Little Italy: Patisseries, gelato and espresso

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I went on a mission to find Italian bread for a recipe that she learned when she was living in Florence (see my Cuisine section for more on this).

On bixi, we cycled down St-Laurent stopping at every bakery and pastry shop we saw along the way. None of them had what she was looking for. We stopped at Pile ou Glace (7084 St-Laurent), a small café, to grab some espresso and gelato. Their nocciolo was amazing - just like in Italy.

We continued our adventure with clues that locals gave us. The owner of Pile ou Glace suggested Dante street. At the corner of Dante and Henri-Julien, we found Alati Casenta, a great pastry shop. We grabbed some pastries - cannolis and cassetina siciliana - and continued to Motta (corner Henri-Julien and Mozart E.) where we finally found the special Italian bread - and an assortment of other Italian delicacies - cheeses, sauces, breads, pizzas, coffees and more.