot (his son, the 5th generation has already started working there -wow) pointed out their hardwood or floating floor “bargain bins”. When they have ends of lines, they sell off the whole lot starting as low (don’t faint) as $.89.

Don’t be put off by the location – it’s only 15 minutes across the Mercier bridge, and the sheer volume (100,000 sq. ft.) of merchandise is worth the ride. The Lanctots have been around for 125 years selling floating and hardwood floors including condo solutions, ceramic tiles (starting at $1.25), about 500 area rugs, carpeting, vinyl flooring (lots of  remnants too). They’re known for choice and service, and their prices are low all year round. Other vendors are inside their building selling wallpaper, paint, bedding, blinds, furniture, kitchen cabinets, plumbing, windows and doors.

Location: 148 Boyer, St-Isidore (near Chateauguay)
Phone: 514-875-1954
Other location: Longueuil, 2025 ch. Chambly (450-647-1571)
www. lanctot.qc.ca

lanctot.qc.ca

There is a mushroom family in Montreal and they’re located in a shop right off the Main on Rachel east. Mycoboutique has found endless mushroom products beyond the fresh, dried and frozen varieties (even Djon Djon from Haiti or   rare Japanese-loved matsutake).

Daughter Judith, a biologist (what else?), adores the mushroom ice cream, however you can feast on mushroom:  pasta, pate, butter or truffle oils, creams and  chaga anti-oxidant powder.  Mushroom flour is sold for gluten-free diets but I’m thinking it might make yummy coated chicken or fish.

There are hunting tools  (adorable foldable fabric baskets that would be cool for grocery shopping), growing kits, kefir culture, fertilizer, clothing, decor items and tons of books. Ask about mushroom field trips.

Location: 16 Rachel est
Corner: St-Dominique
Phone: 514-223-6977
Hours: Regular plus Sun 12-5
www.mycoboutique.ca

Just in time for back-to-school, and timed to cover the renovations to their store, the Hudson Reebok shop, has raised a tent in their parking lot and moved all the sale deals out there. Expect to find Reebok and Rockport for your feet, Greg Norman and Reebok apparel and perhaps some hockey bags.

Location: 3100 boul. Harwood, Vaudreuil-Dorion (Centre d’Achat Hudson)
Phone: 450-424-8649
Dates: Aug 12 – Aug 14: 10-9; Sat, Aug 15: 9-6; Sun, Aug 16: 9-5

The South Shore University Women’s Club will be holding their annual Book Sale. The funds for this sale are used for scholarships for students at CEGEP and university level.

This is a good moment to clear your shelves and cupboards of unwanted books and give them to a good cause.  They will accept books at the church location until August 10th. It’s also a great time to start a library or find inexpensive summer reading.

Location: St. Barnabas Church, 95 Lorne Ave, Saint Lambert
Phone: 450-672-1050 or 450- 672 -1324
Dates and Times: Wed Aug 12: 5-9, Thurs Aug 13: 5-9, Fri Aug 14: 12-9, Sat Aug 15: 9-12

If you think you like Montreal “barbequed” chicken, then you’ve never had Portuguese barbequed chicken. Start with the BBQ in that sentence. In the Montreal variety, chickens are impaled on a spit and  roll around on a carnival ride to cook through. The Portuguese method bbq’s the marinated chicken on a smokin’ charcoal grill where it winds up with a crispily seasoned crust and smokey flavored meat. You can get it spicier on request (I watched one slathered in chiles and cringed – but have it your way).

You’ve probably heard of the famous Romados on Rachel est with its line-ups (secret: you can order ahead and avoid the wait). However, there is more than one way to skin a chicken. The rest of the Portuguese community know about other flavourful spots to score this addictive meal. I was introduced to Portugalia by the “Montreal piano chicken pusher” across the street. He and his Dad restore and sell beautiful pianos at Montreal Piano (61 Rachel ouest).

You cannot expect to go in and just walk up and buy a take-out chicken ($11). Here it’s so busy, it’s like the “soup nazi” of BBQ chicken . You  have to call and place an order 1 1/2 hours ahead during the week. On the weekends though, it’s best to order the day before or at the very least 3 or 4 hours ahead. There are no line-ups here because if you walk in without having ordered first, you’ll be given a card and told to call.

It is possible to dine in the attached restaurant and you will get your chicken in normal restaurant time.

