About the game

Steamie Stand Hustle is an original Montreal-themed order-matching mini-game built for montrealtips.com. You stand behind a classic Montreal hot dog cart while customers approach with specific topping combinations — steamie, chou (cabbage), moutarde (mustard), oignon (onion) and relish. You have 22 seconds per customer to assemble the exact order; chain successful builds back-to-back for combo multipliers.

Miss an order and the customer storms off muttering something about Frites Dorées doing it faster. Hit a streak of five and you'll trigger a confetti burst and a combo bonus. Hit ten in a row and a passing SPVM officer might still hand you a ticket for "joie excessive" — because this is Montreal and there is always a ticket.

How to play

• Read the order: Each customer shows you their topping combo at the top of the screen.
• Tap toppings in order: Click or tap the ingredients on the cart to assemble the dog.
• Hit serve before time runs out: The 22-second timer pressures you to commit fast.
• Chain combos: Three correct in a row triggers x2, five triggers x3, ten unlocks a confetti payday.
• Avoid the ticket: Wrong orders + slow service summon the SPVM with absurd fines.

The steamie: Montreal's iconic hot dog

If you've never had a steamie, you haven't really eaten in Montreal. The steamed bun, the steamed wiener, the slightly translucent texture of a chou-moutarde-oignon classic — this is comfort food from a city that runs on it. Decarie Hot Dog, Lafleur, La Belle Province, Montreal Pool Room and a dozen other counters have served them since the 1930s.

The game leans into that tradition. The five toppings in Steamie Stand Hustle (steamie, chou, moutarde, oignon, relish) cover the four classic "all dressed" combos: steamie all dressed, steamie chou only, steamie moutarde only, and the rare but real ketchup-only order that no real Montrealer would ever place but tourists do all the time.

Pro tips for high combos

Where to eat real Montreal steamies

Once you've maxed out your high score, take the steamie crawl IRL. A few iconic spots open most days:

• Montreal Pool Room (1218 Boulevard Saint-Laurent) — operating since 1912, no frills, all flavour.
• Decarie Hot Dog (953 Boulevard Decarie) — late-night Côte-Saint-Luc institution.
• Lafleur Restaurants — Quebec chain doing steamies right since 1951.
• La Belle Province — yellow-and-red ubiquity, always open, always reliable.
• Frites Dorées (Marché Atwater area) — comparison standard for many locals.