“I’m kissing the girls first and answering the phones later” so says Dominic Laflamme of Le Quarter Général who is busy farewelling a large table of delighted guests who have just finished dining.
Chef Olivier Racicot on left
BYO wine is commonplace in Australia but here in Montreal it is a relatively new concept and it’s one that obviously delights customers as they are not only able to cut down on alcohol costs, there is also no corkage fee. At Le Quartier General four delicious courses will cost you a mere $40 per person- no wonder it is full! The room has a large exposed pipe, painting and the menu appears on the chalkboard. Incredibly there are only two chefs in the kitchen cooking up a storm for diners. There’s the handsome and very friendly Olivier Racicot.
Confit of tomato soup (included with main price)
The waiter looking after us is friendly and asks if we would like some recommendations. Since I’m kind of blind without my glasses I gratefully accept. It’s rather warm in here so I’m very glad when we start with a cold confit of tomato soup. The true tomato flavour shines through in this creamy textured soup which actually has no cream in it. There is a swirl of olive oil and smoked paprika which gives it a bit of mystery.
Salad (included with main price)
The salad comes with a stripe of balsamic glaze across the plate. It looks simple and tastes simple but that’s really the beauty of it. It’s dressed in a creamy dressing that tastes faintly of fennel.
Milk fed suckling piglet on quinoa salad $10
You know I love my pork and this milk fed suckling pig is tender and comes inside a thin pastry outer much like a spring roll which is deep fried and crunchy. It sits on a quinoa salad which is lovely and gives it a slight crunch. The only thing I wished for was a bit of fat in the pork like the lovely slightly fatty flank. Again I am floored by the prices for the quality of the food here in Montreal!
A casino is not really the kind of place I expect to find a really lovely high end restaurant. Particularly when the path to said restaurant is littered by poker machines and similar decor. And to be honest, casinos don’t hold much lure for me apart from reliving some sort of Oceans Eleven fantasy of glamour.
So we were a little surprised when we saw the dining room at Nuances at the Montreal Casino particularly after seeing the blinking assault of pokie machines on the way to the restaurant. It had huge windows, thick drapes, leather banquettes and cream all around with green accents. It was very elegant and nothing like what I thought it would look like. Interestingly, as all four casinos in Quebec are state owned this means that they show daylight and night-time outside unlike others that avoid doing this so people pass the time gambling. You also cannot drink and gamble at the same time and there are also no taxes on wins.
I liked the sound of the “Menu for the senses” which is five courses that are composed based on the chef’s intuition. We alternate this with the five course tasting menu. We’re very impressed by the depth of knowledge of the staff and how they can answer any question that we ask them and then some. They also match the courses with some excellent wines.
We start with the bread bowl which is generously portioned with three types of bread: flaxseed, Egyptian wheat and French baguette which are all lovely and fresh. But with five courses we only sample a little of each. We need stomach space!
Scallop Amuse Bouche
We’re used to seeing those fat Canadian scallops and so we were a little surprised when this scallop came out as it was about half the size in thickness. But like Australia, Canada is a very large country and the fatter scallops are from the Pacific and these are more local. It is served with tomatoes, olive oil and basil. Interestingly, whilst olive oil is omnipresent in Australia, it isn’t so much here as they do not produce it locally.
Tomato, gazpacho emulsion, mozarella, Alaskan crab, spicy oil with chorizo from Charlevoix
This was an interesting dish as the gazpacho was more jellied than liquid. We were supposed to dip the other ingredients into the small cup although this was not practical to do particularly with the Alaskan crab. It’s also a little odd to dip buffalo mozzarella and tomato into a tiny espresso cup. However the flavours were strong and clear and the gazpacho was deliciously spicy.
“Honey! Wake up! We’re going to the Underground City!”. I’m trying to rouse a sleeping Mr NQN to no avail. Luckily non Metrosexual men like Mr NQN are of that breed that don’t require a lot of getting ready time and we’re off in twenty minutes. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of an Underground City. Ever since my Canadian friend Gina told me about how some cities in Canada have their own cities under the ground that can shelter you from snow and the elements, I have always wanted to visit one.
We decide to brave the Metro system. Based on Paris’s Metro system it is very straight forward to use and we buy a 3 day pass for $14 each (although the machine doesn’t take foreign credit cards). We change metros and arrive at McGill where we follow the direction that most people are walking. It’s the largest underground complex in the world and is actually a mix of underground and above the ground complexes and tunnels. You just keep walking and it seems that the shops never end as it spreads across an enormous 12kms.
The shops are varied although I am yet to spot any designer boutiques (although we didn’t really go with a concerted plan of attack). They’re mostly mid range although that doesn’t stop me from going a bit crazy at Zara and La Senza as well as buying these cute little Sex and the City chocolates (I loved the Carrie one with the NYC skyline!). We’re struck at how similar it appears to Tokyo’s subway system shopping centres. We see some glass roofs and the sky peering in in some sections. Apart from a multitude of shopping centres, there are banks, hotels, condos, museums and offices and the whole thing stretches for a few metro stations. After a few hours spent wandering around and arms weighed down with shopping, we emerge at Peel where we take the Metro to Victoria Square and head to our lunch at Restaurant Beaver Hall.
