Snow today! Not unexpected, but still a wonderful surprise, since we knew there was a distinct possibility there wouldn’t be any at all on our trip. About an inch fell, and in the city, most of it melted. But it was still welcomed by most we talked to.
Boxing Day is generally full of promise, for those of us who like to consume. The stores open around noon or 1pm with sales and the streets are jammed with shoppers. It’s really a bit much. We went this year, but we were lightweights, making a few stops at stores we’d pre-chosen in the days before Christmas, and making off with our bargains. Anymore, most of the stores seem to discount before the holiday and the Boxing Day sales aren’t significantly different from the sale of two days before. In fact, many stores now proclaim a “Boxing Week” that starts before Christmas. Fine by us. Chances are, next year, we’ll do our shopping and make our purchases just before Christmas and avoid the Boxing Day rush altogether.
On the way back to the Old City, we took the advice we got from staff at the auberge and stopped for lunch at Pho Bang New York in Chinatown. This Vietnamese restaurant is just past the gates of Chinatown at the corner of Viger and St. Laurent. It’s bustling, most of the tables are communal, the waitstaff is multilingual and the food is very good and very inexpensive. Well worth a try.
We hung out at a cafe for a while afterward to read, and after some cocktails, we took the Metro up to The Plateau for dinner at Au Pied de Cochon. There are far better descriptions of this locally famous restaurant than I can give – one of them is here – but suffice it to say Pied de Cochon is 1) a true experience, and 2) it isn’t for vegetarians. It’s all about meat – beef, venison and bison, in particular; and it’s especially about foie gras, which you can order in more configurations than the mind can comfortably conceive. “Cochon” isn’t hard to find (within walking distance of the Sherbrooke Metro station) and it’s usually packed to the rafters with locals and a few tourists who’ve heard and simply must visit. It was highly entertaining watching everyone – it’s an open kitchen, and it’s a hive of activity. There are “bar seats” that give you the best vantage point for watching the goings on, but you can also experience it from several tables, including #13, where we sat. Order the foie gras. And by that I mean, get it in any form you desire, from the foie gras burger to the classic poutine – french fries, gravy, and in the place of cheese curds, yes, foie gras. It’s outrageous and wonderful. The fries are not to be missed either. We were disappointed that the house was out of cassoulet, but we loved the venison tartare. Le Pied de Cochon is not to be missed.