When setting up a new house or apartment, why not buy quality products that the restauranteurs use so they last a long time? Head to the Marche Centrale area, to Tzanet, for restaurant grade quality equipment for cooking and baking. It has always been a popular shopping destination for hotels and restaurants, but you too can take advantage of their quality and variety.

All of your cooking and baking needs are met with name brands like Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart, Good Grips gadgets, a big selection of quality knives by Victorinox, a huge variety of dishes by Dudson from England, Arcopal from France and professional quality stainless steel pots and pans.

They sell Chicago Metallic Bakeware, a 100 year-old company which produces bakeware with a non-stick surface, which releases easily and clean-ups up effortlessly afterwards. Bakers and cake and cupcake decorators will also love the 50 ft. wall of Wilton products – and so will you.

Why not buy fast food trays or cutting boards in different colours to match any decor, 3′ pepper mills, tipped glass candy jars, call bells, oval stainless platters, cocktail shakers, oil table lamps, many sizes of pizza pans, strainers, whisks, a single serving teapot, booster seats or bamboo steamers? And if you need them, there’s a section of second-hand equipment like dishes, mixers, tables and chairs, etc.

Location: 1375 Louvain
corner: boul. l’Acadie
Tel: 514-383-0030
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8-6, Sat 8-5
Other Location: 710 rue Bouvier, Quebec G2J 1A7 (581-742-9876)
www.tzanet.ca

Mayrand is a wholesale food market and since they were oriented for sales to restaurants, hotels and institutions, their prices have always been excellent. And they still have sale flyers to entice you even more. See their flyer below for even better prices this week; How about fresh salmon steaks $7.99/lb or Parmesan $7.99 lb., Saputo bocconcini $3.49, 5L Javex for $3.49, and fresh chicken drumsticks $1.59/lb?

You do not have the extra cost of a membership fee to shop at food wholesaler, Mayrand. The aisles are piled 20 feet high with everything you’d find in a supermarket and beyond. It stocks 4 times more selection than that famous warehouse club with more consistency and choices.

As a wholesale market, it also means that you can often find select meat in the AA or sometimes AAA grades, whole filet mignons and rib roasts, pork rump and hock, homemade sausages, marinated chicken and pork, fish and seafood

There’s 500 kinds of cheese, ethnic foods (Italian, Latino, Indian, Asian, Mideastern) and they import their fresh produce themselves – no middleman. They buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local growers whenever possible.

There’s 70 varieties of olive oil, and dozens of flavorful Italian coffees and pastas. It’s fun to shop around and find items like 10 kg. Skippy peanut butter, an entire prosciutto ham or smoked meat, 15 kg honey, 3.5L bags of chocolate chips, pop-up aluminum foil sheets, or little paper lunch bags.

Location: 9701 boul Louis-H-La Fontaine Anjou QC H1J 2A3
corner: rue de Lamartine
Tel: 514-255-9330
Hours: Mon-Wed 6:45-6, Thurs & Fri 6:45-9 pm, Sat 6:45-6, Sun 9-6
www.mayrand.ca
sales@mayrand.qc.ca ou ventes@mayrand.qc.ca

With Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, gifts for teachers, engagement parties, and all sorts of events coming up on the horizon, it pays to wander the aisles of Le Panier to buy everything you need for any occasion in one place and get the job done.

Le Panier won the title of best gift store in Canada so this store worth a trip from anywhere. The huge shop is chock full of gourmet food, kitchenware,  and gifts at prices mostly under $25. You will not walk out empty-handed when you can choose amongst the jewelry, jams, hot sauces, kitchen gadgets, wearables and much, much more

If you can’t decide, there are ready-made gift baskets or custom-made ones too.

Here’s some ideas:

You can carry wine in an insulated pretty Wine Bag tote handbags. Michael Designs shea butter soaps, handwash and lotions,  For chocolate lovers there’s Louis Sherry New York chocolates in beautiful keepsake metallic tin boxes. I just love the Mighty Mug which won’t fall over – EVER; You can have your coffee near a keyboard without worries ($19.99). Grumpy Butcher’s Maple Bacon is hand-made here in Montreal in small batches from local Quebec pork farmers

For years people have been buying Mike’s Hot Honey which spice up all kinds of food ($14.99). Wrendale pottery makes adorable mugs with kittens, owls, ducks and there also a big selection of teapots. Willow Tree Figurines are popular too.    