Now I know what you’re going to ask and there are no beaver here despite the name. Either in alive form (although there are groundhogs and squirrels we were excited to see!) or on the plate. Now Mr NQN and I don’t argue much at all-it’s usually about him tidying up, but we had a fight over the dessert here! But more on that later We are led to our table in this gorgeous room which is full of rich woods, leather booths and is busy with the swift efficiency and even sounds of business murmuring of a business lunch crowd.
There is already bread on the table and we’re surprised to see sourdough bread. We’re so used to seeing it on restaurant tables in Sydney but this is the first time it has appeared here. It comes with a variety of accompaniments including an olive and caper tapenade, olive oil and butter as well as pickles to accompany your meal and tongs to remove them.
Amuse Bouche
A waiter presents us with an amuse bouche from the kitchen and it’s a creamy salmon mousse with mini baguette croutons. The mousse is wonderfully airy and distinct in salmon, cream and chives. In fact when we ran out of croutons I couldn’t let it go to waste and took to it with a fork.
Foie gras au torchon $14.50
We asked for some help with choosing our meals and we were recommended several dishes. Sadly they were out of lobster salad (arrgh I’ve been dying to try Canadian lobster!) but we settle on some lovely sounding dishes. We start with the foie gras au torchon which comes as three quennelles of foie gras pate. It’s said to come with a pineapple chutney but it’s a fig paste instead. It also comes with a lovely dark sourdough bread. Mr NQN isn’t a huge fan of foie gras because it is too rich for him but we both adore this. The foie gras pate is light and when spread on the spongey, airy sourdough the pate melts into a soft, buttery topping with that distinct foie gras flavour. The fig paste is absolutely perfect for this.
Parmesan crusted calamari and tartare sauce $10.50
One of the biggest issues with travel famils is the amount of food one eats. This is admittedly mostly self inflicted and could be stopped of course by judicious meal choices. And please do understand I’m not looking for any sympathy here, it’s hard to complain when you’re offered all of this fantastic food. But it doest mean that at times, you need to put the brakes on and eat like a socialite. That is me today.
We head downstairs to Versus restaurant in the Hotel Nelligan. I have a look at the menu and ask Mr NQN “Do you mind having foie gras again?” He’s agreeable but as for me, I’m headed towards the salads and a glass of champagne.
Foie gras au torchon $16
Mr NQN is happy to see foie gras au torchon on the menu as he enjoyed it only the other night. Foe gras au torchon is when foie gras has been soaked in milk and then rolled in salt and sugar and then wrapped in cheesecloth and you do this very tightly (the “au torchon”) and refrigerated for a few days. it is then sliced up and served with toast.
Jet lag is an awful thing to get over. Sometimes when I think I’ve got it beat then I go to sleep and wake up with a a start at 3am. Or I’ll start nodding off in the middle of dinner between courses. I should explain that it is in the mid 30′s celsius temperature wise here in Montreal at the moment which doesn’t help. Not that I’m complaining, I did wish for this weather after all. One thing that is guaranteed to wake me up however is food. And when it’s a restaurant with the most extensive foie gras menu in Canada I’m most certainly jolted awake. Au Pied de Cochon means “foot of a pig”. It featured on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations where he ate a 16 course foie gras meal. Chef Martin Picard told his chefs to randomly pick items from the extensive foie gras menu and send them out to Bourdain “and when he dies, stop”.
Au Pied de Cochon is one of those places that is so well known and popular that there is no sign outside. You always need to book ahead of time, even on a quiet night like a Tuesday. As it’s Summertime the front of the restaurant is filled with a bounty of fresh local seafood much of which we don’t get in Australia. These are a Summer item only and come Winter the front display would be filled with foie gras. Ah foie gras that indulgent, controversial treat. Au Pied de Cochon extensive foie gras menu includes foie gras poutine, foie gras hamburger, cured foie gras and boudin tart among the ten foie gras items. This is not the place to take vegetarians as it also features roast piglet (aww, they are very cute I have to admit), pig’s head for two, “Happy” pork chop and well as a slew of other pork dishes as well as boudins (sausages).
Duck in the can is served!
There is also “Duck in a Can” which is thankfully nothing like the scary chicken in a can. Instead it’s a stew with duck that is made here as they have their own cannery. I want to order it but Mr NQN puts his paw down and says no. It’s hot and he doesn’t feel like rich food. Fair enough. Diners can buy the cans for $36 each and they need to be used within two days. A lot of the items are rather plainly described so they do require some enquiries from the friendly and knowledgeable staff who are all young and good looking (well one does tend to notice these things!).
The ingredients in Duck in a Can
A diner owner chair
Au Pied de Cochon is owned by Martin Picard who is known as “The Wild Chef” and he has his own television show of the same title. On this show he tracks food from when it is caught until when it is cooked and he also employs the nose to tail philosophy. The restaurant itself started on somewhat of a shoestring. Money was tight and to help buy vital pieces of furniture, diners were able to buy their own tables and chairs. The artwork in the restaurant is all done by his staff including an interesting number where his face has devil’s horns drawn above and a love heart underneath it.
Artwork featuring the chef Martin Picard done by staff members
We are led to our table in this gorgeous room which is full of rich woods, leather booths and is busy with the swift efficiency and even sounds of business murmuring of a business lunch crowd.
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