Author: Blair Dohey
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KazaMaza
If you are going out for Middle Eastern food and you happen to choose Kazamaza on avenue du Parc, you better show up hungry. I recently paid a visit to the restaurant with one of the Montreal Food Divas and the kitchen laid out a feast like I’ve rarely seen. The restaurant is located in…
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Inside The Nightlife 10.23
With hockey season finally back and the art season’s fall programs ramping up, it’s going to be a busy autumn in Montreal (if we survive all the scares Halloween has in store for us). Here’s what we saw last week in Montreal! Tapis Bleu For The Habs Home Opener Local celebrities, artists, athletes and more…
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Halloween Party Scene
Halloween is an excellent time of the year to leave your old self behind for a night and dress up into something entirely new. Whether you choose to be sexy or scary, there’ll be no shortage of parties in Montreal where you can strut your stuff. From Studio 54 inspired disco at the Richmond to…
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Oktoberfest At Home!
Handed down to the modern world from Bavarian tradition, Oktoberfest is synonymous with getting together for a good time and enjoying good food and of course, the best beer and wine. Even though its easy to spend every night of the week out in Montreal, trying new restaurants, bars and cafes, sometimes it’s great to…
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Inside The Nightlife
Last week we attended the launch of the latest issue of Dinette Magazine, the unveiling of the new Aperitivo menu the W Montreal’s house restaurant, ÊAT, the opening of the new La Cage Brasserie Sportive at Complexe Dejardins and we got a look at the latest AS 98 collection of clothing for men and women…
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Les Soeurs Grises
Brunch is something of a sacred institution in Montreal. Every Sunday morning people rush to their favourite restaurants to sit, gab and eat for hours on end. During brunch we recap the week, we catch up with old friends and we do it all while hauled into our favourite neighbourhood restaurant. In Old Montreal, the…
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Jerry Ferrer
A year ago last week, the very first Chez Jerry (recently renamed Jerry Ferrer) opened on Beaver Hall, just a short walk south of Rene-Levesque. Famous for restaurants like Europea, Jerome Ferrer has made quite the name for himself in Montreal. Over the last year Jerry Ferrer has expanded into half a dozen casse-croute (diner)…
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Inside The Nightlife
Heading into autumn, Montreal’s fall social calendar has already started amping up. From openings to anniversaries and everything in between, here’s what we saw last week. Le Gras Dur A few years ago food trucks rolled back onto Montreal’s restaurant scene and since that moment some of the these trucks have stood out from the…
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NICO S/S 2017
NICO is one of Montreal’s most colourful labels and last week Montreal was treated to a look at the hotly anticipated new spring/summer 2017 collection. We gathered at the trendy W Hotel’s Plateau Lounge for a front-row look the Mediterranean inspired collection of delightfully patterned tunics, colour blocked shirts and seductive swimwear. Featured below are…
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MTLàTABLE
Fall is a great time to be in Montreal. Whether you’re from the 514 or just visiting, the season brings coloured leaves, cooler temperatures and the hotly anticipated return on MTLàTABLE, one of our city’s largest food festivals. From November 3rd to the 13th, over 150 restaurants across the city will offer fixed-price menus for…
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Inside The Nightlife
It’s been another busy week as Montreal’s social network of movers and shakers attended the invite-only one year anniversary of Soubois, the fabulous launch of Nico Bilodeau’s second menswear collection for his Nico label, the influencer-driven launch of Jack Victor at Ogilvy and much more. Let’s get into it. ONE YEAR UNDER THE CANOPY Soubois…
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CCAC Gala 2016
On November 10th the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada Gala returns! This year’s theme is inspired by the Flavours of the Mediterranean and will feature 14 amazing restaurants, the best wine and slew of surprises. Some of Montreal’s best Mediterranean restaurants are lined up to tantalize our tastebuds during the charity event. Doca, Candide, Ikanos…
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Main And Local
The thing about Montreal is that whether you were born here, you moved here or just spend a weekend from time to time, there’s something special about our city that sticks with you. Montreal is creative, it’s vibrant and it moves to the beat of something different for those who love it. I started DJNL…
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L’Gros Luxe Deluxe
In a very short time, L’Gros has grown to become a neighbourhood favourite throughout Montreal. They recently opened their second Plateau location after transforming their original St. Andre and Roy location into the first ever entirely vegetarian L’Gros Luxe. Until this week, the new Plateau location (451 Ave Duluth E) was serving only food…
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Sex And The City
Sarah Jessica Parker is at it again. While the Internet went crazy yesterday with the cast of Will & Grace reuniting for a special scene supporting American Presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, a little piece of Sex and the City news went almost unnoticed. Yesterday Entertainment Weekly reported via EW.com that Sarah Jessica Parker has once…
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Will & Grace
The Internet appears to be blowing up! The cast of the former hit sitcom, Will & Grace caused a media storm today after a series of tweets and Instagram posts by the actors who played Will, Grace, Karen and Jack started popping up all over the Internet. A tweet posted yesterday from Debra Messing read…
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Emiliano’s
