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| - My actual rating is 3.5 stars, I rounded up to give them the benefit of the doubt. It can be problematic to visit a place like Au Pied de Cochon that is so heavily hyped and known by foodies. How can any meal live up to the expectations? Our meal was solid with some delights and slight disappointments.
We booked four weeks out. Arriving on foot, we walked right by the place, as there is no sign (I like that). We arrived at our appointed hour, but had to wait another half hour. For part of the wait, we were given a seat at the counter with a direct view of the controlled chaos of the open kitchen. The brigade was dressed in dark blue Dickies workshirts with name patches like one find at a garage. They were working feverishly. I noted the fry station seemed to be holding items longer than is best for freshness, something we would experience firsthand. While quaffing a local beer (St. Ambroise Pale Ale) we watched the different dishes coming out of the kitchen and started to formulate a plan.
Once at the table, we decided to order more items but split them. We ordered the famed poutine with foie gras, a tomato tart, fried zucchini blossoms (with the small zucchini attached), the PDC's melting pot. Half of the dishes were okay and half were excellent. The poutine was luke-warm, had just a few fries and the foie gras was not of the highest grade, having a fairly coarse texture. The blossoms were thickly battered, not the tempura batter that we had expected. They were also pretty greasy. The tomato tart was fresh and perfectly crafted: a good counterpoint to heavy food. The PDC's melting pot was the star with four kinds of pork plus roasted mushrooms and onions on a bed of mashed potatoes, which ended up being aligot: Auvergne style (cheese enriched) mashed potatoes all in a cocotte. Our favorite cut was the pork belly, but all were exemplary and we enjoyed the variety. Several tables had the pig's head for two, which I am sure was tasty, but my wife was not really up for the visuals for us to order it.
A table of four sat near us, which provided considerable humor. Two couples of asian gangstas talked up a storm of stupidity. The guys tried to impress the women who were preoccupied with playing video games on their phones. They ordered a bottle of wine which they promptly sent back stating it was "sour" (not big fans of acidity, I guess, which might have helped them enjoy their heavy meal). Behind them, a Japanese couple spent the entire time fiddling with their iPhones while eating: never talking with each other.
We ordered poached pear with vanilla ice cream and a cappuccino. The poached dessert was perfection, but the cappuccino was nasty. Super darkly roasted espresso, no steamed milk and a cap of fluffy dry foam.
In summary, it was a good meal with ups and downs. It was not the finest pork dish nor the best foie gras I have ever tasted, but it may have been an off night. To their great credit, the prices are shockingly reasonable. Given the crushing popularity, they could charge twice as much and still pack them in.
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