it s, like, ten below zero in this freakin town. and that generally does not spell good time for me. a good time for me is more like a palm tree, a beach, a swimming pool, where the only cold thing is my beer. but, no. these hardy culinarians of the north like to frolic in the snow and ice. more accurately, they like to obey their genetic québécois imperative to risk dental and maxillofacial injury by skating around, slapping at a hard disc, trying to drive it in each other s general direction. i believe they call this sport hockey. this is not in my blood. do you s do you skate? david: yeah, we grew up on rinks like this. anthony: does everyone in
are they truly one entity or two? this is a question that has been wrestled with for some time. quebec is certainly part of canada, but in many ways, both culturally, spiritually, and linguistically, it s very much another thing entirely. there s a lot of history, much of it contentious. go back far enough and you get a clearer picture of why. the french arrived on the shores of quebec city in the early 16th century, but succumbed to the military might of great britain in the mid-18th. thus began a gradual but steady persecution of all things french. the québécois have struggled mightily to hang onto their french heritage and language. the issue of seceding entirely, a notion that persists to some extent even today. journalist patrick lagacé meets me for lunch at bistro m sur masson to help me understand a little bit of what many québécois feel is at stake. so, i was going to talk about
a plurality of québécois who would have voted in separate nation status? patrick: you know, in english you guys say timing is everything. anthony: right. patrick: and timing was never better than in the period of 1990, 1991, 92. because in 95, this country came inches from being broken up. anthony: close. patrick: yeah. anthony: do you think it ll ever happen in the history of the world? patrick: i don t know. but i know one thing. anybody who says separatism is dead in this country, in this province, is a fool. anthony: no matter how you feel about quebec as either separate from or as essential part of greater canada, any reasonable person loves this place. correct me if i m wrong. wilensky s is famous for the sandwich. the special. woman: wilensky special. right. anthony: and in what tradition does this fall? woman: it s basically eastern europe. it was a survival thing. it was cause they were poor. and that s what they could make. anthony: wilensky s. an
influential chefs in north america. he is also a proud québécois. and perhaps he, more than anyone else, has defined for a new generation of americans and canadians what that means. he is an unlikely ambassador for his country and his province. but maybe not so unlikely. i mean, look at him. out for a day, trapping beaver with local trapper carl. carl: no. martin: no? anthony: so the bait is wood? martin: yeah. they just eat the the bark. anthony: they eat the bark? martin: yeah, yeah, yeah. anthony: now i understand in pioneer days, beaver was the financial engine of canada. martin: yeah. anthony: empires were built on it. every hat practically in the world was a was made of a beaver pelt. martin: that s why today it s the, uh, icon of canada. anthony: to a lesser extent, the tradition continues today. carl continues to trap, usually
in quebec? uh, it s pretty much obligatory. here s your stick, kid. david: yeah. what else do you do? there s no reason to live here if it s no hockey. anthony: hockey rinks pop up all over this city to accommodate montrealers desire to risk teeth, groin, and limb. and right behind fred and dave s restaurant, joe beef, a pickup game of chefs, cooks, and hospitality professionals is underway. some of these guys, to put it charitably, are a little long in the tooth to be out there swinging sticks at each other and, uh, uh, skidding around on the ice. this is a normal behavior? people actually do this for fun? david: yeah, yeah. absolutely. this is every day, québécois growing up, playing hockey. canadian national sport, man. anthony: right. and this young one is already being indoctrinated. hello, young man. david: you gonna play hockey? boy: yes. david: you re you re good at hockey? boy: yes. david: are you gonna be a goalie or a player? boy: player. anthony