Nightlife 1
Best Bartender 1. Derek Kenny (Scotyz)
2. Heidy Proulx (Madhatter)
3. Jessica LaBlanche (Honey Martin)
4. Garth Burnham (Grumpy’s)
5. Gern F (Grumpy’s)
6. Gabriella (Moomba)
7. Adam Vieira (B-Side)
8. Devon O’Farrel (Clyde’s)
9. Bill (Foufounes Électriques, Saphir, Brutopia)
10. Danny Smiles (B-Side)
Honourable mentions: Ram Krishnan
(Grumpy’s), James Eagleson (Madhatter), Phil (Baldwin Barmacie), Stacy Kennedy (Tokyo)
Maybe he’s got an advanced psych degree, making his the best ear to bend with tales of woe and wonder over a drink or two—the truest task of a dedicated barkeep. Or maybe, conversely, he sucks at math and generously guesses his mixes by eye. Either way, for the second year running, Derek Kenny at South Shore hot spot Scotyz aces this category, holding onto his #1 placing. The 450 has spoken! Grumpy’s Gern F slides again, from #4 last year and #2 in ’08, beaten out by his colleague Garth. B-Siders Adam Vieira (steady at #7, where he was last year) and Danny Smiles (up from the mentions and onto the list) also rank, but Danny, only 10th place? Smile harder, man, smile harder!
Best Waiter/Waitress 1. Lisa Notargiovanni (Scotyz)
2. Heidy Proulx (Madhatter’s)
3. Rachel Dustin Sauve (Taqueria Mex)
4. Lisa Armstrong (Bifteck)
5. Brenda (Light Ultra Club)
6. Vito Ciocca (B-Side)
7. Dave Morin (3 Amigos)
8. Felicity Hamer (Brutopia)
9. Marie-Claude (Copacabana)
10. Ioanna (Moomba)
Honourable mentions: Jen (McKibbins), Jess
Cadot (Rouge), Manon (McLean’s), Melodie (Saphir)
What a jump for Lisa at Scotyz! Last year, she ranked at 10th place. A year later and she’s at #1, snagging another top ranking for Scotyz alongside Derek’s, above. All hail the king and queen of St- Hubert! Not too distantly behind her, grabbing second place, is Madhatter’s Heidi, who seems to dazzle her clients whether she’s on the floor or behind the bar (see above). Rachel at Taqueria Mex is a newcomer in this category, making an impressive third-place debut—olé! And Bifteck’s Lisa jumps five spots from last year’s ninth place.
Best Watering Hole
1. Bifteck
2. Dieu du Ciel
3. Scotyz
4. Grumpy’s
5. McKibbins
6. Hurley’s
7. Madhatters
8. Brutopia
9. Foufounes Électriques
10. Bull Pub
Honourable mentions: Burgundy Lion Pub, Barfly, Ye Olde Orchard, Honey Martin, Peel Pub, Casa del Popolo, Copacabana, Irish Embassy, Cock ‘n’ Bull
In a category that’s all about reliably familiar haunts, it’s no surprise that the first-place winner of the two previous years, that mainstay of the Main, Bifteck, again wins out. But wait! The second-place slot is usually taken by either Brutopia or Grumpy’s, who this year earned about the same vote count as their fellow downtown-core joints McKibbins, Hurley’s and Madhatters. But comfy little “brasserie artisanale” Dieu du Ciel, a fave of Mile-Enders in a nook on Laurier, knocks ’em down with a furious leap up from mere mention last year. Perhaps, like many of the strange concoctions on Dieu du Ciel’s extensive menu of novelty brews, once you get used to it, you don’t know what you did without it.
Best Sleazy Dive
1. Barfly
2. Bifteck
3. Madhatters
4. Miami
5. Foufounes Électriques
6. Thursdays
7. Peel Pub
8. Copacabana
9. Cock ’n’ Bull
10. Black Jack
Honourable mentions: Reggie’s, Maz, Grumpy’s, Fats, Korova, PJ’s, Bar des Pins, Bar Diana, Cleopatra
Bifteck might hold onto its top placing in the Watering Hole category, but this year, Barfly—the name of which basically trumpets its sleaze-iastic dive-osity—finally knocks the Biffer outta top place here. Nice to see Black Jack, home of Time’s Up (a weekly sock hop/glee club organized by local interfaith youth outreach project Pirates of the Lachine Canal), finally getting the top-10 toehold it deserves.
Best 5 à 7
1. Carlos & Pepes
2. McKibbin’s
3. Thursday’s
4. Buvette Chez Simone
5. Brutopia
6. 3 Brasseurs
7. Foufounes Électriques
8. Confessional
9. Baldwin Barmacie
10. Winnie’s
Honourable mentions: Scotyz, Irish Embassy, Sky Pub, Else’s, Salon Official
Best Pick-up Spot
1. Thursdays
2. Foufounes Électriques
3. Winnie’s
4. Gogo Lounge
5. Tokyo
6. Rouge
7. Korova
8. Baldwin Barmacie
9. Fagotin
10. Blue Dog Motel
Honourable mentions: Cagibi, Madhatters,
Saphir, Reggie’s, Salon Officiel, Unity
The perennial winner-by-a-mile in this steamy category, Thursdays, maintains its champion status as hook-up central for Montreal, and Foufs holds onto its #2 ranking. New on this list are Radio Lounge, doin’ something right at fourth place, Baldwin Barmacie and the South Shore’s Fagotin.
