by Claudia Kwan
FoodConnect Vancouver
claudia@foodconnect.com

I spent a summer in Quebec when I was 17 and I've never forgotten how joie de vivre really does infuse everything there. On every corner you can find people sitting out on a patio, laughing as they have a glass of wine or beer and soak up the sights.

How to compete when there's so much choice out there? In Le Cochon Dingue's case, I suppose you make your establishment stand out in the re-creation of historic 1700s Quebec City by riveting fluorescent bicycles on the exterior of the stone building, and by attaching an wooden sign with a golden pig on it that gives non-French speaking tourists a hint of what the name means. It would probably best be translated as The Crazy Pig.

Looking at the menu it's easy to see how you might go a little crazy. There are a ton of regional specialties that scream fresh, since many items are sourced from the nearby agricultural island of Ile d'Orleans. Combine them with that infamous Gallic charm and I'm hopelessly in love. Take this duck confit for instance. Normally a dish that's served at home in mid to high end restaurants, here it's dished up in a humble old preserve jar, with some simple hearty slices of baguette. It's no less moist and delicious for it than the other more expensive versions I've had.

The charm continues with a cheese strudel served piping hot with cassis laced chutney that cuts through the gooey richness of the Brie. Your eyes aren't fooling you either, that plate is shaped like a pig. I kind of wish they had them for sale as a souvenir because they're so darn cute, and I'm well past the age and level of shamelessness that would allow me to slip one into my purse. I think the brown paper 'tablecloths' are kind of funny too. Are you bracing for people to be so piggish that they'll really spray crumbs everywhere, or is this simply a method to facilitate fast turnover in the tourist season rush?

Thankfully I have company, or I'd never have made it to the farmer's plate, with a fantastic lamb and rosemary sausage, and another made of pork, dished up with skinny fries. Kind of on the salty and indulgent side, but I don't feel too bad since I can inveigle my dining companion into having half and saving me from my gluttonous self. Machiavelli-style, it means I also have room to gobble up sugar pie, another Quebec specialty. It's fresh local blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries with a pie crust underneath, and a hefty dollop of maple sugar cream on top, made from the maple trees that seem to be everywhere here.

It's a feast indeed, but on such a short trip there are other places to try and no time to have another meal here. But on another trip, I'm sure I'll be up to return to Le Cochon Dingue.

Read some of Claudia's other articles about Quebec City through links here.