Of course, hockey is big in Montreal with the Canadiens (known as the "Habs" to the locals and hardcore fans around North America) recently finishing their 110th season. Working for a Montreal-based company for over 16 years, my co-workers in the main office live and die with each game the Canadiens play. And it was an agonizing season for Habs fans - the team finished just outside the top 8 Eastern Conference teams for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons the Canadiens have failed to reach the postseason. The team plays their games in the Centre Bell (the Bell Center), a modern new arena that took the place of the historic Montreal Forum toward the end of the 1995-96 season. About three-and-a-half years ago, local officials announced the arena (originally called the Molson Centre when it opened) and the surrounding area would undergo a significant renovation. And one of the renovations called for a huge upscale sports bar that they would call 1909 Taverne Moderne that was slated to be built in the 50-story Tour des Canadiens building next to the Bell Center. One night while we were in Montreal earlier this year, my company took us out to 1909 Taverne Moderne to watch a hockey game that was being played in Centre Bell and to have dinner.
In order for 1909 Taverne Moderne to become a reality, the Montreal Canadiens paired up with Cara Operations to come up with the concept for the sports bar named for the first year the Canadiens played hockey. Cara Operations - now known as Recipe Unlimited - is the oldest full service restaurant corporation in Canada starting in the early 1880's as a company that sold confectionaries, newspapers and magazines at train stations. They oversee the operations of 18 different restaurants or restaurant chains across Canada including Bier Markt, where we went to for lunch one day we were in Montreal. (Click here to see the entry on Bier Markt.) At the same time that they opened the one next to the Bell Center in downtown Montreal, they opened a similar 1909 Taverne Moderne at Place Bell, a smaller arena in the northern Montreal suburb of Laval. The 1909 Taverne Moderne at the Bell Center opened at the start of the Canadiens 2017-18 season.
Even though it was just three blocks from our hotel, it was a somewhat treacherous wintry walk to 1909 Taverne Moderne. (see map) The place is just huge - multiple bar areas, televisions everywhere, and a total floor area on 3 levels of over 27,000 square feet. The bar area at the main entrance - the Plaza level - seemed to be somewhat subdued and I followed our group down a couple sets of escalators to a two-story subterranean level called the Concourse and the Mezzanine. Turning the corner from the second down escalator I came onto the vast Concourse level that was quite the sight to behold.
The hallmark of both 1909 Taverne Moderne restaurants are the huge large screen televisions - the one in Laval features a 33' wide projection screen, while the one we were at in Montreal features a 46' wide screen, easily the largest one in Canada. It was sort of mesmerizing to a longtime audio/video guy like me. My colleagues and I were sort of geeking out at the high definition projection units that were mounted in large housings on the Mezzanine level.
The main level in front of the large projection television was a vast area of tables with two large bars. There were a couple televisions that were turned to the Toronto Raptors basketball game that was going on at the same time, but nearly every television was tuned to the Canadiens game going on next door.
Our group took a seat along the wall at a series of high top tables that sat 10 people each. I immediately ordered up a Yakima IPA - a very good beer from the Le Castor microbrewery from the small Quebec community of Rigaud located about 40 miles west of Montreal. I had discovered the Yakima IPA earlier on this visit as none of the places had the Boreale Blonde beer that has become my favorite beer on trips to the Montreal area over the years.
The menu on the Concourse and Mezzanine levels at 1909 Taverne Moderne features a blend of traditional bar foods as well as more upscale offerings. Appetizers ranged from nachos and chicken wings to smoked meat poutine, fresh oysters on the half-shell, and beef tartare. Steaks, pork chops, rotisserie chicken and a seared salmon entree were on the menu, along with a variety of burgers and sandwiches. The Montreal smoked meat grilled cheese sandwich especially caught my eye.
One of the appetizers was a gravlax-style smoked salmon and I had to get that. When our server brought it out for me, the guys seated around me at my table started to laugh. It was a very small chunk of smoked salmon surrounded with fish roe, bread crumbs, candied shallots, and a dill cream sauce. Quite actually, it was very good. I only wish that it was a bigger piece of salmon.
For dinner that night, I got the strip steak with a side of broccolini and frites. I was able to get a side of the peppercorn sauce to go with the steak and I asked our waitress if she could give me some mayonnaise for the fries. She sort of looked at the table and said, "I wonder why they didn't put any (mayo) on this tray with the fries?" She went back to the kitchen and brought back a number of metal containers full of mayo. Woo hoo! I love mayo on French fries.
And the steak was... all right. I mean it wasn't bad, but it wasn't a juicy, Iowa-style, corn-fed steak that I'm used to. But it had a good enough flavor to it and the peppercorn sauce certainly helped zip up the taste a bit. The fries - with the mayo - were very good, and the broccolini was warm, yet crisp. Not overcooked in the least.
One of my colleagues seated next to me got the tagliatelle pasta with polpeete - a variation on a true Italian meatball. It came in an olive oil/tomato sauce and was topped with arugula. My colleague leans a little bit more to the vegetarian side of the street, but he seemed to enjoy the pasta and small meatballs.
We had some guys over from one of our factories in France and one of them got the salmon tartare - hand-cut salmon that was served Korean-style with pickled daikon and a sesame/soy vinaigrette. It came with toasted crostini and a side of fries. Now, this was actually an appetizer, but it was more than enough food for one person's dinner. He said that he really enjoyed the dish.
For dessert that evening, I got the bread pudding. I had about half of it down before I realized that I forgot to take a picture of the dessert. I remember it being pretty rich and that I probably shouldn't have had it. I was definitely full and somewhat miserable by the time I wandered back to the hotel. I always gain weight when I go to Montreal. And I had to go on a major diet when I got back home to get my weight back down to where it was before I left to go there.
1909 Taverne Moderne was a sort of pleasant surprise all the way around. The food was definitely upscale for a sports-centric bar/restaurant. I have to say the service was admirable as our servers did a good job of keeping up with requests from our large group. And I definitely got my geek on with the huge projection screen on the Concourse level of the place. I'm a casual hockey fan - more so during the Stanley Cup Playoffs - but it was sort of impressive seeing a match played on a screen that is larger than many movie theaters these days. I'm a sports fan, I like good food, and I'm a craft beer enthusiast. 1909 Taverne Moderne checked off all the boxes for me that evening.