Sampling the Traditional Cuisine of Old Montreal

MONTREAL — “When the early French settlers came to Canada they brought with them their French cooking techniques, but ingredients were scarce,” said our friend Jacline Bergeron, a Montreal resident for 15 years and an authority on its cuisine.

“They had to make do with what they had. That’s how our French-Canadian food evolved.”

We were dining in the most traditional restaurant in Old Montreal, Les Filles du Roy, a 19th-Century house with walls of gray Quebec stone and beamed ceilings.

It was not hard to imagine the setting when ships tied up on the nearby waterfront and merchants eagerly awaited the arrival of their merchandise. The waitress, in 17th-Century costume, brought us a tourtiere , a traditional meat pie.

“In the 1600s there was a bird in this country called the tourte ,” Bergeron said. “It’s extinct now, and today a tourtiere is made with ground pork and beef, potatoes, onions and spices.”

Seasoned With Nutmeg

We tried the meat pie and discovered a delicious mixture of ground beef, nicely seasoned with nutmeg and other spices and encased in a delicate pastry. Side dishes included fresh beets, velvet-smooth mashed potatoes, carrots and snow peas. A ketchup of tomatoes, onions, green peppers and vinegar, slightly sweetened with sugar, was a perfect accompaniment.

Other traditional menu items were rich and hearty--a pig’s-knuckle stew, a huge slice of ham served in a maple syrup sauce and old-fashioned pork and beans.

“The winters were very bitter,” Bergeron said, “so a lot of the old dishes were heavy and substantial.”

Maple syrup was a discovery of the early settlers, and desserts at Les Filles du Roy are shamelessly sweet. One of them, maple syrup dip, is made with chunks of bread soaked in hot maple syrup and doused with heavy cream.

Bread with maple sugar is simply a slice of bread covered in heavy cream and sprinkled with maple sugar. There’s also maple syrup pie and even an egg poached in maple syrup.

Opera Concerts

While the food is heavy, it’s also very good, and the atmosphere and service at Les Filles du Roy makes it one of our favorite restaurants in Old Montreal. The lucky tourist may happen on to a series of opera concerts on Friday evenings throughout the year. Entrees cost $12 to $15 Canadian (about $10-$13 U.S.). Starters and desserts are $3.25-$4.50 Canadian.

Other restaurants in Old Montreal, the city’s crowded quarter of restored buildings from the 19th Century and earlier, offer cuisine that is more typically French. La Mer a Boire, in a building that dates from the 17th Century, has the ambience of a French country cottage.

We sat near the fireplace, which was flanked by firewood stacked nearly to the ceiling, and enjoyed a carrot soup spiced with nutmeg and a traditional French onion soup that was thick with onions and topped by cheese.

St. Lawrence River

For the main course we tried a fillet of dore, a white fish found in the St. Lawrence River. The dore had been sauteed with cucumbers. Fresh beets, sauerkraut and potatoes au gratin completed the course.

Dessert was a light strawberry mousse served with a strawberry coulis and topped with whipped cream. At lunch you can order the suggestion du jour , which includes soup, main course, dessert and coffee for $9.25-$9.95 Canadian. In the evening, entrees are $10-$23.

For breakfast or a light snack, visit La Maison Pierre du Calvet, a gourmet delicatessen in a building that dates from 1725. Sit at one of the tables set in front of the enormous old fireplace and have a cup of coffee and a croissant. Croissants are $1.20, and the shop also has an assortment of cheeses, breads and sausages.

Our favorite dining experience in Old Montreal was an evening at La Maree. Thick stone walls, rich wood paneling and high-backed, brocaded chairs created an atmosphere of elegance and comfort in the 17th-Century house.

Fresh Lobster

We began with a salad of arugula and chives with fresh lobster, scallops and shrimp sauteed in hazelnut oil and butter.

Next came a poached halibut, served with two sauces, a rich butter-and-white-wine reduction and a light, slightly sweet sauce of sorrel and basil. Between courses a granita of black currants and red wine was served in sugar-rimmed glasses.

For the main course we had thinly sliced roast breast of mallard duck served in a red wine sauce. It was served with carefully sculpted carrots, potatoes, zucchini and turnips.

For dessert we chose a sampler plate that included pistachio cake, a chocolate cake with layers of dark chocolate mousse and Gran Marnier, a frozen pistachio mousse and a fresh passion fruit sorbet that evoked memories of the South Pacific.

Recommended: Les Filles du Roy, 415 Bonsecours, (514) 849-3535; La Maison Pierre du Calvet, 401 Rue Bonsecours, (514) 282-1725; La Maree, 404 Place Jacques Cartier, (514) 861-8126; La Mer a Boire, 429 St. Vincent, (514) 397-9610.