Two weeks ago Emiliano’s woke up the neighbourhood with a mariachi infused grand opening that sent the sounds of Mexico wafting through the corridors of Old Montreal. Hundred’s of people gathered at the 3 month old restaurant to mingle, try the food and get a feel for what they owners hope to accomplish with their…
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Tartare Fest
In Montreal, almost every type off food imaginable has a week or two dedicated to having us run around the city, trying the food that each participating restaurant has created for the special occasion. Tomorrow brings a close to the 10 days of Tartare Fest. This was the inaugural year for the festival that brought…
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Inside The Nightlife
There’s never a dull moment in Montreal and we’re out and about in the city, catching as much as we can and bringing back to the Internet for your reading pleasure. Each week we will recap the biggest events that happened in Montreal! Is it just me or did September fly by? During the month,…
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Le Germain Hotels
It was almost 30 years ago that the first Le Germain Hotel opened in Quebec City. Named Germain-des-près, the boutique hotel was the launching point for one Canada’s most successful homegrown hotel chains. Today, with 6 hotels in operation across Canada (and one coming soon in Ottawa) under the Germain banner and 6 hotels (with…
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Autumn In Montreal
Montreal is a great city to live in all year round but autumn in YUL is spectacular. The sweltering heat of summer begins to cool off, the trees go from deep green to fiery yellow, red and orange and wrap ourselves in the warmth of cozy sweaters and scarves as we move from September to…
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Five To Follow
Follow these acounts to fill your Instagram with things other than cats and brunch. @bestofyul A photo posted by Best of YUL (@bestofyul) on Dec 14, 2015 at 6:58am PST “Exploring Montreal’s most established institutions” is his tagline but this highly addictive and completely hilarious Instagram account reviews anything but. He spends his days…
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Bù Wines
For over 15 years Jessica Harnois has been an expert sommelier. When it comes to wine, she knows her stuff and has spent years as a buyer of prestige wines for the SAQ. She’s also an accomplished host, columnist and writer and she is the president of Vins au féminin. It has been her goal…
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Omnivore 2016
From the 16th to the 19th of September, Montreal will be getting culinarily creative at Omnivore. This highly anticipated international food festival is presented in collaboration with the Société des Arts et Technologies (SAT) and will feature four days packed with activities and will feature both local chefs and guest chefs from around the world. …
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Socialito
The world can’t seem to stop raving about Montreal’s Mile-End neighbourhood and who can blame them? It’s one of the most densely packed neighbourhoods in Canada, overflowing with plenty of colourful things to see and do. Mile-End has a wealth of restaurants that draw inspiration from around the world. Socialito, a Mexican restaurant that recently…
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An Ardbeg Ardventure
When I accepted the invitation from Ardbeg Whiskey to travel to Lac Sacacomie in the Mauricie region of Quebec, I couldn’t have imagined the impact it would have on me. I’ve done press trips before but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw, what I felt and what I learned over two days…
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Diner en blanc 2016
This year I attended my very first Diner en blanc. For the last decade, Montrealer’s and visitors to our city have gathered the their folding tables and chairs, found the perfect pure white outfits and built extraordinary works of art out of their place at Diner en blanc. I wasn’t sure what to expect but…
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Oysterfest 2016
At DJNL we wanted to do something extra special for this year’s Oysterfest. For the 8th edition of Canada’s biggest Oyster celebration we will be teaming up with Walter Craft Caesar Mix, bringing you the best Caesars you’ve ever sipped. Walter Caesar Mix is proudly Canadian and the guys behind the Mix are very excited…
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L’Auberge St-Gabriel
L’Auberge St-Gabriel is one of the most beautiful places in Old Montreal. It’s modern, chalet-inspired interior, with fur-decorated stone walls, segmented dining rooms and dim lighting make it the perfect place to cozy up for a cocktail. The smell of wood fire wafts through the space inspiring comforting thoughts of deep winter, drifting snow and…
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Allô Mon Coco
For the last 15 years Allô Mon Coco has been serving up delicious breakfast in over 20 beautifully designed locations across Quebec. Last week those 15 years were celebrated by media and VIP guests at the new Plateau location on the corner of St. Laurent Boulevard and Mont-Royal Avenue. We traded in our coffee for…
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Drift Away After Dark
On Friday September 2nd, Bota Bota, one of Montreal’s most unique spas, is hosting an exclusive event after dark and DJNL has a pair of tickets to give a way to our lucky readers. From 10:30pm to 1:30am, Bota Bota invites you to experience a unique evening in the heart of Old Montreal. After the…
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Apéritivo Pizzaiolle
I’ve lived in Montreal for over 15 years and during that time I must have walked up and down McGill Street in Old Montreal hundreds of times. Walking towards de la Commune from downtown I’ve passed Pizzaiolle on many occasions and thought about how nice the place looked from the outside. The brick exterior, the…
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RuPaul’s Superstars
For 8 seasons, RuPaul’s Drag Race has produced some of the best characters, the wildest moments and the most over-the-top antics to ever bless our TV screens. Competition TV seems like it was custom made for the all the laughs and drama produced every week on the long running reality show. The thing about these…
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Le Savoir
