Though lacking equivalents to Berlin's imbiss and the Manhattan/Philly/DC food cart, Montreal abounds in every other dining experience.

Having stayed in cheap lodgings and spent virtually nothing on transport, you can afford to dine well (where the operational definition of "well" is "as the Quebecois do.") When in Montreal...

There are some excellent restaurants within easy walking distance of the Europa (the conference hotel). Some of my favorites are:

1. Le Taj an extraordinary Indian restaurant, with fantastic decor and moderate prices.
2. Chez Cora's breakfast restaurant. It's a chain, but fantastic. There's one two blocks from the Europa at 1425, Rue Stanley.
3. [2005] The oriental restaurant on the second floor of The Incomparable Europa is odd, but quite good. The deal is, you pay a fixed price per person and select some things off the menu. They bring small servings of several of them to start you off, and you can ask for as many more as you want. They keep bringing small plates of the stuff you ask for. And it's good - or at least it was last year.
4. There is an Afghan restaurant two doors down the street from the Europa (out the door to the right). Nothing fancy, but cheap and good.

The following restaurants are extraordinary. All use local, seasonal ingredients.

1. Les Caprices de Nicolas; "a treasure chest of pampered civility." [Another ownership change, and not for the better!] (But does anyone else find Flash sites as annoying as yammering cellphone users?)

2. Toqué (downtown, Saint-Antoine and de Bleury)
3. La Maison Pierre du Calvet (Old Montréal, also a B&B, though expensive; I apologize in advance for the site)
4. La Gaudriole.

If price is an object, the above are ranked by price, highest first. The following restaurants are also good. In no particular order:

• Le Comptoir (downtown, Metro McGill)
• Restaurant YoYo (the Plateau)
• Le Paris (downtown, Metro Guy) [Sadly deteriorated under new management.]

Here is a page of other restaurants. The site also lists bars, but since Drummond is near Crescent, there will be no need to do any research on bars.

Steak houses: La Queue de la Cheval High end, Rene Levesque. Within easy walking distance of the hotel.

Sushi: Treehouse. Not, perhaps, strictly Japanese, but well-regarded for all that. On Ste Catherine's in Westmount (Montreal equivalent of Westchester County)

Vegetarian: Le Commensal. 2115 Saint-Denis. Sherbrooke métro.

Bagels: Best in the world.