For anyone, a cool gift might be the “upside-down” umbrella which closes without water dripping on you. There’s a big display of everything lavender. You can always buy Montreal’s favorite humbugs (now in different flavors), or someone might enjoy their own 5-year-old cheddar or their homemade fudge.

Location: 274 Bord du Lac, Pointe Claire
corner: de Lourdes
Tel: 514-695-7038
Hours: Regular plus Sun 10-5
www.thepanier.com

Boutique Java Kap, sells capsules for all single serve coffee and espresso machines. This is coffee heaven, since they have over 350 choices.  The walls of this shop are lined with bins of capsules, and you can wander through and select a variety of flavors using their cute shopping trays , or you can buy them pre-boxed – all of the same kind.

The shop sells all the Keurig brands you know and love, such as Green Mountain, Van Houtte, Donut House, Eight O’clock, Timothy’s World Coffee etc., as well as the high end Keurig brands Starbucks and Barista Prima. In addition to that they have all the popular Keurig compatible brands, namely Brown Gold, Brooklyn Bean, Grove Square, Jetsetter, Authentic Donut Shop, Hurricane, Barnie’s Coffee, Hamilton Mills, Martinson and Caza Trail. For those of you seeking premium coffee brands, you can try: Peet’s Coffee from San Francisco, Marley ( including the world famous Jamaican Blue Mountain) or Second Cup. They have a large selection of Tassimo products as well as the hard to find new flavors.

They do have Nespresso compatible capsules, Cap’Mundo, Smart Coffee, and Espresso Italia. For your Nespresso they also have Capsul’in which allows you to use your favorite espresso in your Nespresso machine. There are environmentally conscious options as well – between 90%-97% biodegradable

For tea lovers, there’s a wide selection of tea capsules such as Twinings, Lipton, Tazo, Bigelow and Celestial, and the new compatible capsules by Higgins & Burke. You can still buy tea bags, loose leaf teas, infusers for your tea or a travel mug which has a built in infuser for those on the run.

Expect friendly helpful service with knowledgeable advice about all those flavors.

Locations: 4583 St. Charles Blvd. Kirkland QC H9H 3C7 corner: rue Oakwood  (514-675-4410) ; Laval, 1655 d l’Avenir (450- 975-4410)
Dates: til April 6
Hours: Mon-Wed 10-6, Thurs & Fri 10-8, Sat & Sun 10-5
www.javakap.com
FB: http://on.fb.me/OGG30i
www.smartshoppingmontreal.com/store.php?s=312

Located in the heart of Montréal’s Little Italy district, not far from the Jean Talon market, Anatol Spices has been an essential spice wholesaler serving restaurateurs, caterers, discerning chefs and all lovers of fine foods. A cornerstone of the community, passed down from father to son for three generations, Anatol carries a complete range of bulk foods for preparing and perfecting your favorite dishes — first-rate foods at affordable prices.

There is a huge inventory with 60 varieties of tea and 150 herbs (some for tea infusions), and it’s only $5.99 lb. for coffee. Add to that 600 types of spices (cinnamon sticks, star anise), 90 kinds of nuts, whole wheat, soya and spinach pasta, buttermilk powder, sugar free candy, wasabi peas, tonka beans from countries around the world to offer you the highest quality at budget-friendly wholesale prices.

For baking expect to find many flavour essences, bulk Callebaut chocolate, candied and dried fruits (papaya, pineapple, blueberries, peaches cherries, cranberries), and silver pieces for cake decorating. You can get even better prices by buying in larger quantities.

Whatever your cooking needs, the friendly team at Anatol Spices is committed to providing you with personalized service and the freshest and highest-quality products available. If you can’t get there, no worries, use their web site for convenient on-line shopping.

Location: 6822 St-Laurent Blvd, Montreal H2S 3C7
corner: Dante
Tel: 514-276-0107
Hours Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4
epicesanatol.com/en
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/11jAYO6
Metro: Station Jean-Talon, Station de Castelnau or Station Beaubien

Mayrand is a wholesale food market and since they were oriented for sales to restaurants, hotels and institutions, their prices have always been excellent. It also means that you can often find select meat in the AA or sometimes AAA grades, whole filet mignons and rib roasts, pork rump and hock, homemade sausages, marinated chicken and pork, fish and seafood

You do not have the extra cost of a membership fee to shop at food wholesaler, Mayrand. The aisles are piled 20 feet high with everything you’d find in a supermarket and beyond. It stocks 4 times more selection than that famous warehouse club with more consistency and choices. See their flyer below for even better prices this week; How about fresh salmon steaks $6.99/lb or  fresh soc of pork – boned (Capicollo)$3.29/lb and fresh chicken drumsticks $1.49/lb?

