Montreal, Canada (The Joy of Food) — Montreal may be home to one of the richest, most decadent food scenes in the world, one where things like cheese curds, duck fat, and red wine flow through veins, where sophistication and rustic commingle on the same plate, and where gluttony is a virtue that ranks only behind absolute perfection of flavor.
I first heard about Au Pied de Cochon the way that everybody hears about Au Pied de Cochon, which was through an episode of No Reservations where chef Martin Picard food fucks Anthony Bourdain into oblivion. I think the phrase was “keep feeding him, and stop when he dies.” Au Pied de Cochon is chef Picard’s ode to all things duck, pig, and cow.
A few nice-to-know’s: everything is topped, stuffed, or laced with foie gras — even the desserts. The portions are large and could feed a small country. The trick is to show up famished to the point of predatory. If you feel like you’re going to die after eating here, that’s a feature, not a bug. The city is famous for the big hill it’s named after; that should be required hiking before and after any meal here. On the way down, you can roll like a ball.
The legendary Duck in a Can (Canard en Conserve) is the thing to get. It begins with a plate of toast smeared with celery root puree accompanied by a branded Canard en Conserve can, sealed and boiled sous vide for exactly 27 minutes. Said can is opened at your table and is a revelation that presents itself as medium-rare duck breast with foie gras tucked under the skin, along with carrots, braised cabbage, roasted garlic, sprigs of thyme, and balsamic demi-glace.
It is a spectacular vision and gastronomy of the highest order. Thanks to the sous vide method, everything melds together like a luscious slab of butter. You’ll figure out quickly why the toast is there, acting like a sponge when the flood of gravy hits. It is a lifeline that sops up the juices as you begin to explode from the inside out.
The temple of excess begins but doesn’t end there. Countless places in Montreal do poutine, including 24-hour poutine mecca La Banquise, but at Au Pied de Cochon, the fries are fried in duck fat, and the requisite cheese curds are supplemented with more foie gras lobes than you’ve ever seen (or eaten) in one sitting. It is heart-stopping, in more ways than one.
If you manage to bypass all of this, there should be something centered around seafood on the menu, like the trout and potato tart. You’re starting to see a trend — there is no yin-yang of heavy and light to provide a proverbial balance. It is heavy reinforced by heavy, each decadent piece piled on with more stuff that, though rich, sings together in perfect harmony.
Besides the classics, the menu changes every day. There was some tuna belly with foie gras when I visited, plated as two mini tree trunks held together by seaweed and skewers. You were supposed to wrap each piece individually and eat it like temaki. The foie gras and tuna were both huge slabs that took several bites to eat.
Consider a place where dessert will be your lightest course, where the classic creme brûlée is practically a health food by comparison to everything that has come before. If drinking your dessert is more your speed, there is the XXX Milkshake which turns maple syrup liquor into an art form.
Au Pied de Cochon is set on one of Plateau Mont-Royal’s most charming streets, and that sunny feel is reflected inside. This is a bright, bustling bistro in tones of yellow and amber with loud conversations, sounds of laughter, and expansive gestures happening in every corner. In summer, the whole front window opens onto the street. It is charming, rustic, and casual all in one.
Chef Picard is hands-on and oversees every aspect of the operation, all while getting completely wasted in full view of everyone in the place. I watched him chug beer and down wine to no end while I was there, barely able to stand by the time we left. He should have his own reality tv show, but I think he enjoys cooking too much for that.
Au Pied de Cochon can be hailed as one of the first farm-to-fork restaurants to break into the mainstream, before farm-to-fork was even a thing, but to do so would undermine its singular achievement — that of simply serving great food. I would urge anyone to try Au Pied de Cochon at least once in their life, or many times if you’re lucky.
Written by Joy
Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.
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Mmm… I never had duck in a can. Sounds really decadent.
Decadence x10! Truly one of the great meals one can have in a lifetime.
I thought the Foie Gras with Poutine was pretty good, though the foie gras wasn’t of the highest quality. The pig trotter (pied de cochon’s namesake) was pretty much a hot mess; overcooked foie gras, the cheese potatoes was just a gummy mess, the roasted then deep fried trotters were just too hard….and I love pig’s feet! Like you said; nice to try once…….but I’m not sure my coronary system would make it thru another meal.
Hi Kirk good points about quality – with the duck in a can it was a little hard to discern given that everything had combined into a gravied, butter-like mass, so it was mainly a ‘rich’ taste and elements no longer stood on their own. As a treat when traveling this is great but I can’t imagine being a local. I feel like I would need to have a cardiologist on speed dial.
I would sort of disagree with you on the lack of Yin-Yang Light-Heavy. On the Au Pied de Cochon scale of things, the full fat malt with brittle IS a light ending to a meal of trout or the duck!
Yes exactly, the milk shake and the crème brûlée are the salad without dressing at Au Pied de Cochon.
Oh yeah, the Duck in the Can was sooo decadent. But it was a bucket list item checked off. Too bad I didn’t get the same stool Anthony Bourdain’s sat in
Yes this had been on my list for a while, and I definitely felt like I had duck fat running through my veins afterward. So bad, yet so good!