My partner and I were in Montreal this past weekend and went to 3 restaurants which have been recommended here and in various guide books.

The first was Au Pied de Cochon on the Mont Royal plateau. This place does require reservations as it is very popular. Even when leaving at 1040-ish, there was a line of 2-3 parties (6 r 7 persons).

Food is a little bit heavy to say the least, and hearty. Good for the cold winters. Quebecois comfort food? We started with a crusty salad which has a substantial with meat and various fruity vegetables on a bed of wilted-by-heat lettuce leaves. Very tasty if you're into flavours but also very satiating. My partner has the pork chop and I had the lamb shank. The pork chop was made of lean pork so was flavorful but also quite tough, a tad overcooked which is a result of lean pork being cooked to recommended temps of your. The sauce was very rich with red onions and mushrooms. Flavorful but very salty. My lamb shank was obviously pre-made and was only warm, not hot, and also a bit dry. Sauce was tasty. We ordered poutine as a side but found the cheese curds a little bit too big (how they make them here). It was good but we wouldn't go back. I think you have to grow up with the food to love it enough to go back. Service was extremely attentive.

Didn't have any space left for dessert naturally.

Next night, went to Auberge Bonaparte in/near the old town around the corner from N-D basilica. We had the prix fixe table d'hôte menu which was good value. My partner started off with vegetable potage which she found to be barely seasoned (common complaint of ours of French restaurants in Canada). My venison terrine was quite a bit better. I had the veal flank as a main. The meat was tender and seared nicely with just the right amount of charring. My partner had a pork loin which as good. The sauce was a bit watery for either dish. There were 5 small assortment of vegetables with the main. I paid a bit extra for the cheese plate which had 3 thin slices of cheese. My partner had a lime pie which was a bit like a key lime meringue. Very limey in flavour, tart but not sweet overly. I would rate the fare as solid and competent bistro standard but not any better nor anything special. Service was also very attentive. This place seems to be popular with Americans which, judging by the people coming and leaving, was the dominant segment of patronage that evening.

Favorite was Toqué. We had debated about the price but decided to go with the degustation menu which the bulk of diners appeared to be having. This place is popular so book in advance - no apparent sign of a recession here though it seemed most people were ordering wine by the bottle and not on of the two levels of pairings. Our meal started off with an amuse goule of tomato gazpacho shooter, which had the foamy tomato liquid at the bottom and the green vegetable (basil, onion, parsley) at the top.

First course of 7 was the marinated scallops. Served on the shell, it appeared to have been marinated in apple juice, had a creamy dollop of lime, and some tomatoes. Very delicious.

Next course was a poached arctic char fillet, which was the best I've had (it would seem most restaurants over cook this trout/salmonid). It was like barely-cooked sushi where you could taste the sweetness of the flesh.

I had chosen the foie gras option while my partner didn't. So for the 3rd course, she received a plate of calamari cooked in its own ink, with tomatoes and salad, in a strong vinaigrette. She doesn't like squid ink but found it very tasty, and just too big a plate. My foie gras was nicely but barely seared on the outside and was cooked in a bit of apple juice. Toqué is renown for its melt-in-the-mouth foie gras and this didn't disappoint. For those of you who like Chinese roast duck and appreciate that perfectly-cooked roast duck with some fat under its skin, this was similar to what it tasted like.

The 4th dish was a rabbit lasagna. The rabbit meat, liver and mushrooms were covered with a very thin piece of fresh lasagna, accompanied by purees of red pepper and celery, about 3 colours of cauliflower and a tomato-based salsa. We found the rabbit to be a bit overcooked but the rest of the dish was very flavourful.

The 5th course was a rib eye steak, seared very nicely, and thought not of the most tender cut, was lean and very tasty (not in the fatty/stearic acid way). The 6th course was a cheese course which used one of the local cheeses sliced very thinly and melted so it covered the whole plate, with thin apple slices. It was very tasty and balanced, and not overly rich. My partner doesn't normally care for cheeses but she found it delicious. They save the best for last here. The dessert was this poached apple with an apple sorbet, a few wafers (made with maple syrup?) and something they called a buffalo-vanilla cream. Everything was excellent but the buffalo vanilla cream, more like a very light cool ice cream/mousse, was like biting into tiny crystals that burst into more flavours once it quickly melted ion your mouth. Not just an epiphany but it was like a chorus of angels singing in heaven if you can believe it. We found service to be excellent though the waitstaff disappeared at times (it was busy). Wine cellar tours are offered if you show even passing interest.


We also stumbled across Schwartz's and Main delis (I always thought they were in the downtown area). We tried Main first and then Schwartz. We found we liked the meat at Main better as it was moister and better spice (coriander?)