There’s 500 kinds of cheese, ethnic foods (Italian, Latino, Indian, Asian, Mideastern) and they import their fresh produce themselves – no middleman. They buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local growers whenever possible.

There’s 70 varieties of olive oil, and dozens of flavorful Italian coffees and pastas. It’s fun to shop around and find items like 10 kg. Skippy peanut butter, an entire prosciutto ham or smoked meat, 15 kg honey, 3.5L bags of chocolate chips, pop-up aluminum foil sheets, or little paper lunch bags.

Location: 9701 boul Louis-H-La Fontaine Anjou QC H1J 2A3
corner: rue de Lamartine
Tel: 514-255-9330
Hours: Mon-Wed 6:45-6, Thurs & Fri 6:45-9 pm, Sat 6:45-6, Sun 9-6
www.mayrand.ca
sales@mayrand.qc.ca ou ventes@mayrand.qc.ca

The best part of cold winter is the excuse to have many more delicious cups of coffee. West Islanders are lucky to have a specialized coffee emporium right in their midst.

Coffee imported from Italy is sold at La boutique du café Tazza di Mattina in Roxboro. You can purchase ground, beans or capsule coffee from Gloria, Caffé Harmonia, Dolce Vita, Caffé Barbera, Caffé Moreno, Caffé Lollo. Italcaffé, Caffitaly, Miscela D’oro and many more.

If you love real coffee and live on the western side of the island, you do not have to fight the construction traffic to buy real coffee, coffee makers and  supplies. They carry Saeco, La Pavoni, Avanti, Jura, Caffitaly, Rancilio espresso and cappuccino machines, and coffee.They have a selection of accessories for coffee as in frothers and cups of different sizes in glass and ceramic. Various cleaning products for all coffee and cappuccino makers are found as well.

If you want to buy a more traditional Italian stove top coffee makers, they’re here too. You’ll have a choice of many different sizes in brands Vev, Bialetti & Laila. Pretty colorful lines of accessories of home and tableware by Guzzini, Verdici and Bugatti are available to dress up your table.

This is also a local repair depot; They can fix your machine on site if it breaks – no more lugging it all the way downtown.

Location: 5 Commercial Ave, Roxboro QC, H8Y 2N9
corner: boul Gouin
Tel: 514-684-6161
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30-5:30, Sat 9-4
www.tazzadimattina.ca  FB: http://on.fb.me/1eNfNva

Les Delices La Frenaie has five locations – east, west, south and Laval, so they’re easy to get to wherever you live. They have been a fixture in St-Leonard for years and you can find just about any kind of cake you could want.

Come here for: Bacio, Key Lime Cheesecake (15 others), Frutti di bosco, Dulce de Leche, Orange or Walnut pound cake (16 others), Limoncello, Heavenly Berry and Milky Way in 8″ or 10″ sizes (this can serve about 20). Some can be ordered 36 hours in advance for more than 20 people.

Sandra’s newest favorite is the understatedly named, Fruitcake. Imagine a Strawberry Shortcake made with an assortment of fresh fruit. It is light, whipped creamy, and not overly sweet.

The best deal is the apple, lemon, chocolate chip, or cinnamon marble cakes. I really like the amaretti biscotti. Trays of pizza (tomato, white, all dressed and vegetarian) can be ordered.

