Au Pied de Cochon

Picture courtesy of http://flickr.com/photos/bonequinha_sf/2516571419

Some time last year, on a rainy day, my good friend A. came to visit Montreal and we all decided to try something new. My brother suggested Au Pied de Cochon and I’ve heard him talk about the “Duck in a can”. I love duck. They put a piece of Duck breast, along with a piece of artery clogging foid gras, cabbage, carrots, thyme and all sorts of spices. They seal it, and boil the whole can. The can acts as a pressure cooker. At your table, they bring you a plate with a nicely toasted piece of toast and open the can at your table. The whole content of the can is poured on top of the toast. The result looks nasty, but it was delicious. I remember finishing off that meal with a crème brulée that I reluctantly shared with Kev. Crème brulée is not shareable unless you have two. The duck in a can itself costs $36…but for duck and fois gras, I guess it’s not too bad. However, it’s not a meal you should have too often.

Ever since having that wonderfully fattening meal, I have dreamed of going back for seconds. That time was this past Tuesday, another rainy day. My friend A2 and I decided to meet up for dinner and I suggested several places, this one seemed like a good place since she worked close by. It was a Tuesday, I decided that we didn’t need to make reservation. Wrong! Always make reservation for APDC. The hostess told us we could have the table until 7pm.

I ordered the Soupe a L’Oignon gratinee and A2 ordered the Crispy PDC salad. My soup was a little disappointing. When the waiter put down my soup, my face was attacked by a pungent smell of cheese. The soup was a mess of smelly melted cheese. The soup tasted like it was probably made with some type of alcohol. I’m not a fan of that. Lots of onions and a few pieces of pork at the bottom. Not quite worth the $6.00. I only managed to eat a third of it. A2 salad looked quite tasty with arugula and a nice mixture of stir fried pork on top. The salad could have been a meal.

When our Duck in a can arrived, my mouth started to water. It was yummy, but not quite as yummy as I remembered it to be. What’s this? I can’t finish it? I do not know if the soup just cut my appetite or if the fois gras just ended up being too heavy for me to finish. A meal of fois gras is not for the weak. And so I asked the waiter to kindly pack it up for me. A2 thought the fois gras was a little undercooked for her taste. She likes her fois gras cooked to a pasty texture so she can spread it on bread. I thought melt-in-your-mouth fois gras was just great. Now I regret not ordering the fois gras poutine. Perhaps next time…

Au Pied de Cochon

Website: http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/

536 East Duluth

Tel: 514.281.1114
Fax: 514.281.1116