Montreal Vegan Pop-Up Brunch with Stéphanie Audet, Sun. June 22, 10am-3pm

“Carbmaggedon?” “Le Petit Végéuner?” Those are the nicknames of the ultimate gluten-free, vegan brunch I’ll be cooking on June 22nd from 10am-3pm at Lulia, a cute Vietnamese café at 1902 rue Masson in francophone hipster central (aka the Plateau). Thanks to the generous support of Chez Latina, gourmet grocer extraordinaire in the Mile End and Cuisine Soleil, a gluten-free flour company made right here in La Belle Province, I’ll be donning my skinny jeans to cook up a gluttonous, gluten-free pancake and taco feast with vegan chef, Stéphanie Audet. We also have tea coming from Puretea, tortillas from Nacho Villa, and olive oil and coffee from Favuzzi.

Stephanie’s contribution? Pretty things like hibiscus flower tacos with mushrooms, kale, garlic, avocado and tomatillo salsa verde.
My contribution? Ridiculous things like “The Countess”: three stacked layers of gluten-free fluffy pancakes stuffed with vanilla chestnut cream drowned in maple syrup.

Not to be outdone, Stéphanie then counter-offered with “The Elvis”: the same towering stacking system for pancakes but stuffed with Prana’s hazelnut spread à la nutella and bananas.

But I never fall back from a challenge, so I’m offering $2.75 a piece double-lined “Street-Style Taco” with crispy cumin-roasted sweet potatoes, crunchy napa cabbage, sweet pickled onions, and creamy roasted poblano pepper sauce on corn tortillas with cilantro.

On the side? Knorr-free Mexican rice and beans to soak up whatever you did the night before. Or, for the more well-behaved, homemade gluten-free vegan scones with my own blueberry and strawberry jams.

We’ve also got mango and pineapple smoothies, frozen hot chocolate (like a chocolate milkshake, but better), kombucha mimosas, coffee, tea, and Stéphanie’s killer affogato for dessert—coconut bliss ice cream topped with a shot of espresso.

The best part? Everything’s at brunch-friendly prices. No fussy garnishes are going to cost you an extra $5. It’s heaping plates of quality ingredients served with love and a whole lot of comfort food chic.

It’s about as healthy as brunch could (should?) ever get. But the question is, will I still fit into my skinny jeans at the end of the event? I’ll see you on the 22nd to find out…

Montreal Vegan Pop-Up Brunch
Where: Lulia, 1902 rue Masson
When: 10am-3pm, Sunday June 22, 2014
How much: You could just get three tacos for $8.25 and call it quits, or go all out with a smoothie, stack of pancakes, and a side of scones for the table for $25. It sure ain’t fine dining. 

P.S. Thanks SO much to Latina for the incredible donation of almost all of our supplies. This is the place to go in the city for dry-aged beef and pretty much anything high quality in Montreal food. Boy can their butcher break down a lamb…maybe not what the vegan crowd reading this are into, but they also have some of the best produce in the city, a huge selection of local products both fresh and packaged, and tons of organics.

P.P.S. Thanks to the fine friends on Facebook for who contributed name suggestions for the event. Other fun suggestions included: