Hello from Montreal: Mexican Delights at La Iguana and a Peak at the Montreal Jazz Festival

June 30, 2006to order a whole fish hot off the grill. In addition it
The Plateau area is one of the trendiest areas ofwill also house a museum with authentic artifacts
Montreal, so I decided to explore it a little furtherthat will be provided by the Mexican Embassy. In
after my discoveries of Old Montreal. From myaddition, the new location will showcase live
hotel I hopped into the subway at Place d'Armesiguanas and live parrots to create an authentic
and took the blue train north to Sherbrooke. IMexican atmosphere.
enjoyed a wonderful stroll through the St-DenisTalking about the history of La Iguana, Fred
neighbourhood, considered by many to be theshared with me that right from the start the
most typical of Montreal's neighbourhoods.restaurant got good reviews. Their interesting
Hundreds of street cafés, restaurants anddishes and plentiful portions might have something
funky boutiques line the street.to do with it. Fred indicated that their fajitas and
The streets in the area are characterized byburritos are extremely popular. Ceviche, an
duplexes or triplexes that have the typicalauthentic Mexican dish with seafood marinated in
Montreal exterior staircases in the front, many oflime juice and coriander has also become a
which are used as comfortable places of rest andfavourite. La Iguana's Camarones Acapulco consist
relaxation by the local residents. Many of theof a half a pound of giant shrimps in garlic butter
houses also feature small balconies on the upperwith orange zest and flambéed with Grand
floors, most of which are accompanied by smallMarnier. This signature dish is a crowd pleaser and
bistro tables and chairs for the outdoorlooks like a sun with yellow rays.
enjoyment of the apartment residents.Fred describes the cuisine at La Iguana as upscale
The rooflines of in this neighbourhood are alsoMexican and adds that the wine list is extensive
very unusual: dormers and fake mansards addwith bottles ranging in price anywhere from $28
interest to the architectural mix. The atmosphereto $800. In addition, he and Julie have gone on
is very relaxed, artsy and bohemian. I continuedresearch trips to Mexico and come back with 35
my walk west on a small street call rue Roy anddifferent types of Tequila that are all privately
came across a Mexican restaurant called "Laimported, another unique feature of La Iguana.
Iguana" that also has a small outdoor sitting area.Well, with all this talk of tasty delicacies I was
Every since my earlier trip to Mexico this year Igetting hungry and I wanted a chance to sample
have developed a taste for authentic Mexicansome of La Iguana's food first-hand. I decided to
food and La Iguana with its Mexican flair pulled meorder the La Iguana Special: a large platter
in.featuring stuffed jalapeños, guacamole,
I sat down at a comfortable table in the cornerpotato skins, cheese quesadilla, chicken wings,
with a perfect view of the restaurant and thenopales (cactus) and flautas (egg rolls), served
street outside. Unfortunately, the sky waswith sour cream and a spicy sauce. This dish gave
clouding over and shortly after another tropicalme a great overview of La Iguana's cuisine and I
thunderstorm was unleashed on the city, the thirdsavoured the tastes of Mexico. Then Fred
one today.surprised me with Shrimps Acapulco, one of La
To find out more about this restaurant I askedIguana's signature dishes featuring huge shrimp in
the owner, Fred Saunders, who jointly owns thea Grand Marnier sauce. My appetite was more
restaurant with his wife Julie Chiasson, to join methan satiated but I just had to try La Iguana's
for a bit. Over a mojito he started to tell mefried icecream for dessert which was a sinful and
about La Iguana and how it all came about. Freddelicious way to cap off a very satisfying meal.
and Julie have travelled numerous times to MexicoAfter some relaxing and listening to the live Cuban
together and fallen in love with the country andmusic I thanked Fred and headed out into the
its flavours. Fred mentioned that they have visitedwarm summer night. I walked down Boulevard St.
many places on the coast, including Acapulco,Laurent, or "The Main", Montreal's principal
Ixtapa, Playa del Carmen as well as Cozumel. Frednorth-south connection that divides the city into
and Julie both enjoy scuba diving and have beenan eastern (mostly francophone) and western
enjoying underwater adventures in Mexico for the(mostly Anglophone) part. The many restaurants
last four years.were filled with people and street life was
They started dreaming of creating their ownanimated. I walked through the pedestrian area on
Mexican restaurant and finally three years ago,Prince Arthur Street, another popular restaurant
they opened "La Iguana". Fred mentioned that it isarea, to head south to Sherbrooke Street, one of
open seven days a week for dinner and alsoMontreal's main east-west thoroughfares. From
opens Friday for lunch. Every Thursday tothere I made it to St. Catharines Street, the
Saturday they feature live Cuban music thatheadquarters of Montreal's famous Jazz Festival.
entertains the crowd with hot Latin rhythms. FredMontreal's Jazz Festival is in its 27th year and
mentioned that La Iguana also provides a cateringover the course of two weeks from June 28 to
service and a musician rental service for two toJuly 9, 2006 more than 400 concerts will have
21 musicians, a new service which they started abeen held, the vast majority of them free. B.B.
couple of months ago.King's 80th Birthday Event was held on June 28. It
Fred further explained that the restaurantis the largest jazz festival in the world and a true
receives many guests from various hotels andsignature event for the city, drawing hundreds of
tourism establishments. Just a week earlier, Lathousands of visitors. The festival is centered
Iguana hosted the British racing team which wasaround Place des Arts and the Complexe
in town for the Montreal Grand Prix. FredDesjardins and with my packed schedule over
mentioned that they referred to their experiencethese next few days tonight was my only chance
at La Iguana as the "best Mexican food theyto get a sneak peak at Montreal's Jazz Festival.
have ever had".The crowds in front of the main stage and on St.
La Iguana is actually quite a small restaurant. ItCatharines were filling the streets as far as the
seats 64 people in total, including the tables on theeye could see and the audience were swaying to
sidewalk and the enclosed terrace which is alsothe rhythms of Afrodizz, Montreal's best Afrobeat
heated in the winter. Fred indicated that there aregroup, in front of a huge audience at the
many nights when he has to turn away 50 to 60Scène General Motors .
people since he simply does not have the capacityWhat started 27 years ago as the dream of jazz
to accommodate all the guests. For this reason heaficionado Alain Simard has become the world's
and Julie came up with the idea of openingbiggest jazz festival that has featured stars like
another "La Iguana". The second location will beRay Charles, Chick Corea, John Lee Hooker, Dave
downtown, and even beyond that Fred and Julie'sBrubeck, Muddy Waters, Dizzy Gillespie, B.B. King,
dreams extend to opening more locations, laterElla Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Chuck Mangione, Tony
on even in Ontario and different parts of Canada.Bennett, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis,
Their dreams are to open a chain of "La Iguana"George Benson, Holly Cole, Al Jareau and
restaurants that will bring their concept of Mexicanhundreds more. This years lineup included a tribute
food to Canadians from coast to coast.to Paul Simon, appearances by Dave Brubeck,
Big plans are in store for the new edition of LaBrad Mehldau, Etta James and The Neville
Iguana which is scheduled to open next spring inBrothers. More than 2000 musicians will be coming
downtown Montreal. The new restaurant will beto town to excite the crowds.
more spacious and feature a grill, allowing guests