Sheltered Girl Meets World

Beef Tartare 'Hot Dog' (First Fridays)

My food highlight of the evening - beef tartare 'hot dog' w/ chips from Marché 27.

Last Friday I hitched a ride with Kathy (Kathy Eats Canada) and traveled to Montreal for the last session of First Fridays.  Once we got through the treacherous long weekend traffic and found Esplanade Financière Sun Life at Parc Olympique we were greeted to 12 food trucks surrounded by stadium lights, a DJ churning out catchy electronic beats and truck-to-truck line ups.

What I ate: speculoos filled waffle, lobster roll, duck confit poutine and oysters.

First Fridays started in June of this year to promote Montreal's street food scene and to bring life back to Parc Olympique.  In the past, events have not just included food vendors but entertainers, a segway obstacle course and airbrush tattoo artists.

This last session seemed to be a celebration of food trucks and organizers pulled together 12 of Montreal's finest.  Maybe it was the lights, Olympic Stadium in the background or the variety of food available but it took me a few moments to get organized and decide what I wanted to try.  Once I sampled my first few trucks though, I quickly wanted something from every one of them.  

In a few short hours my wallet was considerably lighter but I had tried a duck confit poutine from Lucky's Truck, a lobster roll from Lucille's, oysters from Pas d'cochon dans mon salon, a speculoos stuffed waffle from Gaufrabec, beef and ancho tacos from Grumman '78 and a beef tartare 'hot dog' from Marché 27.

First Fridays is done for the season but will hopefully be back once the snow melts and there's a little warmth in the air.  In the meantime, if you're planning a visit to Montreal I'd track down some of the trucks involved with First Fridays (particularly Grumman '78 and Marché 27) and enjoy the best of Montreal's unique street food scene.

Eaten: Pig's Head @ Au Pied de Cochon

(Duck Carpaccio @ Au Pied de Cochon)

Au Pied de Cochon is a Montreal restaurant that specializes in pork, foie gras, duck and Quebecois items.  The food is known for being heavy, hearty and outrageous - food that you can't have everyday, at least not without a heart bypass every now and then.  Preparing for the meal the boyfriend and I ate like rabbits and had gym workouts that could rival that of any UFC champions.  We arrived at the restaurant starving and full of adventure.  With the menu featuring several tempting items and our waitress listing off what seemed to be 10 minutes worth of daily specials, it took us a while to create a strategy for our meal.  Over beer and sparkling water we carefully planned our attack. 

We shared our first course, the Cochonnailles platter: an array of pork by products such as blood, liver, sausage and a deviled egg that we fought over.  I loved trying the various preparations of pork, the liver and pate were really yum but I didn't care for the blood - too salty.  Second course, I had the duck carpaccio and Dima had a creamy potato soup with black truffle and a huge marrow bone.  I loved how delicate the duck carpaccio was, with egg yolk, mushrooms and an aoili - I was in heaven.  Where as my carpaccio seemed so delicate, Dima's soup was so audacious - filled with black truffle, creamy deliciousness and a marrow bone, just in case you didn't have enough richness.  For our main course we decided to share one of the evening specials, a roasted pigs head with lobster and by our request, a side of foie gras.  It came out in a dramatic fashion, pigs head on a cutting board with the lobster coming out of the mouth of the pigs mouth - all eyes were on us.  There were no subtleties here, just big bold presentation and flavors to go with it.  Served with our collection of animals was a beyond creamy - boarder lining heavenly mashed potato and hearty stewed kale.  Who says that pigs head doesn't say love?  There is nothing that brings a couple together like carving a pigs head table side and asking their loved one if they'd like a slice of cheek or a scoop of moist, creamy brain.  The foie gras was beautifully seared and I enjoyed letting it melt in my mouth.  And the lobster!  Well, it's meat was buttery and delicious.  Did we stop there?  Why would we!  We still had dessert to think of.  We debated, weighed the pros and cons of each dessert before we finally came to the conclusion that we would have the sugar pie for 2.  This pie could have fed more than 2 yet, we didn't let that stop us from finishing every crumb on the pie plate or any of the ice cream it came with. 

Yeah, it was one of the larger meals I've had and I'll admit it took me a day to get rid of the food hangover but I'm already looking forward to my next visit.  Will I try one of crazy specials or will I go with something that their famous for, the foie gras poutine or the duck in a can?  It's such an adventure!

Review: Résident

After a long day of beer drinking, brewery hopping and driving I along with Dima and two friends found ourselves in Old Montreal.  Hungry, slightly clueless, we stumbled around on the cobblestones searching for a place to sit, eat and potentially drink more beer.  With the help of foursquare we were drawn to the restaurant with the albino bison head hanging above the bar.  It didn't have many customers and I was scared of breaking my golden rule of unplanned eating - never go to a restaurant that isn't busy at a time it should be busy.  But we broke it and I'm glad we did otherwise I would never have experienced the great food at Résident.

We were seated at the star table - in the corner, slightly raised, right in front of the big windows.  I have to admit, I felt kind of cool sitting at the best table in the restaurant.  We received the menu and that's where it got complicated.  Not because the menu is confusing, it's because you do actually have to take a few moments to figure out what you want and then the waitress goes and informs you of two dinner specials on top of that.  With some serious consideration I chose the Chef's soup - a wonderful spicy, pickled potato soup.  It was a flavour combination I had never tried before, slightly sour but with heat – it tickled my tongue, it was wonderful.  For my main I chose the seared scallops with red beet risotto.  The scallops were cooked beautifully with a hint of lemon; the beet risotto was delicious with chunks of beet and hints of parmesan – not sluggish or goopy.  I admired everyone else’s plates - Dima who chose one of the specials – house made perogies, Mike who ordered the signature Bison burger with a pile of fries and Maggie who tried the seared Doré in a cream sauce.  We did not attempt dessert which I slightly regret on learning that they are all made in house – maybe next time?

I don’t know why this restaurant was empty while The Keg was filled to the brim.  I love the food, I love the atmosphere, I love the comfort being offered at Résident and I love that most entrées are priced at $15-16 range.  If you’re in Old Montreal, go find the albino Bison and make sure you get the star table at Résident.

Résident
400 Rue Notre Dame Est
Montreal