Au Pied de Cochon --Website problems

[Tabatha]

Hi. This is Tabatha. I'm the new girl in town, having just left my partner Jodi back on the east cost. She didn't appreciate good food. I'm sure you all understand. Anyway, I ate at Au Pied du Cochon the other day and I have to agree with you Champignon, that mussel soup is SALTY! Other than that and the fact that the table came up to my tits, it was a fine meal (I like to approach my food from well above, so why not chop a few inches off those table legs?). I especially liked the oysters from Raspberry Point - reminded me of home...

[riboflavinjoe]

whenever i cook chicken breasts, or duck magrets, i say i am cooking "chicken titties" and "duck titties" and my wife has taken up the habit as well. ha!

[onionbreath]

Re-visited Au Pied du Cochon a couple of weeks back and was really disappointed with the food quality. We were looking forward to their September veal menu and ordered a terrific sounding braised shoulder.

The waitress came back explaining how they were sold out ( it was 8 PM). she suggested a grilled veal chop @ $45.00, which sounded a bit dull. She then very confidentially suggested a pig heart braised with reggiano. I asked if it would be tender and was assured that all the staff had tried it and loved the flavour and texture. We also ordered roasted mackeral which we had found sensational in the past.

An appetizer of wild musrooms was good, but the blue cheese salad was over dressed , the lettuce limp and featured 1 small nugget of blue.

After a very long wait with staff apologetically dropping by to report "it wont be long", our meal came. The fish and veggies were barely warm ,swimming in oil with way too many vegetables stuffed in and around the plate. It had obviously been sitting around waiting for the pig's heart. The pig's heart was covered in too much sauce( a tasteless dark tomato-based sauce) and the meat was horribly dry, the liver inedible. When the waitress collected our plates and inquired on how we liked the meal, she seemed indifferent to our complaints. What's happened to this place? I heard the sisters from Dante Hardware bought into it, which might explain its decline(their background is in selling kitchen and hunting supplies.)

This resto was always a breath of fresh air and up to now has been a great mix of fun, innovation and hearty simple food. I hope they can get it back together.

Has anyone else experienced this or was it just a so so night?

[docsconz]

I recently dined there and was not blown away. My comments are on this thread.

[identifiler]

I'm due for a fall get together at PDC, we are waiting for a cold evening to go. I'm concerned about the review as this is one of my favorite place. I have however seen some service issues in the past, nothing really serious but untimely serving that seems to be caused by the kitchen logistics itself. The Dante sister thing is not welcomed, surely someone has to pay for that pile of hundreds of all clad above the fireplace. But the Dante sisters have nothing to do with good logistics and service, they're a bit rough around the corners if you know what I mean. Nothing wrong with them, but I don't see any bonus point on the side of sophistication...

[Lesley C]

I would only worry about the Dante sisters the moment ravioli is listed on the menu. Picard has been teaching in their shop for a few years now and they are all good friends.

Otherwise, I never thought APdC was about sophistication. I think his goal is quite the opposite.

[identifiler]

true, certainly that's the vibe. I knew Picard teaches at the cooking school and hopefully this is the extend of the relationship. As long as they don't get into the plates and wine list, I'm happy. I'm just slowly getting a bite tired of seeing them on Distasio...

[Lesley C]

I don't watch DiStasio. The pace is painfully slow. It makes me sleepy.

[identifiler]

I was there this week end.

I'm kind of mixed about this place but it mostly shined for us. The place seems to have taken a bit of a turn, the new menu hasn't really changed but the overlay is telling. The cover mentions the new fame of the pied de cochon dish which has been served 1000 time last week, it also mentions the Distasio appearance and the Jean Talon reality show appearance... I suggest this should be toned down a little...

The service was excellent, the dish were ordered in unusuall sequences and the complied very well. This is truly a success since the kitchen is badly designed (space wise) and probably the culprit of many timing flaws that I have seen in the past.

Sitting litteraly on the street in October in the evening with doors all wide open is really a great way to start the night. The temperature was purfect. The kids had gigantic grill cheese (a nice suggestion from the kitchen) with Pied de Vent slices, a great way to introduce new cheese to kids, "smells funny but tatses great". They had fries with that (the fries were lukewarm as usual, a good lamp would fix that).

My freind had the gravelax that is still served on a very thick pancake like slice, tasted pretty good. I had the rasberry point oysters that are always great, hpwever, prepping was not perfect since I had way too many chinks of "nacre" on the bottom scoop, as I was visiting the kitchen with the kids I noticed a lot of bottom scrapping from the prep man... be gentle, he should get himslef a dozen and test drive his ways.

As main, I had the magret the canard with wild mushroom and my friend had the wild mushroom risotto. The both were set up on the same mushroom samples, the rizotto had a beautiful tangy aftertaste while my dish was a lot more muscular in taste. The duck had a perfect texture, wild/raised taste, not too strong and not too weak (Hmmm lake brome...not).

The bread, I am not certain if made on the spot was atisanal but lacked a slow cold raise and a good levin taste. For desert, the tarte au sucre was way more impressive during the maple season, it was also more pleasing to the eyes on a prior evening. This time, the crust was very tame and ridgid, the filling very good and topped with cream. Last time we had something similar excepot the pie seemed boosted with more maple syrup and the crust was a work of art, it was lifted very tall on each side and served outside of its mold, giving it an uneven, manual look to it, it was alo cooked more.

I had the creme brulee which tasted great but had coagulated a bit too much and served to cold in my opinion.

The coffee was one of the best allongees I did not have in ages ! Impressive.

