Montreal Restaurants Prepare Menus For a Second Takeout-Only Ramadan | Eater Montreal

"In Ville St-Laurent I visit a butcher and grill counter founded in 1992 where, for almost 30 years, customers used to break the daily Ramadan fast together at the high counter—eating dates and sharing food—and which is now preparing for its second takeout-only Ramadan. Co-owner Elias Mustapha emphasizes Ramadan as a time to cleanse mind, body and soul, and the shop is stocking up on sweets and Québec lamb while preparing lamb shoulder and chops, veal roast, Cornish hens, chicken roasts and all kinds of ready-made meals. In the back, head of the in-house kitchen and bakery Bilal Mustapha readies salads, stuffed vine leaves, lahmajoun meat pies and sesame breads, and they’re already bringing in dates and Lebanese pastries such as Znoud el Sit. Mustapha also laments the pandemic limitations that keep people from gathering to break the fast together, a loss given how communal those evenings have been." - Ivy Lerner-Frank