Preaching to the Mile End Choir

By Claudia Itzkowich

It has been a week since I walk around my neighborhood listening to the beat of the enamel plate, spoon and cup I carry in my bag. Now, my neighborhood -Montreal’s Mile End- is probably one of the few where McDonald’s had to shut down. And even though we do have a couple of Starbucks, I wonder who’s there, as everyone else loves supporting our local cafes and bakeries, few of whom use disposable cups or plates.

So… as I show up at my friend Netta’s Birthday party and I produce my plate, no one is shocked: many of the guests already bring their own containers when they buy take-out meals; many of them have thought about it; all of them are thrilled with the idea.

They simply proceed to serve me a piece of vanilla maple glazed cake from Cocoa Locale, a tiny bakery that makes every freelance writer, designer and musician want to become a baker; a piece of home-made pudding chômeur, or “unemployed person’s pudding”, a Quebec classic born during the Depression, made with old bread and maple syrup; and, well, also a piece of Princcess Cake -literally decorated with either Aurora or Cinderella- that someone more inclined to kitsch aesthetics than to food responsibility decided to bring. It takes all kinds, I guess?

At Cocoa Locale