Eating OFF the Hill: Day Three in Quebec City

Breakfast on Thursday was the rest of yesterday's leftover tossard from Paillard, so for lunch I took the funicular down to lower town and managed to duck into Cochon Dingue just before the skies opened up.

Cochon Dingue

I was excited about both my choices at Cochon Dingue, but what really cemented the choice for me was the Charlevoix three cheese fondue appetizer. Haven't had fondue in forever, and was really looking forward to it. The menu description: three cheese fondues, Charlevoix cheese. Unfortunately, something may have been misunderstood in the translation, as here's what I got:

I was expecting a pot of hot melted Charlevoix three-cheese blend, and some bread on the side for dipping in said piping hot cheese. When the waitress placed this in front of me, I asked "is this the foundue" thinking perhaps there had been a mistake. But oui, I was told, c'est la fondue. Does fondue mean croquette? Isn't that also a french word?

Anyway, a bit disappointed, I dug in. There was at least melty tasty cheese on the inside, although not as piping hot as I would have liked. The accompanying berries were nice, but perhaps a bit strong in taste, almost overwhelming that of the cheese. A tasty enough appy, but overpriced for what you got and not the fondue I was looking for.

Thankfully, the main did not disappoint. When I saw the fish that Brian Tobin almost went to war with Spain over on the menu, I knew I had to see what the fuss was about and order the blackened local turbot with hollandaise sauce, veggies and rice. I love blackened fish, and this was not far behind my favourite ever blackened fish dish: the blackened drum I had at K-Paul's in New Orleans, where they invented the process.

This turbot didn't melt like butter the way the drum did, but it was tender, had a nice flavour, and the right amount of delicious crisp. The veggies were fine, the rice was plain but that was solved by mixing it with the hollandaise.

No room for dessert, the rain was finished and I had plans for a city and river tour.

Chez AshTon

Having gone on the fancier side for lunch, after my afternoon and evening of multi-modal touring I decided to finally hit the recommended fast food joint for a late dinner before heading back to the AirBNB. After all, I was told the trip would be a waste if I didn't hit Chez AshTon.

Rather than a Quebec McDonald's, I would say it's more like a Quebec Harvey's, with a dash of Arby's. Burgers, hot dogs, roast beef sandwiches and poutine are most of the menu.

I went with their signature double Ashton burger, which is a basic cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and a thousand island dressing. The double patties are a must, as each aren't very big at all. It was a reasonable fast food burger.

Also had the regular style poutine (they have a bunch of fancier ones, but I went traditional). This is the bebe/baby size, they have two larger sizes. It was pretty good. I'm not usually a big poutine or fries guys, but the gravy was plentiful and tasty, as were the squeaky curds, and I finished it all off.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Eating OFF the Hill: Day deux in Quebec City

Slept in and got a slow start Wednesday -- because I'm on vacation, y'all. But once I hopped the bus downtown and walked through the St. Jean gate, it was straight to Café-Boulangerie Paillard, recommended by several as an important stop for baked goodies.

Café-Boulangerie Paillard

I managed to navigate the entire ordering transaction avec my limited Francais, including asking for a bag for one of the items when I saw it was plus grand, so that was cool for me. I've found most Quebecrs tolerant/patiently amused by my attempts.

The croissant was my focus going in, but perusing the display case the torsade de chocolat also caught my eye. I recently read an article about how Parisians say "pain au chocolat" and the rest of France says chocolatine, so I've been hungry for something similar ever since.

Once I saw the torsade was like a foot long is when I asked for the sac. I had a few nibbles (delish, choclaty, buttery goodness) and into the sac it went for noshing throughout the day. And on to the croissant I went; buttery, flaky goodness. Fortified, I went out to face the day.

Ice cream break y'all

I'm writing a food blog, not a travel blog, so long story short I had no idea the Governor's Promendade hadso many damned upsteps...

... so for surviving, I treated myself to some soft serve (sugar cone upgrade ftw!) from the little shack at the top, behind la Citadelle. It was overcast this day but humid and warm, and it did not maintain structural integrity for long.

Dinner at Les Trois Garçons

Between the late breakfast, the soft serve and the humidity, I wasn't hungry during the usual lunching hours. I debated a late poutine lunch at Chez Ashton before a late dinner, but instead decided to go straight to an early dinner and do Chez Ashton for lunch tomorrow.

And so, having done a fancier dinner last night, I opted for one of the informal dinner options from my crowd-sourced list and grabbed a seat on the patio at Les Trois Garçons, just as they closed St. Jean to traffic and began towing quite a few vehicles.

With poutine on deck for tomorrow, I decided to go for a burger, and keep it local with Le Charlevoix, which the menu describes as "AAA ground beef, double patty (3oz.), 1608 and Hercule cheese from Charlevoix, fried and caramelized onions, artisanal bacon, bourbon BBQ sauce." All sounds like good stuff.

My meal came suspiciously fast, which could speak to their efficiency but is also suspect -- I doubt it was scratch made and cooked so fast. And if I'm paying $17.50 for a burger and fries, I want it cooked fresh from raw beef.

First, the fries. I'm often skeptical of the fries, but I believe these were twice-fried and they were very good, crispy and tasty. There was a choice of four mayos -- I went with the traditional.

Now, the burger. Bun was fresh, seedy and excellent with the right amount of chew -- according to the menu sourced from the La Fabrique bacon. To many burger places overlook the bun. I liked the cheese and bacon, but I thought the beef could have used some seasoning.

Or maybe it was seasoned, but it, along with the bacon and cheese, was overloaded by the heavy application of the bourbon bbq sauce. Too much sauce overpowering the other tastes, rendering them mute. Should have passed on the sauce.

Still, a lovely meal on the patio overlooking the tourist throng on St. Jean.

No desert tonight.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers