Saturday, June 26, 2021

Yagel Bagel redux

Mmm, fresh cheese bagel danish
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC
June 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Montrealers know that bakeries are more than places to buy stuff. They are life itself.

Every neighborhood here has at least one, and years ago when we were first married, we called this place home. Yagel Bagel was a fixture on the edge of this quiet West Island suburb, and most Sundays we’d wheel our son here in his stroller.

We’d load up on bagels, lox, and cream cheese, often munching some of our find on the walk home.

By the time Zach was 2, we had moved to London. Soon enough, Dahlia and Noah joined him. And while we love our adopted town, it’s missing the bakery gene.

Zach is now married, and Yagel Bagel is still there. These days, it is a necessary stop before we hit the road for London.

And since the last few years of our trips back home have largely been challenging ones, Yagel has become something of an escape from hospitals, long term care homes, cemeteries, and sadness.

And so it was this past Sunday as we started the long drive back home after another difficult visit to say goodbye, we stopped in to load up on baked goods that speak of home. The staff kindly and patiently assembled everything we needed, then just as kindly helped carry everything to the car. We chatted as they worked, and I tried to remember what this sliver of time in a special place looked, sounded, felt, and even smelled like.

We’re glad we moved away, as it’s allowed us to have the kind of life we couldn’t have had back in Montreal. But I miss our little bagel shop, and the people who make every visit an experience to be cherished.

Returning here before we put Montreal in our rear-view feels like we’re coming home. And for a moment as we first walk in, it can feel as if nothing has changed, even though everything has.

I’m reminded that where you come from never really leaves you. And we have the kind souls who keep this timeless icon of our one-time neighborhood alive to thank for that.

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Related:
Breaking bread, June 2019

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