Montreal’s very first Le Savoir by Stella Artois was a resounding success. The event transformed Usine C into a magical domain in a Belgian field and was the end result of a lot of work. From the performers to the costumes and the installations, it was a sight to behold. Here’s a few wonderful shots…
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The DJNL 10/ONE30
Welcome to the DJNL 10/ONE30, a recurring run down and review of the current top ten iTunes Hot Tracks. Each week I will listen to the 1:30 preview of the first ten Hot Track songs and tell you what I think. All singles are available for purchase on iTunes and links are provided in the…
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Neighbourhood Watch
Hochelaga is one of Montreal’s most colourful neighbourhoods. It’s packed with great restaurants, awesome bars, cool micro-breweries, fun shops and more. Many people, especially Montrealers, know very little about the area but its inhabitants are very passionate about where they live. Earlier this week the SDC Hochelaga (business development commission) invited us into their neighbourhood…
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Maggie Oakes
A very lucky group of media and VIP guests were recently given a tasty preview of what Chef Derek Bocking has been cooking up for the recently opened restaurant, Maggie Oakes. The beautiful new space located in Old Montreal is the house restaurant for the equally majestic William Gray hotel. We were treated to a…
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Lobster Summer
Growing up on the Canadian East Coast, I’ve eaten my fair share of seafood. From cod to crab and most everything in between, it was common to come home from a day at school and see a pair of lobster writhing in our kitchen sink. The sight was all too familiar but despite seafood being…
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Le Savoir
As members of Montreal’s media, we have seen our fair share of wild moments. From restaurant openings to summit views we get to experience the full extent of almost everything our city has to offer. When news of Le Savoir, a multi-sensory event sponsored by Stella Artois, first arrived, it was touted as a not-to-be-missed…
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Lunch With Beatrice
Ristorante Beatrice is one of Montreal’s most iconic restaurants. The elegant simplicity of the decor, that amazing terrasse and its reputation for holding very high standards in cuisine make Beatrice an important piece in Montreal’s diverse tapestry of fine dining. Late last week a small group of Montreal’s media was invited to Beatrice to experience…
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Osheaga Day 2
Saturday’s helping of music was much more engaging that Friday’s lineup. Including standout performances from Coeur de Pirate and Lana de Rey, the ladies ruled the night. We started the second day of Osheaga with Bastille. The British rockers have been around the festival block a few times now and they are old pros at…
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Osheaga Day 1
My first ever experience at Osheaga was an overload to my senses. With the sights, smells and sounds of the music and art festival still fresh in my brain, here’s what I thought of the shows I saw. On Friday we arrived mid-afternoon and wandered around the site before settling down inside the VIP area…
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My First Osheaga
Osheaga is without a doubt one of Canada’s largest and most important music festivals. The three day gathering drew over 135,000 fans from around the world to hear their favorite bands, musicians and DJ’s give one-of-a-kind live performances. The work that goes into planning and executing the festival is bigger than any of us can…
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Pride At W Montreal
The W Hotel in Montreal is always a great place to see and be seen. During this year’s Pride celebrations, on August 10th, the W Montreal is hosting a not-to-be-missed fundraising event in support of the Jasmin-Roy foundation. The event kicks off at 5pm at the Wunderbar and will go until 10pm. The event will…
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Le Savoir
CONTEST: Le Savoir is a multi-sensory dining experience featuring culinary wizards Bombpass & Parr and 45 Degrees, Cirque du Soleil’s events and special projects agency. This exclusive event is happening in only three cities across the world including Montreal (Aug 4-11) at Usine C, New York (Aug 17-22) and Buenos Aires (Sept 9-16). It’s expected…
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A Scent Of Luxury
I was first introduced to the Karl Winters luxury fragrance company while getting pampered at the W Hotel earlier this year. The company caught my eye (and my nose) with their beautifully presented collections of home fragrances, soaps and more. I’ve always been a big fan of perfumes, colognes and candles that have the ability…
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Au Sommet PVM
When you see something so spectacular as the views of Montreal from Place Ville Marie’s new sky-high observation decks for the first time you can’t help but be awe struck. The 44th, 45th and 46th floor of Place Ville Marie, one of Montreal’s most iconic structures, were recently transformed into a beautiful series of observation…
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Boulangerie Bleue
Last year, Grey Goose pulled off one of the best parties of the summer season. Tucked away in the luxurious back garden of a Westmount mansion, the party, which featured white horses, waterfalls, mermaids and of course Grey Goose cocktails, was the talk of the town for months afterward. There was no way they were…
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The Secret Door
Although its name kind of gives itself away, Le Speakeasy on McGill Street in Old Montreal is a pretty cool place to grab a drink. Fronted by a sandwich shop, once you pass the right door, you’re transported into vast room with so many visual cues that it will take more than one visit to…
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HVOR
With thousands of restaurants to choose from in Montreal, to stand out in the crowd, you must offer something extra special. In Griffintown, HVOR has taken the normal restaurant formula and changed it up slightly, offering something a little different which has led to a lot of curiosity throughout the city. A couple of weeks…