Locations:  8405  Lafrenaie at Jarry (514-324-8039); Rosemere, 199F Cure-Labelle (450-430-4222); 58A boul. Brunswick (514-542-4242) at boul. des Sources; 51 Westminster Ave N, Montreal-West (514-312-2253); 1276 Dollard, LaSalle (514- 363-8776); 8245 boul Taschereau, suite B12 Brossard (450-462-4000).
Regular Hours: Mon-Fri 6-5, Sat 6-2
www.lesdeliceslafrenaie.com

Who doesn’t love a freshly baked bagel spread with cream cheese?  Experience one for yourself at any one of St. Viateur’s bakeries or cafés; When you enter, the flavorful aroma will consume you. St Viateur’s world-famous bagels have been enjoyed by millions of people all over the planet. This is a perfect gift to send to anyone who misses Montreal or someone who you would like to share a taste of Montreal. You can now order bagels across Canada and the US through their web site www.stviateurbagel.com

St Viateur Bagel has 60 years of tradition and one wholesome family recipe throughout the years,  and still churning out a constant stream of white (sesame seed) and black (poppy seed) bagels.

You can also buy multigrain, cinnamon raisin, flax, rosemary and sea salt or whole wheat bagels, matzoh boards, lox, cream cheese, challah and rye bread and more. Once you bite into a hot one straight from the oven; you won’t be able to eat any other bagel again.

Their bagels have absolutely no preservatives  and are made with 100% natural ingredients.  Each bagel is hand-rolled, boiled in honey water, and cooked in a wood fired oven that was designed to both cook and flavor the bagel. what comes out of this process is a chewy, slightly sweet bagel, that bagel aficionados’ will agree, is incomparable to any other bagel being made today.

Original location: 263 St-Viateur Ouest, H2V 1Y1 (514-276-8044)
Other locations:  5629 Monkland, NDG H4A 1E2 (514-487-8051): 340 boul. Marcel Laurin, (in Marché Esposito), V.S.L.: 7030 St-Michel (in Marché Esposito) Montréal, H2A 2Z4  (514) 722-2224: 821 boul Tecumseh, DDO H9R 4X8 (514-542-3344); 1127 Mont-Royal Est, H2J 1X9 (514-528-6361); 1585 Dagenais O., Laval, H7L 5A3 (450-625-5552).
Hours: Original location is open 24 hours. Others vary by location
www.stviateurbagel.com

Boutique Java Kap, sells capsules for all single serve coffee and espresso machines. This is coffee heaven, since they have over 350 choices.  Right now there is a seasonal special of 24 K-cups for only11.95: Coffee People’s Turbo Caffeine or Van Houtte’s Midnight Express or French Roast Decaf. The sale is only on the closed boxes of the above mentioned blend.  Does not apply to any other box(es)/blends in the store. Does not apply to the mixes. Can not be combined with coupons or any other specials. Hurry in, offer ends November 3rd.

The walls of this shop are lined with bins of capsules, and you can wander through and select a variety of flavors using their cute shopping trays , or you can buy them pre-boxed – all of the same kind.

The shop sells all the Keurig brands you know and love, such as Green Mountain, Van Houtte, Donut House, Eight O’clock, Timothy’s World Coffee etc., as well as the high end Keurig brands Starbucks and Barista Prima. In addition to that they have all the popular Keurig compatible brands, namely Brown Gold, Brooklyn Bean, Grove Square, Jetsetter, Authentic Donut Shop, Hurricane, Barnie’s Coffee, Hamilton Mills, Martinson and Caza Trail. For those of you seeking premium coffee brands, you can try: Peet’s Coffee from San Francisco, Marley ( including the world famous Jamaican Blue Mountain) or Second Cup. They have a large selection of Tassimo products as well as the hard to find new flavors.

They do have Nespresso compatible capsules, Cap’Mundo, Smart Coffee, and Espresso Italia. For your Nespresso they also have Capsul’in which allows you to use your favorite espresso in your Nespresso machine. There are environmentally conscious options as well – between 90%-97% biodegradable

For tea lovers, there’s a wide selection of tea capsules such as Twinings, Lipton, Tazo, Bigelow and Celestial, and the new compatible capsules by Higgins & Burke. You can still buy tea bags, loose leaf teas, infusers for your tea or a travel mug which has a built in infuser for those on the run.

Expect friendly helpful service with knowledgeable advice about all those flavors.

Locations: 4583 St. Charles Blvd. Kirkland QC H9H 3C7 corner: rue Oakwood  (514-675-4410) ; Laval, 1655 d l’Avenir (450- 975-4410)
Dates: til Nov 3
Hours: Mon-Wed 10-6, Thurs & Fri 10-8, Sat & Sun 10-5
www.javakap.com
FB: http://on.fb.me/OGG30i
www.smartshoppingmontreal.com/store.php?s=312