8 Little Piggies went to Au Pied du Cochon

Au Pied du Cochon has been a longtime favourite restaurant of Jo-Ann’s.  She has visited there many times and has been working her way through the entire menu over the last few years.  So, when we were looking for a place to bring our team for a unique dining experience, Au Pied du Cochon was at the top of the list.

Opened in 2001 by chef Martin Picard, this restaurant celebrates ’snout to tail’ eating.  If you think I’m joking, the current menu features bison tongue, boudin noir (blood sausage), head cheese, stuffed pig trotters, and many more delicacies that have evolved over time out of the necessity of making use of every part of the animal.

So, armed with a healthy appetite, and a late reservation, we arrived at our destination.  You know you are in for an experience when the restaurant doesn’t even need to have their name on the front of their building!  Their reputation alone fills up the space every night of the week.

After waiting an extra 20 minutes for our 9pm reservation, we sat down to a complimentary plate of house made charcuterie and piping hot cod fritters.  The fritters were too salty for my taste (and I like salt) but the sampling of tongue, head cheese, boudin and aspic was lovely.

Between the 8 of us, we made every effort to sample the whole menu.  When the Bison Ribs arrived at the table, I felt like I was dining with the Flintstones.  They were juicy, meaty and were almost 18 inches long!

Another highlight of the evening was the ‘Duck in a Can’.  Containing braised cabbage, duck breast, and fois gras, then heated in a can, this meal was opened table-side, and the contents poured onto a slice of crusty bread smeared with mashed potatoes.  The presentation was unique and the meal was tasty.

The Seafood Platter for Two was beautiful to look at and full of vegetables including some lovely deep fried zucchini blossom, but quite honestly did not contain a lot of seafood.  There was a one crab claw and some whelks (sea snail).

We finished the meal off with a sampling of the dessert menu.  The wine flowed freely, and it was a beautiful evening.  Sometime after midnight we spilled out into the streets, happy and full.

Comments are closed.

Filed Under:  Travel, Uncategorized