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| - Oh Montreal... how to sum you up food wise. Eat as much as you can, purge so you can eat some more. If I could I would spend as much money as I could at this restaurant, Au Pied de Cochon. An incredibly famous eatery to those who are foodies, it is the devilish child of the ridiculously insane chef Martin Picard. This restaurant, like many others I have reviewed, can be summed up as a vegan nightmare. A menu completely in French and relatively unfriendly to vegetarians, if you are a carnivore looking for something more, come to this restaurant. Moreover, don't take a skinny girl here. Okay, that's a bit much but don't take a girl here who is expecting to "eat light." That's the stupidest thing you can do.
Located on a little street somewhere in the middle of Montreal off of St. Denis, this restaurant as my friend mentioned "doesn't even need a sign." It is that popular. Rated as one of the best restaurants in a foodie city like Montreal, you better expect to see your respective religious deity when you bite into this food. So let's just say my standards were high. I mean, pole vaulting high.
Advice: reserve a table. If you're planning on going or just thinking about going reserve a table, now. The place doesn't seat many people and it has a notorious reputation for being a fantastic restaurant so, yes, reservations are heavily advised.
Off of the nitty gritty details and onto the food. If you want to read about this experience feel free. If you're looking for whether or not you should go? Yes. Just go. But be warned, you will spend a lot of money and then you will want to go back to spend more.
My friend and I started off with a veal bone marrow with caviar, served with a slice of bread in some sweet nectar of the gods. Now, I'm a fan of bone marrow and for those of you who are cringing at the thought of it. I shake my head at your sad sad life without the joys of trying the buttery, mouth-watering substance. It is, if cooked properly (and yes it was cooked beyond properly here) it is divine. The slice of bread it came with was toasted with what seemed to be honey and the caviar gave an amazing little bitterness but the bone marrow... I'm salivating just remembering it. The entire combination of the bone marrow, caviar, and sweet slice of bread was mind-bogglingly good; the epitome of artistic creation and the love of food in one entrée (appetizer if you're American). My friend and I scooped as much of the marrow out as we could, like @$*%ing vampires.
My main was, naturally, pork. With a title like Au Pied de Cochon, I had to try their "cochon" (pig for non-French speakers). I decided on their La Coupe, or cut of tenderloin. I don't know what it was exactly, but it was big, covered in an onion, mushroom, and (I think) red wine reduction and made me realize why food is one of life's initial pleasures. From what I understand, it is incredibly difficult to bake pork without it getting dry. I must admit, my pork was a bit drier than I would've preferred but hell, it was 0.5 kg of meat. That's over 1 lb of piggy pleasure. Now I'm not skinny, but I'm not enormous, I'm also 5'1 and I managed to eat the majority of my main. PRIMARILY because it was just so damn good. The one thing is, if you order this there is a 45 minute wait but in my opinion it is well worth it.
Now my friend ordered the Foie Gras Hamburger (again, vegan nightmare), which was what I really wanted to try. Hesitantly, he let me try his rather expensive dish, and when I had it the foie gras melted. Despite being a near impossible burger to hold, it was fatty and delicious, and heart-stoppingly (in a good way) delectable.
In the end, when it came to dessert we couldn't fit another bite. I remember sitting there watching the cooks work, my friend (a chef) pointed out each task each person did. As an open kitchen you can see these men prepare your meal for you right there. As someone who has never been but has read about the food industry, this kitchen, the restaurant works like a restaurant should and serves food like most restaurants should. Despite the high quality of food, it doesn't have the snooty attitude that usually is associated with fine dining. The men in the kitchen are all tattooed, the waiters are in t-shirts. It looks like your average restaurant but it is so much more than that. If you are like me and enjoy the restaurant world and can appreciate it from the outside, I insist you come to Au Pied de Cochon. Watch the high octane but fluid movements of the cooks and take a piece of what you can out from your experience.
All in all, I will be going back, no doubt. From this essay of a review, Au Pied de Cochon is in a class of it's own with an atmosphere of its own. The food, though heavy, is amazing. If people knew about the chef who started this restaurant, they would understand the menu better. In essence, M. Picard is saying "Go big or Go Home." Go. It is worth the money you'll spend.
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