We had the pleasure of being invited to Martin Picard’s Cabane a Sucre this weekend. This resto is very exclusive and people can wait years to secure a spot. I don’t know exactly how it works, but we were fortunate enough to go this past weekend and we were very excited. Not only were we going to a fancy brunch, but we were going to spend the afternoon with 4 lovely friends. We drove up to Mirabel, Quebec, full of wide-eyed anticipation. Some members of our party had a better sense what they were in for than the rest of us. Looking back, I suppose I should have had a better idea considering the man is famous for his use of the WHOLE animal, but I still only imagined that to be meat-related parts. This was not the case.
The server came to our table and explained we were to begin with dessert, then 4 apps, the 2 mains, and conclude with dessert. Would we like to begin with the special Sugar Shack beverages? Whiskey maple soda, yes please. Pitcher of red for me and DP, sure thing! Towering …. tower of fancy maple desserts, holy shit!! IPhones were flashing everywhere, pretty funny. There was maple cotton candy, maple doughnuts, sponge toffee, almond croissants, maple creme caramel, maple jack daniels shots…wow. We couldn’t stop eating and drinking, we felt like we were in Willy Wonka’s Maple Factory! We were already scheming how to get in again next year. Ther server returned to let us know about an extra course, a meat pie, with extras on it, foie gras, pulled pork, cheese! Would we like to shell out and get the extra? Why not, we said, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience!
How little did we know how true that was.
Next came the appetizers: a pancake, an omelette, an endive salad, some salmon. Pretty traditional sugar shack dishes, n’est-ce pas? What if I told you the pancake was covered in perfickkly HUGE pieces of foie and cottage cheese, the omelette was covered in veal brain, and the salad was full of gizzards and covered in pork rinds?
It was suddenly very warm in the dining hall. Some of our party had to walk around outside and get some air. I tried everything, because I said I would try everything, but the texture and flavour of brain just wasn’t sitting with me. I ate a couple hearts to ingest their power but the portions were so huge! I never could have eaten it all. Others took parts home; DP and I passed. I filled up on beer. DP related this course to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Next the third course: a whole ham and half a rabbit, stuffed with lobster and foie. These mains were delicious, and recognizeable to the common person. It was difficult to continue eating at this point, we were so full and the smells were so heady and the air so warm, but we marched on. The resto was very thoughtful and brought around several to go dishes for all the tables, they knew what we were up against.
And finally dessert. Maple syrup taffy lay frozen on homemade ice cream. So delicious, so fanciful and reminiscent of being a child. Doesn’t get much better than this. This part of the dessert outshone the angel food cake chilled under glass with dry ice. This server took off the cover before anyone could get their IPhones ready: are you mad? Have you any idea what kind of cultre we live in? Even if we don’t enjoy everything we still need to brag about it?!
Afterwards, satiated to the point of bursting, we drove home, where we napped. I chose to spend my Saturday evening on the treadmill to combat the enormity of the first world experience I had just had. And what happened to that extra pie, you might ask? It went directly into a doggie bag, with promises the 6 of us will enjoy it a later date. I hope that time will come soon, or maybe never come at all, I still haven’t decided. All I know is that when it does come, dear God, someone bring a salad.
3yearstothirty 