It may have once been the case that you needed to have a diverse menu in order to survive the Vancouver restaurant scene. These days, it seems like you have a better chance at success if you focus on just one thing and doing that one thing very well. You’ve got ramen shops that do nothing but the famed Japanese noodles, for instance. And you’ve got bakeries that do nothing but bagels, as is the case with Rosemary Rocksalt.
In addition to its original location in Lonsale, Rosemary Rocksalt also opened up a second location on Main Street last year. Every once in a while they host Free Bagel Day. There are no strings attached and even though last Friday wasn’t even my birthday, I got to indulge in a free bagel, complete with a schmear of cream cheese.
Rosemary Rocksalt says that it specializes in Montreal-style bagels and it can churn out thousands of them every day. The Free Bagel Day promotion included a bagel of your choice with a spread of your choice, a $3.00 to $3.50 value. They also make breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches, including one with Montreal smoked meat.
Even though it was Free Bagel Day, the lineup actually wasn’t that bad. We got there right around lunch time and there were only about a dozen people in front of us, including several students from the nearby private school. Sadly, by the time it got to our turn for ordering, they were out of the signature rosemary rocksalt bagel, so Susanne and I both settled for an everything bagel instead. I got it with the dill cream cheese, while she opted for the salmon-flavored one.
As with all my restaurant reviews and food posts, click on any of the images to enlarge. I really enjoyed seeing the scale of the bagel making operation at Rosemary Rocksalt. The bagel itself, which a touch on the small side, had a nice chew to it. When you consider you can take home a dozen bagels for about $11, you’re not paying that much more than the supermarket variety.
I didn’t have a chance to try an authentic bagel in New York and I have yet to make my way over to Montreal. So, in the meantime, I’ll just have to settle for Montreal style bagels through eateries like this.
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