Day 6, Continued- Magical Foie Gras Goodness

  • Posted on July 26, 2006 at 11:37 pm

And finally, the moment arrived, la piece de resistance, the time of our reservation at the Magical Foie Gras Goodness Restaurant, Au pied de cochon. They were only a little disappointed that it wasn’t the “real” Larry King.

The meal was fantastic. “Best meal of my life” and “best dish I’ve ever had” were uttered at our table. Really.

We started wth raw oysters. Delicious, briny and meaty. Our appetizer was called Plogue a Champlain, a buckwheat pancake topped with lardon (French for “thick and delicious bacon”), cheese, and foie gras, and topped with real maple syrup. This dish was truly amazing. The foie gras melted in our mouths. The combination of flavors was incredible. Oh, I could go on…

Plogue a champlain

The next dish was a foie gras and boudin tartlet. It consisted of thick pieces of chilled foie gras, chunks of boudin, potatoes and onions on top of a pastry. Boudin is a black sausage type thing, I think it consists of organ meats. I’m not really quite sure, and it’s probably better that way. It was delicious. Not quite as good as the pancake dish, but delicious in its own right. But by this point, we are already getting SO FULL.

And then comes the duck in the can. Yep, that’s right. It’s a duck breast stuffed with foie gras and cooked inside a can with cabbage and onions. It was brought to the table in the can, opened in front of us and slid out of the can onto a plate. Another amazing dish–again, the foie gras melted into magical goodness, and the duck was tender and juicy.

Duck in the can Unveiling the duck

The duck on a plate
Too full for dessert.

Ate too much today.

Thank god we walked about 8 miles.

Oh, and P.S., thanks for reading and for all your excellent comments!

Ciao.

Day 6 - Hot

  • Posted on July 26, 2006 at 11:36 pm

Wow, what a day.

We are whipped. We just ate at Au Pied de Cochon, and now we’re sitting at a cafe in the Latin Quarter. Slowly digesting our food.

We began the day by taking the metro downtown to eat breakfast at Eggspectation on Aubrey and Tim’s recommendation. This place had more varieties of eggs benedict than I had ever seen in my life. We both ordered the Bagel Benedict, a version of eggs benedict with smoked salmon, gruyere cheese and a bagel. Yum. Here is a picture:

bagels benedict

Then, we walked down Rue St. Catherine and checked out the downtown shopping district. We didn’t buy anything though. Will power. Then we headed to Old Montreal and walked around the narrow, cobblestone streets. Rue St. Paul is the oldest street in Montreal, and it’s filled with cute little shops. It’s really the closest thing to Europe I’ve seen on this continent.

Oldest Street Boucherie and Charcuterie

We sampled some amazing little chocolates that melted in our mouths, full of tasty fillings like raspberry, caramel and coffee. (And we promised the shopkeeper that we’d be back to buy some…sorry nice French-Canadian Chocolate Lady! But thanks for the free chocolate!)

We found the Notre Dame Cathedral–not designed after the one in Paris, but still beautiful in its own Canadian way. There was an orchestra rehearsing inside and it was a peaceful moment.

We then headed to the waterfront. (Little known fact: Montreal is an island!) I left my precious bubble umbrella at one of the piers. (I brought it along for rain insurance, so it would be a bright and sunny day. Of course, it was.) Not to worry, we raced back to the pier and it was still there! Here’s me, enjoying my bubble in the sunlight:
rain insurance

We saw the coolest busker ever. He calls himself The Hug Busker, and he is a guy giving out free hugs. When he wasn’t hugging, he was standing perfectly still, like a statue. We didn’t get any free hugs, but we enjoyed watching him:

Hug Busker Giving a hug

By this point, we were hot, sweaty and sun burnt, so we headed back to the hotel to cool down in the AC. On the way, we stopped off and bought some ice wine and a bottle of Unibroue beer. Alcoholic Beverage Bottle Count: 7. Gifts for Friends and Family: Still 0.

We got a snack at a cafe called “Juliette et Chocolat” - delicious chocolate crepes. Yummy.

Chocolate Crepe

Got to save our appetites for the magical foie gras goodness…