le Saint Amour

The light and airy le Saint Amour Garden Room

Restaurant	le Saint Amour
Address	48, rue Sainte-Ursule Québec, QC G1R 4E2 1 418 694-0667 www.saint-amour.com
Hours	Mon-Friday, 11:30 am - 2:15 pm, 6 pm - 10:30 pm Sat-Sun 5:30pm - 10:30pm
Cuisine	French Canadian
Scotch	Glen Breton Rare

For their final evening in Québec City, the CA Scotch Couple were joined by one of CA Scotch Gent's colleagues for a lovely evening at a restaurant long known for its cuisine, le Saint Amour. Now, CA Scotch Chick had waffled a bit over whether or not to include le Saint Amour on the itinerary. It had recently received mixed reviews on Chowhound, with a couple of individuals posting reports of understaffed service and disappointing food, and others vehemently defending both the food and the service. Once again the decision was made for the CA Scotch Couple when CA Scotch Gent's colleague suggested le Saint Amour for dinner.

Let's just dispense with the question of the service and food right up front. Both were excellent! The CA Scotch Couple and their guest were seated in the light and airy garden room, really one of the most pleasant rooms they have been privileged to dine in. It was staffed in a tag team style, with a concierge and head waiter attending to the patrons' needs but numerous other servers circulating with water, bread, food, and drinks. The staff was attentive without being overbearing or patronizing.

The CA Scotch Couple were back on their foie gras hunt, so CA Scotch Gent ordered seared foie gras, while CA Scotch Chick went with the parfait de foie gras with smoked duck. CA Scotch Gent chose the lamb for his entrée, and CA Scotch Chick opted for the red deer. The seared foie gras was fantastic, perfectly done, rich and tasty. The parfait de foie gras wasn't anything special, and the duck was just a tad tough. However, the red deer was definitely something special. It was a tender, full flavored piece of meat, with a taste unlike anything CA Scotch Chick had experienced before. The lamb was also exceedingly tender and quite excellent.

The highlight of the evening, however, was not the food or the normal aspects of service, but rather an interesting series of exchanges CA Scotch Chick had with one of the waiters. When CA Scotch Chick asked for the whisky menu, the concierge brought it and explained that not all of the whiskys available were on it. The restaurant had a new waiter who was a whisky enthusiast, so there were several interesting whiskys not listed.

Of course, CA Scotch Chick had to meet this whisky enthusiast and check out these interesting whiskys. The concierge called a young looking red headed waiter over. He took CA Scotch Chick to the bar area and showed her some of his finds, among them a blended malt bottled in France, a Canadian Club in a cognac cask, and a whisky produced by the first single malt whisky distillery in North America, the Glenora Inn and Distillery in Nova Scotia. She ordered the Glenora Inn and Distillery's Glen Breton Rare for herself and a more mainstream Glenfiddich 30 for CA Scotch Gent.

Turns out the Glen Breton Rare was pretty raw tasting stuff. CA Scotch Gent described it as alcohol and burnt cork. However, CA Scotch Chick's time with the waiter led to numerous discussions with this interesting individual whenever he made his way to their table. Seems that he had spent a couple of years training in England and had taken the opportunity to learn everything he could about whisky. They discussed their favorite whiskys, the wonder of the Japanese whiskys, the difficulty and fun of living abroad, and the problems of obtaining whisky in Québec, even for a restaurant with a liquor license. It was great fun to share in this young man's enthusiasm for the finest of liquids.

The evening at le Saint Amour was simply delightful. The service was excellent, the setting was lovely, and the food was quite good. It was a fantastic cap to a wonderful week.

Chez Ashton

Chez Ashton

640 Grand Allée E, Québec, QC GR1 2K5

Every once in awhile a dish comes along that changes one's life irrevocably. There the CA Scotch Couple were, traveling along, blissfully unaware that for the last couple of decades a certain Tasty Tidbit even existed, when suddenly they entered Chez Ashton's doors, and the world became both a brighter and a more desperate place. While they had discovered a dish that would make their life infinitely richer (pun intended), they were now doomed to search it out in the four corners of the earth. Oh poutines, where have you been all our lives?

Poutines are the ultimate comfort food, a combination between crispy fries, hot gravy, and cheese curds. Before heading to Québec City, CA Scotch Chick had a couple of reservations regarding poutines: would she like cheese curds (only frame of reference was the nursery rhyme regarding Miss Muffet), and would the gravy make the fries soggy.

The answer to the first was "most definitely!" Cheese curds are incredible – the consistency of really good mozarella but the flavor of cheddar. Their chewy, "squeaky" goodness is a revelation. The answer to the second was "kind of, sort of, but it doesn't matter!" The outside fries retain their crispiness, but when one gets closer to the bottom where the fries have been soaking in the gravy, the dish morphs into something fit to be served at a holiday dinner.

Mmmmm, poutines!

Poutines ("d@*& mess") originated in rural Québec in the 1950's, and as with any truly important discovery, many communities claim to be the birthplace. One can obtain poutines in restaurants throughout Québec (and to a lesser extent the rest of Canada), including fast food chains such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Chez Ashton is also a fast food restaurant, but its poutines are considered to be excellent. And, boy are they ever!

Chez Ashton originated as a push cart in 1969 and morphed into a franchise. It wasn't until the 1970's that they began to offer poutines. There are several establishments scattered around Québec City, the most convenient of which is located right off the main tourist road at 54 cote du Palais. One of the pieces of trivia about this Tasty Tidbit establishment is that the price of poutines tracks the downward pressure of the temperatures. As the temps drop in the winter, so does the amount of money it takes to secure some of this comfort food.

