By Dana McMahan
FoodConnect Louisville
dana@foodconnect.com

I’m writing on the train from Quebec City to Montreal, currently in a sugar-induced stupor. After four days in Quebec, I finally tracked down a sucre tarte – sugar pie – at a Le Petit Cochon Dingue, an artisanale patisserie. I’m not sure why I thought my husband and I both needed a slice to accompany our picnic lunch of baguette sandwiches, but once I started on the luxuriously sweet and rich slice of heaven there was no going back. I try, more or less, to be judicious in my food consumption. But to quote a friend of my husband’s (in reference to a particular milkshake in his case), this pie is worth getting fat for.

A proper sugar pie is made with real maple syrup, though lesser cooks will use brown sugar as a shortcut. But only true maple syrup could infuse the pie with such an achingly luscious sweetness. The flavor reminds me of fresh homemade caramel, cooked perfectly so that the butter and sugar meld together in absolute harmony. The crust is almost an afterthought – it’s easier to let the pie filling melt away without the interference of the crust. In case you can’t tell, I’m in love.

My other new Quebecois favorite is a product of the Nordic weather. Cidre de glace – ice cider – is a delightful drink made from apples left on the tree after the first freeze. This liquid gold is sweet, refreshing and warms the belly on a frozen winter afternoon. I tasted it my first night in the city and made a habit of drinking it in the hotel lobby in the evenings in front of the fireplace. I wish they didn’t make it so easy just to charge things to one’s room. The pleasant glow from the cider blurs away the thought that eventually the tab must be paid.

I enjoyed many other foods in Quebec City – the trip mainly consisted of walking the city waiting to get hungry again – but it’s the sugar pie and ice cider I’ll remember our visit for. Especially if I can’t fit into my clothes when I get home.