The agneau de l'isle vertes or salt marsh lamb was on the menu for 48 hours some weeks back, only five animals made it to Montreal, two at PDC... I guess we were lucky last year. We bought some yellow and red tomato sauce that we will compare to ours soon.

The wine suggestions were excellent. Pricing was acceptable, very good produce have a price on the other hand, they could be matched too slightly more refined details. I'm not talking about taking away from the whole big meal big meat approach but maybe a bit more attention to bread desserts preps and sauces would make the perfect meal. This is a challenge in such a small kitchen, it's a challenge to predict the unpredictable. Also, I think the space is not used to the maximum, seeing the oyster man prepping in a small small area over a counter that is empty inside may not be the best use of space, this is especially important if you plan on making a long term effect to the Montreal landscape of restaurant.

[gus_tatory]

thanks for the report, identifiler--

has anyone eaten at 'au pied du cochon' recently? i am supposed to be there on december 4th and wonder what the current menu is like--they have not posted the current menu on the website.

thanks

[identifiler]

My friend went in beginning of November. The menu is pretty much the same, all the base is there. Smaller changes are made based on some special meats or fish available. I might be going on thursday and if I do I will report back.

[carswell]

It appears the site has been updated recently. "Appears" because there's a new loading graphic and because the pages are full of fractured English that I don't recall from previous visits. Here's my choice for the top ten translation gems:

10. "...the young chef has done his de rigueur training pilgrimage to France..."

9. "oysters ... from the Maritimes provinces"

8. "back steak of deer"

7. "miniature frankfurt"

6. "where ... molluscs and crustacean alternate"

5. "...in the fall the menu is full of local harvest perfumes; winter brings back traditional dishes that warms the body and the soul!"

4. "The only smoke allowed is that of salmons and hams"

3. "[APDC is] the creation studio of chef Martin Picard, the virtuoso of spectacular recreations of dishes that stirs comforting and nostalgic memories."

2. "Thus he has no hesitation in using new structuring materials when it allows him to extent the breadth of his work."

And the Number One translation gem is <drum roll>....

1. "china pie"

Wonder who's responsible for this quaint mess. Wonder if Pacard might be open to an exchange of services. "Will revise for food." Hmm...

Edited March 31, 2004 by carswell (log)

[VivreManger]

Wonder who's responsible for this quaint mess. Wonder if Pacard might be open to an exchange of services. "Will revise for food." Hmm...

Can't resist.

He probably will also insist that his name be spelled "Picard".

[VivreManger]

And by the way, two weeks ago when I had the foie gras poutine, the frites were rather limp and greasy, the charcuterie lacked much smoky punch, but the tarte au tomates was excellent and the pudding chomeur was to die for and I probably will.

[carswell]

Wonder who's responsible for this quaint mess. Wonder if Pacard might be open to an exchange of services. "Will revise for food." Hmm...

Can't resist.

He probably will also insist that his name be spelled "Picard".

Thanks so much for pointing that out in public, VM. Can't wait till I can return the favour...

Anyway, do you think Picard uses real china in his pie? I've heard some places cut corners with Corelle.

And what the hell are structuring materials? China, maybe?

[riboflavinjoe]

Oh Im dying. This is da bomb! Its almost as nice as Lychee's menu last summer, Square of Lamb, and Veal Chop of Milk, Soft of Grape, The Pan of Dough of inspiraton according to my humor, etc etc etc. I love stuff like this.

[Lesley C]

Carswell, I think you should contact him and offer your services for a few terrines or something. Sometimes these restaurateurs have no one to point that out or help. Do him a favour, put that language out of its misery!

[VivreManger]

Wonder who's responsible for this quaint mess. Wonder if Pacard might be open to an exchange of services. "Will revise for food." Hmm...

Can't resist.

He probably will also insist that his name be spelled "Picard".

Thanks so much for pointing that out in public, VM. Can't wait till I can return the favour...

I am going to have to be extra careful from now on. Obviously the language & orthography police will be after me to make sure that I mind my Picards and Quenelles.

Edited April 1, 2004 by VivreManger (log)

[identifiler]

Had I seen this sooner I would have told the head waiter I bumped into yesterday at the record store.

[carswell]

Square of Lamb, and Veal Chop of Milk, Soft of Grape, The Pan of Dough of inspiraton according to my humor, etc etc etc.

Wow. That's world-class.

[carswell]

I am going to have to be extra careful from now on. Obviously the language & orthography police will be after me to make sure that I mind my Picards and Quenelles.

You couldn't ask for a better place to watch your PQs...

[carswell]

Carswell, I think you should contact him and offer your services for a few terrines or something. Sometimes these restaurateurs have no one to point that out or help. Do him a favour, put that language out of its misery!

Maybe I'll raise the topic when I finally drop by to pick up some confit de canard (next week, I hope). Then again, maybe I won't. I mean, do I really want to spend time trying to figure out what structuring materials are?

[identifiler]

Carswell, let me know what the price was. When I took out four duck confit orders, I was billed 4 full meal of duck confit. Wasn't a big deal since I basically reheated everything two days later but it did come to something like 4 x 17$. The mash potatoes were to die for.

[rcianci]

Au Pied du Cochon's website has been down for about a month. Also it appears as though they've given up their domain as well. Oh well. I thought it was a fun site though God knows they never, ever updated it. I will sort of miss it. I used to like to log on to the site from time to time. It would remind me of my last visit to the restaurant and the fun I had there.

Though I haven't read any postings about Au Pied du Cochon in a while, I assume it's still there and still great as ever. Does anyone know if they're planning something else in the way of a web presence?

Edited January 2, 2005 by rcianci (log)

[Lesley C]

They're reworking it. Stay tuned.