Portugalia Location: 34 Rachel ouest
Corner: Clark
Phone: 514-282-1519
www.rotisserieportugalia.ca

I grew up amongst gypsies. Most of you are now imagining Hollywood wagon trains in Europe with dark bushy-haired, colorfully dressed nomadic people moving from town to town, perhaps even one day shy of the law. You’d be wrong.

(I did know that kind – I lived in Greece, and gypsies roamed the little fishing village there. They even stole my valuable American blue jeans off my clothesline – which wasn’t easy, since my line was on the roof of a three-story building.)

The percentage of you who were right know that “gypsy” is the nickname for chorus dancers in Broadway shows. The nickname started because they, too, move from place to place, or from show to show. My Dad was a stagehand on Broadway, and whenever I visited him at work, the dancers were always around practicing routines, hanging out in the audience or roaming backstage stretching and such.

Back then, dancers didn’t have special dancing clothes. Sure, there were leotards, but after that they looked like – well, gypsies – in their artistic, colorful put-together rehearsal outfits. Nowadays they enjoy the pleasures of cutting edge textiles made just for arduous athletic activity.

These fabrics are lightweight, dry quickly, wick away perspiration and even “control” body temperature – be it hot or cold. The textiles are so thin that you can use them for layering and not feel like a kid going out to play in the snow. The stores below sell these yummy clothes, and also the absolute basic necessity of dancers – proper dancing shoes.

Rossetti, 3923 St. Denis St at Roy St. Phone: (514) 842-7337. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. With the same owner, Mrs. Rossetti, since 1951, this has been a specialty shop catering to the ballet needs of women, men and children. There are Capezio, Bloch, Mondor, Mirella and Body Wrapper tutus, leotards and unitards. Point shoes can be deconstructed and made-to-fit perfectly. Others with itchy dancing feet – flamenco, salsa, tango and tap – can glide right over here for their personalized fitting. If you need made-to-measure theatrical or period shoes, this is your store.

Danz Etc., 920 Jean Talon St. East at St. Hubert St. Phone: (514) 271-6512. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. One of the oldest (41 years) and biggest dance supply houses in town, you can find it all here, whether it’s for ballet, flamenco, ballroom, hip hop, highland, yoga, aerobics or whatever. There’s shoes, bodywear, tights, leotards, point shoes in names you know: Danskin, Mirilla, Capezio, Mondar, Bloch, Sancha, Angelo Luzio, Bodywrappers, Harmony, etc. The staff has background in dance and are good at fitting. If you’re lucky, you might bump into a dancer from Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet Jazz or Ecole National de Ballet. Other location: Movimento, 4307 boul. St-Jean (514-696-1212).

Boutique de Danse Wendy, 295A St. Jean Blvd., Plaza Pointe Claire at Autoroute 20. Phone: (514) 695-0285. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m. For West Islanders or anyone else, here’s a convenient location to buy your dance shoes, be it for ballroom, jazz, ballet, tap, gymnastics, Irish or Scottish dancing. Figure skating, ballet and aerobic clothing by So Danca, Danskin, Mondor, Leo’s, Motion Wear and Gilda Marx.

Starting today, all inventory must be sold in preparation for their move.  Specials are up to 70% off so its a great time to pick up fund raising items at reduced prices.

Some examples: pashminas $6.50 each or $72 per dozen; parchment and wax paper $2 roll or $20/500 sheets (buy 10 rolls get 1 free). You can also buy hair clips, coin purses, hand bags and costume jewelry. Wrapping paper is reduced along with bows, cellophane and cello bags.

Location: 4732 Boul. Thimens, Ville-St-Laurent
Phone: 514-335-4422
Hours: Mon-Th 10-3

As of September 8, 2009, they will be relocating to 72E Brunswick in Dollard des Ormeaux. There will be opening specials too.

Adonis is a very complete Mid-eastern market (Lebanese origins), including a butcher shop and bakery. The butcher, besides cutting to order, has shish taouk and shwarma marinating and ready to cook or already done.

You can discover kasseri and kashkaval and twisted cheeses, frozen or canned stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables in bulk, fig and flower jam, pickled wild cucumber, dried apricot paste and almonds by the bushel, fresh dates and figs.

New location: Place Vertu
Phone: 514-904-6789
Other locations: 2001 Sauve Ouest (514-382-8606)
4601 boul. des Sources (514-685-5050);
705 Cure Labelle (450-978-2333);
www.adonisproducts.com