Chez Ashton offers poutines in three sizes: regular (would feed a family of four), mini (the size one would expect in the United States when ordering a large), and bebe (the size of a medium). Their variations on poutines include Poutine, Poutine Saucisses (w/hot dogs added), Dulton (w/ground meat added), Dulton Saucisses (w/ground meat and hot dogs), Galvaude (w/shredded chicken and peas but no cheese curds), Galvaude Fromage (w/shredded chicken, peas, and cheese curds). 

Mini Dulton Saucisse

The CA Scotch Couple opted for minis (thinking they were medium sized) of the Dulton Saucisses (not realizing that Saucisses were hot dogs), and the Galvaude Fromage. Both were very different and excellent. The ground meat of the Dulton is a perfect accompaniment to the rich gravy and cheese curds, while the shredded chicken and peas make for a "lighter" (everything is relative) dining experience. The next time around (and there will be a next time), they plan to ditch the saucisses and downsize to the bebe.

Mini Galvaude Fromage

So, the schedule is smashed; the search for foie gras is off. Time and meals are in short supply, and the CA Scotch Couple will never know when they will get the opportunity for poutines again. The remainder of the trip will be spent alternating between trips to Chez Ashton and thinking about the next trip Chez Ashton. Bon Appétit!

restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens

Establishment	Aux Anciens Canadiens
Address	34, rue Saint-Louis - CP.175 Québec, QC G1R 4P3 1 418 692-1627 www.auxancienscanadiens.qc.ca
Type	Québecois
Single Malt	Caol Ila 12

We need to be clear about one thing, Ladies and Gentlemen. When a restaurant shows up on tours and the wait staff wears funny little outfits, CA Scotch Chick usually turns tail and takes her custom elsewhere. But what is one to do, when a restaurant noted as a tourist establishment just happens to have some of the best foie gras and tarte au sucre (Maple Syrup Pie) in Québec? 

Fortunately, the question was decided for the CA Scotch Couple when one of CA Scotch Gent's colleagues suggested restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens for a dinner rendezvous. They cheerfully put their pretensions aside and joined him, and boy, are they glad they did.

Part of the tourist attraction of restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens is that it is situated in the oldest house in Québec – the Maison Jacquet, and it really is a cool little establishment. With its thick walls and pegged wood, one can easily imagine curling up next to a fire on a cold Québec night with some Québecois comfort food. 

Actually, restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens never felt like a tourist attraction. There were no large loud groups. The clientele were mostly speaking french. Both the gentleman who met the CA Scotch Couple at the door and the waiters who served them wore the outfits one would expect wait staff to wear. It was really quite a pleasant dining atmosphere.

From the beginning the focus was on the foie gras. The CA Scotch Couple fell in love with foie gras while they lived in Belgium. And, yes, CA Scotch Chick is well aware that it is not politically correct to admit it. 

There are a variety of ways to serve foie gras from pâte de foie gras to seared foie gras, to parfait de foie gras, to mousse de foie gras. Aux Anciens Canadiens offered a Duck Foie Gras au Torchon with Toast. Foi gras au torchon is cooked in a towel, and it can be a sublime dish. CA Scotch Chick cheerfully ordered it, while CA Scotch Gent put in a request for the Garlic Escargot "Jean-Michel," with the understanding that they would divvy up the goods when the time came.

Duck Foie Gras au Torchon with Toast (rear)

Garlic Escargot "Jean Michel" (front)

Both dishes exceeded the CA Scotch Couple's wildest expectations. Although the toast offered as the backdrop for the foie gras was a bit pedestrian, the foie gras was on par with any they have had in Belgium or France. It was buttery, subtle, and oh so smooth. Moreover, Aux Anciens Canadiens did not skimp on the serving. The three slabs of foie gras were just right for the table to split. The escargot was presented in a garlic butter sauce that was so good everybody sopped it up with the table bread.

While, the remainder of meal could not maintain the momentum of its stellar beginning, it did have some bright spots. For the main dish, the CA Scotch Couple ordered two versions of the game pies. And, while CA Scotch Gent's Québec Meat Pie lacked flavor and CA Scotch Chick's Lac St- Jean Meat Pie was heavy on the salt, both had an amazing chutney that the waiter called "ketchup" that saved the day. It was crafted out of tomatoes, apples, and a variety of other goodies, and it was fantastic. 

Québec Meat Pie (Chutney on Left)

Lac St-Jean Meat Pie (Chutney in foreground)

The Tarte au Sucre was good but was a bit of a disappointment. CA Scotch Chick can't really describe what it was she thought she would be getting when she read about the maple syrup pie in cream, but what arrived was very much like pecan pie without the pecans. The maple syrup simply took the place of the Karo in the US. It was still good, but it wasn't as sublime as she had hoped – and there was too little of it for an effective table splitting.

CA Scotch Chick was remiss in her duties and did not explore the scotch menu at Aux Anciens Canadiens. If she had had her choice of single malt whiskys to pair with the meal, however, she would have chosen a Caol Ila 12. Its slight smokiness would have made a nice counterpoint to the foie gras, and it would have added a depth to the game pies that was lacking.

In all, restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens was a surprisingly excellent experience. There is even talk between the CA Scotch Couple of going back just for the foie gras. There are lots of adventures on the schedule, however, so we shall just have to see.