Sugar Sammy’s guide to Côte-des-Neiges

Sugar Sammy

At the tender age of 38, Sugar Sammy has moved out of his parents’ place.

“It was time,” the polyglot comedian says. “I didn’t want to be 40. There has to be a limit. At some point society would have intervened.”

Sammy hasn’t strayed too far away from home — he moved into a house near Monkland Village back in August — but it still meant leaving his native Côte-des-Neiges. As Jay Baruchel is to NDG, Sugar Sammy is to CDN: a lifer who never misses an opportunity to praise his stomping grounds.

As much fun as it is to talk Quebec politics with the comedian – the morning of our interview he had fresh fodder in the form of jeune Saguenéen Péquiste Julien B. Gauthier saying on Twitter that Sammy’s stand-up made his ears bleed – I’m sure you’re all tired of that. Instead, I asked him to rep his old hood for anyone looking to move in and take his throne as the prince of the Côte. Here are his reasons why Côte-des-Neiges remains number one in his heart.

It’s flood resistant…

“We lived on St-Kevin, which had an incline. We survived the Flood of 1987 because of it. We couldn’t play ball hockey on the street because of the incline, but we played cosom hockey at the community centre.”

It’s inexpensive…

“Côte-des-Neiges still has places where you can buy stuff, today, at 1985 prices. That’s the key. You save so much by living there. Especially Plaza Côte-des-Neiges. It’s like everything there is always on sale. I used to buy my ball hockey t-shirts there for a dollar or two dollars.”

“I still get my hair cut at Salon Nguyen on Victoria. $14, cash. He cut my hair as a kid and I keep going back. Why stop now?”

It has late-night grocery places…

“I’m a late-night shopper. There’s no line-up and you’re done quickly. Côte-des-Neiges Farmers Market is 24/7 and it’s killer if you’re craving corn in the middle of the night. The Metro nearby is open 24/7, too.”

It has illicit businesses…

“There are a bunch of Indian stores on [redacted], and upstairs there are these illegal DVD places. Two dollars, and you don’t need to return them. All new shit, good quality. Stuff that’s in theatres now, and a lot of Bollywood.”

There’s ethnic cuisine…

“Everyone knows I love Grillade Farhat. It’s a sandwich place where they grill the meat on charcoal, then they put them in a baguette, put the dressing, then re-grill the baguette on the charcoal. It’s killer, man. Now I get a whole chicken there. They grill a whole chicken on the charcoal. It’s like three meals. Great garlic sauce, too. Go to the one on Avenue Swail if you’re by car — there’s more parking.”

And more cuisine…

“Pho Lien is a great Tonkinese soup place right across from the Jewish General.”

“The best Jamaican patties in the city are at Mr. Spicee on Victoria. And it’s right across from Caribbean Curry House.”

“Last time my boys and I had lunch, it was at Grillades Da Silva, which I guess is in Snowdon. Best Portuguese grilled chicken in the city.”

There are colourful characters…

“You know that cybercafé where all those Middle Eastern people smoke shisha at? (He might be referring to Café Ali Baba.) That place is a source of material. Just go in there and listen to the conversations.”

It has Iguana Pool Bar in Plaza Côte-des-Neiges…

“Is it still there? Shit. I haven’t been there in at least 15 years.”

It’s multicultural…

“It’s a big reason for my success. It gave me a different point of view growing up. It’s not rich in means, but it makes up for that. As a kid, to be in the heart of the city and being able to afford rent, we needed that. It’s multilingual and multicultural, and you don’t find that everywhere in Montreal.”

But Côte-des-Neiges isn’t perfect…

“It needs a good theatre, or at least a cabaret-style place. The ethnic shows that come through Montreal would benefit from being in that neighbourhood. I haven’t done a show there yet and I really want to. The only places I could do it is my old school or the library.” ■

Sugar Sammy performs his bilingual You’re Gonna Rire shows at Olympia (1004 Ste-Catherine E.) from Dec. 17 to Jan. 10, before embarking on a Quebec tour that includes additional Montreal dates. For more info, visit his website.