Montreal

Prior to opening my restaurant i went to montreal to source out some good artisanal charcuterie. I tell ya, there isn't much going on in Canada, not that i have found anyways. I did come across this booth at the Jean Talon marche. They are called "Les Cochon Tout Ronds" and produce there stuff on Iles de la Madeleine which is on the east coast of Quebec. There stuff is awesome! It smells like porky farmhouse goodness. First producer ive seen who sells there stuff with nice mold on it. i let the people behind me go first as i was looking to try everything before i purchased it. First came the ventrech, which is there cured pork belly. so fatty yet doesn't smell like fridge. Then came the lonzino and coppa. Both very well seasoned and simple. Then came there figatelli, which is a shriveled up piece of salami with ground pork liver and some nice spice. 

As i tasted i was so thrilled to have found this gem that i was "balling" out of control. a dozen of these, 6 of those, 10 of these. then came the proscuitto. tasted it, it wa

s great. so i took one as well. $500 bucks later and i was off to eat at Au Pied de Cochon. 12 courses and me and my fellow cook buddy were stuffed. We left and had to sit on someones porch for 20 minutes before we could walk to the local bar. Our last course was foie gras on pankakes with potato, bacon, and maple syrup. We saw the servers laughing and giggling at us as we waited for our last course. We eventually found out that they havn't really seen anybody eat that much there before and i guess they found it funny we got served our main course and dessert all in one plate.