Le Petit Medley
The Labour Day weekend has now come and gone and, though the weather left a lot to be desired for most of it, I decided I should take advantage of the extra recovery day and check out the nightlife in my area. I’m fortunate enough to live within a Donovan Bailey of Le Petit Medley but had never checked it out. The place seemed busy enough to be worth a look, so I figured, why not?
As I walked in, I was met by my first surprise of the evening: there was a $6 cover charge. Ouch. I’ve paid less to go to bars downtown! Sure, there aren’t too many other options near me, but that just seemed a little excessive. But I ponied up anyway and took a look around. As the name implies, it’s not particularly big, but the place has a good feel to it. The bar is the central focus of the place, smack-dab in the middle of the room. There are tables and a lounge area to the left as one enters, with a small dance floor and some more couches off to the right. It reminded me a bit of Molly Bloom’s from back in London.
After ordering one of my trademark Molson Exports (which cost just a hair under $5), I took a look around. Turns out that damn near everyone in the place has drinking draught beer. Hmm. Perhaps they knew something I didn’t? I managed to find a dark corner with a decent view of the surroundings. The crowd seemed to be mid-to-late 20s with a few cougars mixed in for good measure and it was most certainly Francophone. It wasn’t particularly busy when I got there at 11:30pm, but at the stroke of midnight, the place filled up in a hurry. That was also the cue for the DJ to start things rolling on the dance floor.
That’s when I got my second surprise of the night: they played Mes Aieux?!? Though I was quite happy to hear something from my favourite Quebecois band, it took me off guard that a bar would play folk-rock music to get people to dance. But sure enough, it worked. The dance floor was packed in no time and people were singing along to the song. Guess the DJ knows his audience, eh?
By this point, I had switched to draught and was feeling less self-conscious about being there alone with each sip. The music was too loud to be able to carry on anything that resembled a conversation, so I just hung back and people-watched. One thing I noted is that the bar seems to be a BYOB (Bring Your Own Babe) bar as there weren’t the usual small packs of women I’m used to seeing when I’m out. Also, the ratio wasn’t favourable. Maybe I picked a bad night, but at this point I can’t recommend the place as a prime cruising location.
Overall, I’ll give the place a cautious thumbs up because of proximity and atmosphere. I think it would be a decent place to finish off the night after returning from downtown. Anyway, that’s all for now. Til next time…
Labels: Le Petit Medley, Molly Bloom's, Molson Export
posted by Al B Here @ 1:20 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Helloooo from the maritimes! You have to go to Petit Medely on Tuesdays for swing dancing ;) I think cover is $5, and if you get there early enough there`s a free dance lesson as well (which is a fab opportunity to get to know the other folks in the bar). Cheers! xo
Thanks for the tip, Lina! That almost sounds like an invitation to me, dontcha think? I'd be more than happy to check it out with the right company.
The reason everybody is buying draft beer is because it's better and it's cheaper! Quebec has several medium-size breweries that produce quality beer and distribute it to most of the bars. Belle Gueule, Boréale, Griffon, St. Ambroise are the most common ones, though if you're lucky you can sometimes find some particularly good ones like Coup de Grisou. They tend to come in blanche, blonde and rousse or variations thereof. If the pipes are kept clean, these drafts are much tastier than any of the clean but flavorless molson and labatt's offerings. And they tend to be way cheaper (around $5 a pint, $12 for a pitcher).
One more reason that Quebec crushes the rest of Canada.
Any bar that doesn't have these on tap is either on the West Island or to be treated with a great deal of caution and suspicion.
I've run across Belle Gueule before, but never noticed Boréale on tap. They were peddling Sleeman's products, which went down pretty smoothly. That reminds me, I should do my taste test of Quebecois beers at some point soon. But given that I'm far from an expert, I'm sure my descriptions will be pretty pathetic to the well-trained reader...
If you follow through with a writeup of Quebecois beers, you better spread it over several days. That poison you brought over to my place that one time (Trois Pistoles) will dissolve your liver.
Also, nice play with Lina. Yo, Lina, if you ever read this, it is extremely difficult to get Alan to dance. You can take that as a challenge. Too bad you're in the maritimes.
Stophe, Stophe, Stophe... Lina's back in Montreal after spending August in the maritimes. But who knows if she'll take up your challenge. :-P
Based on Al's vertical, technically, it wouldn't be dancing. It would be sliding.
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