Every year, once Spring starts rolling around, all the sugar shacks start opening up and the liquid gold of Canada(maple syrup) gets collected! Now, the sugar shack owned by Chef Martin Picard is no ordinary sugar shack that serves the typical brunch style food loaded with maple sugar pies, eggs, beans, bacon and what not. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I have nothing against the traditional cabane a sucre! But honestly, once you get a taste of the food at the cabane a sucre at Au Pied de Cochon, you'll never want to go to any other cabane a sucre...EVER.
After trying out the food at Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, I decided I'd book the cabane a sucre and go with my awesome mom! She loves food just as much as I do, and is never afraid to try new things, so she was the perfect person to bring along.
I also forgot to mention, it costs 59$ per person with a fixed menu. It sounds expensive for a cabane a sucre, but you'll be surprised at how cheap it is for the food you're getting!
The cabane a sucre is located in St-Benoit de Mirabel; not very far out. It's near a bunch of apple orchards and horse ranches. My mom and I arrived a little early, so we decided to take a walk around the land that surrounded the actual cabane. It was really lovely with all the snow, and you could see all the tubes that were collecting the sap from the maple trees. Apparently, if you walked far enough, you would get to see the chef's pigs! But we were really hungry so we walked back.
We got seated at the bar since we were only two. The interior was exactly how a caban in the woods should look like, and it reminded me very much of the restaurant in Montreal. It was rustic, cozy, not the least bit up tight.
There were tons of excited people just waiting for their delicious meals. The atmosphere was casual, family oriented, and overall very welcoming.
We didn't have to wait very long, and to our surprise, we were served dessert first! I thought it was a mistake, but was informed that this was part of the magic of Au Pied de Cochon. Our waiter was so nice and took the time to explain everything that was being served.
The dessert was served on slabs of logs and was basically a delightful feast to honour maple syrup. There were maple donuts, maple pop corn, a maple and almond croissant, whippets, shots of maple and some kinda liquor (I'm no expert on drinks), maple cotton candy, a maple creme that reminded me of creme caramel, and slew of other treats that I can't seem to recall. Everything was unbelievable, and surprisingly not too sweet. It was the perfect start to what I knew would be a meal I would never forget.
Once they had us on a sugar rush, in came the main courses...Actually, let me clarify, we thought they were main courses. Everything looked so delectable, I didn't want to hear the waiter explain what was in front of me. I just couldn't wait!
We tried the salmon(I think it was salmon) coated batter, and breaded duck leg. I loved the presentation; it was served with a paint brush where you could paint on the barbecue sauce. I love creativity :)
There was also a potato and onion omelet served with pork belly, and calf brain. The pork belly was so tender, and you could really taste the touch of maple syrup in this dish. This was one of my favourite dishes I had that day.
Another favourite of mine was the pancake served with maple baked beans, spinach, cottage cheese, and two melt in your mouth lobes of foie gras! It was literally, a party in my mouth.
We were also served a nice big bowl of duck heart and endive salad, with pork rinds and blue cheese vinaigrette. Not the healthiest of salads, but at this point, would you even care? I loved the crispy pork rinds, and to my surprise, the duck hearts as well!
The main dishes arrived, and we were greeted with a gigantic maple glazed pork shank! I couldn't stop eating it despite my about-to-explode belly.
Next to it was a pork, lobster, and duck stuffed chicken. Yes, that's right, served with a side of maple braised green beans and almonds. Don't be fooled, underneath that skin and meat is pork, lobster and duck. The waiter said the gravy was made of chicken stock, but it had a hint of lobster when I tried it.
For an extra 20$ or so, you could order a tourtiere (which is a meat pie). This tourtiere was filled with pork shoulder and other porkie bits. They also serve it with a side of their pickled (?) corn. The corn had just the right amount of acidity to balance out the richness of the tourtiere.
They gave us a pretty long break before they served us dessert. At this point, I was beginning to enter into a food coma. The dessert consisted of the traditional maple taffy, but served in vanilla ice cream! There was also a maple and yogourt jello, and angel food cake covered in maple meringue.
This was one of the most epic food experiences of my life. It was just plate after plate of pure decadence. This cabane a sucre is worth going to, at least once in your life! At 59$ per person, the price is nothing when you see the amount of food and the excellent ingredients used in the dishes.
If you want to try the Cabane a Sucre of Au Pied de Cochon, you'll have to wait till next year since it's fully booked. I made reservations as soon as I could; emailed them on December 1st, and got a reply 2 months later!
I would also recommend bringing companions who are adventurous with food, and who can eat a lot. But don't worry if you don't finish everything, my mom and I brought home 4 boxes of left overs that lasted almost a week!
So what was my favourite part of the meal? It's hard to say since everything was so delicious, but for me, it's got to be the dessert that was first. All those little maple treats satisfied my sweet tooth and opened my apetite for more. It was whimsical and creative. I'm a sucker for creativity and surprises.
I would go again in a heart beat.
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