Koenig's Montreal Food Trip (Au Pied de Couchon)

Koenig

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Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
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Location
Ottawa, Canada
Alright people, I'm headed out to Montreal tomorrow morning to visit friends. Will be having Schwartz's for lunch when I arrive, then the main event in the evening, dinner at APDC. Gonna follow that up with La Banquise (sp?) on Sunday and maybe some dim sum seeing as how I haven't had any in a while.

Will post pics when I get back Sunday evening, so stay tuned folks!
 
Alright, just got back from Schwartz's. Didn't have to wait too long in line (maybe only 15mins) but we did get seated next to some random people, no big deal. Got 2 full fat sandwiches with slaw and 2 black cherry cokes. Dear god, it's an unbeatable combination with the fattiness of the meat and the sour of the slaw, plus the cherry cokes wash down everything real nice. Best sandwich of the year so far, although I still think Caplansky's in Toronto did the sandwich better.
 
waits kind of patiently for pics and writeup... and by patiently i mean not fucking patiently at all....
 
Fear not, for the pics have arrived!

Our reservations were for 9pm on Saturday and we were seated right away when we got there by the hostess who was just all kinds of cute. Our table wasn't the greatest, because it was right outside the door to their "inner" kitchen and storeroom, so we had a lot of traffic go by us, but it wasn't a huge deal.

After being seated, they brought us water and we each ordered the house beer which turned out to be very good. Then they brought us some bread and butter, nothing really out of the ordinary so far.

We decided to each get 2 of the Foie Gras Cromesquis (deep fried foie gras cubes), but one friend pussied out and only ended up getting one. This was followed by the Cochonnailles Platter (various pork terrines and pates with saussicon (sp?) a l'ail, blood sausage, tarragon bison toungue and some other porkish goodies with some nice crusty bread. Lastly, we ordered the foie gras poutine to split.

When the cromesquis arrived, we shoved them in our mouths as quick as we good, and we just kept them there. They start melting as soon as they enter your mouth, and the result is basically a giant oral orgasm. If there's one thing you need to eat before you die, make it this PLEASE. the Cochonnailles Platter was also very good with the bison tongue standing out as probably the tastiest offering on the dish, although the terrines and pates were also top notch. And what could I possibly say about the foie gras poutine. FUCKING AMAZING. The foie gras melts in the your mouth, the brown sauce is to die for (I swear there has to be shitloads of duck fat in the brown sauce) and the fries were great. Truly a creation of the gods.

It was then time to order our mains. I was deadset on Duck in a Can, so that's what I got. Friend 1 got PDC Melting Pot, and Friend 2 must've had a brain fart or something because he ordered something called the foie gras apple tart? Shit's not even on the online menu, but it turned out to be a pastry tart topped with some sort of apple sauce further topped with a giant piece of foie gras. Definitely tasty, but also not a main course. Seemed like something off the dessert menu, but w/e, that combination was fucking godlike.

My duck in a can was amazing. 1/2 a duck magret with a huge piece of foie gras with veggies in a balsamic reduction marinated for 2 days then cooked in the can dumped on a piece of bread topped with their biblical mash potatoes. The only thing I couldn't eat was the skin of the duck. It was so thick and chewy that I had a heartattack just looking at it. Everything else was cooked perfectly though, the duck was nice and pink, the foie gras just right. I'm creaming my pants just reminiscing about it right now.

My other friends melting pot was also a pot of gold. Boudin with pieces of pork, duck, pork sausage, pearl onions and mashed potatoes. The boudin was a work of art, the best blood sausage I had ever had.

After the meal, we all commented on how rich and heavy everything was, but we also noticed how balanced all the flavors were. These guys are truly walking the thin line between genius and blasphemy, and right now, I love it. After all was said and done, dinner for the three of us came to $190 after tax and tip, so definitely pricey, but well worth it.

And now for the pics:

Chochonailles Platter:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0693.JPG

Foie Gras Poutine:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0694.JPG

Foie Gras Cromesquis aka Best goddamn thing you will ever put in your mouth:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0697.JPG

This is the stuffed pig's foot (Pied de Cochon) that the gentlemen sitting behind us ordered. This dish alone could feed an entire army because you really can't appreciate how big it is from the picture:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0698.JPG

Duck in a Can:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0700.JPG

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0701.JPG

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0703.JPG

Notice the giant piece of foie gras:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0704.JPG

Friend's melting pot:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0702.JPG

Kitchen:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0705.JPG

Their wood oven:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0706.JPG

From outside the restaurant:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0707.JPG

Their menu posted outside:
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ko/koenig/2009/09/27/DSC_0709.JPG


Seriously guys, if you consider yourself a foodie at all, you HAVE to eat here at least once in your lifetime. FUCKING. AMAZING.
 
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wow fantastic write up and nice pics... you have definitely have put PCD at the top of my "must got to" list

EDIT: you must spread some... FUCK! someone +1 koenig for me.....
 
Thanks man, it really is the Mecca of all pork and meat loving foodies. If you ever want to go and need an eating companion, don't hesitate to hit me up. I'll be down for sure.
 
Thanks man, it really is the Mecca of all pork and meat loving foodies. If you ever want to go and need an eating companion, don't hesitate to hit me up. I'll be down for sure.

Mmm..looks good. Will they slap you in the face if you try to order in English though? My French is terribly terrible, well I guess I could make the order, but I wouldn't know what I asked. :lol:
 
Mmm..looks good. Will they slap you in the face if you try to order in English though? My French is terribly terrible, well I guess I could make the order, but I wouldn't know what I asked. :lol:

Nah, they have english and french menus, plus all the staff there speak english. If you haven't realized already, probably 80%-90% of the Montrealers speak english, so you don't need to know french.
 
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