Best Wine Bar
1. Pullman
2. Buvette Chez Simone
3. Bu
4. Vino
5. Chesterfield
6. Bouchonné
7. Pop!
8. Narcisse
9. Plateau Lounge
10. Wienstein & Gavino’s
Honourable mentions: Whiskey Café, SAQ
This is a new category. Answering the slurred but good-natured calls of oenophiles (that’s Greek for “connoisseurs,” which is French for “lushes”), wine bars have sprouted up all over town in the last year or two, boasting stacks of obscure but fancypants reds, whites and rosées in environmentally controlled chambers worthy of The Andromeda Strain. Wine aficionados, who can be pretty fussy about these things, should note that Pullman, on Parc just north of Sherbrooke, utterly aced this category, coming in far ahead of any competition. Check it or any of the others out, and remember, sommeliers love it, just love it, when you question their authoritative suggestions..
Best-looking Clientele
1. Cagibi
2. Buona Notte
3. Velvet Speakeasy
4. Foufounes Électriques
5. Sparrow
6. Globe
7. Moomba
8. Time Supperclub
9. W Hotel
10. Fagotin
Honourable mentions: Casa del Popolo, Salon Official, Tokyo, Blue Dog Motel, Rouge, Sky, Bily Kun, Macaroni Bar
Best Terrasse
1. Saint Sulpice
2. Pub Ste-Élisabeth
3. Sky
4. Hotel de la Montagne
5. Winnie’s
6. Tokyo
7. Terrasses Bonsecours
8. Foufounes Électriques
9. Santropol
10. Vices et Versa
Honourable mentions: Jardin Nelson, Macaroni Bar, Madhatters, Thursday’s, Hurley’s, Casa del Popolo
The clash of the terrasse titans continues, with the sprawling back lot of Saint Sulpice again beating out the wonderfully sealed-off, ivydrenched sanctum of its nearby neighbour Pub Ste-Élisabeth by only a handful of votes. The surprise arrival in this usually stable category is Terrasses Bonsecours, indicative of how the Old Port is an increasingly busy social hub, no longer the exclusive domain of tourists. Also of note is Santropol’s cute little backyard, full of greenery and cats and what have you, likewise a newcomer to this list.
Best Live Venue 1. Metropolis
2. La Sala Rossa
3. Club Soda
4. Casa del Popolo
5. Le National
6. Foufounes Électriques
7. Divan Orange
8. Bell Centre
9. Il Motore
10. Katacombes
Honourable mentions: Café Campus,
l’Escogriffe, SAT, Friendship Cove, Jello Bar, la Tulipe, Barfly, Eastern Bloc, l’Olympia, Cabaret Juste pour rire, Upstairs, Torn Curtain, the Pound, le Medley (RIP)
A moment of silence for metal depot le Medley, the doors of which are now closed… Okay, done? Great, let’s make a racket! No major changes in this category, with the cavernous Metropolis and cozier Sala Rossa again taking first and second place, respectively. The noteworthy development in this category can be found in the honourable mentions, where lofts and other DIY spaces, previously mostly unaccounted for, rank strongly. Good thing, because if you can tolerate dubious sound systems, lack of ventilation and the occasional roust by the beast in blue, these are the places where one can discover many of the acts that will be treading the stages of the more respectable entries a few years down the line.
Best Lounge 1. Gogo Lounge
2. Jello Bar
3. Kafein
4. Univers
5. Laïka
6. Typhoon
7. Sparrow
8. Vinyl
9. Baldwin Barmacie
10. Gotha
Honourable mention: Koko, Blizzarts, Rouge, Consulat
Best Jazz Bar
1. Upstairs
2. Diese Onze
3. House of Jazz
4. Jello Bar
5. Snack’n Blues
6. Bily Kun
7. Modavie
8. Griffintown Café
9. Diable à Quatre
10. L’Astral
Honourable mentions: Gainsbar, Casa del Popolo, Absynthe
Best Dance Club
1. Moomba
2. Rouge
3. Unity
4. Tokyo
5. Club 1234
6. Blue Dog Motel
7. Korova
8. Le Parking
9. Salon Daomé
10. Foufounes Électriques
Honourable mentions: B-Side, Saphir, Sky, Velvet Speakeasy, Stereo, Radio Lounge, Light Ultra Club, Blizzarts, Electric Avenue, Green Room, SAT, le
Belmont
Up from fifth place last year, Moomba—the happenin’-est hot spot on that Sunset Strip of the North, avenue Pierre-Péladeau in Laval— beats out Rouge (last year’s seventh-placer). As pressing a question as “where the hell is Moomba?” is, “what IS a moomba?” Answer: a town in Australia, or alternately, “A possible final stage in the evolving life cycle of a Shumi in Final Fantasy VIII.” Unity also climbs up from sixth place last year, while Tokyo tumbles two notches and Parking drops five. Up out of last year’s honourable mentions into the Top 10 are Club 1234, Foufs, Korova and Salon Daomé.
