R. B. wrote: > > Bonjour (getting in practice)! > > My husband and I are hopefully going to Quebec City for 4 days in August > (well, he's definitely going on business and I'm going if my 2 1/2 year old > doesn't self-destruct before then). We have Sat. nite free and want to go > to a really great place for dinner. I won't say cost is not object, but if > it's around $100 US, it's (probably) OK. I've been told that Aux Anciens > Canadiens is great, but I'm not sure what kind of restaurant it is. > Anyway, send us your suggestions, and we'll count the votes! thanks! > > risa > > P.S. My newsreader stinks - please e-mail me at [email removed] or my > husband Bruce at [email removed] (he doesn't get much e-mail). > > Merci! Bon soir! We ate our way through Canada some time ago and stopped at Aux Anciens Canadiens as the lure of having something called ancient Canadian cuisine was too much to pass up. As I recall, we had duck in maple syrup as a costumed server happily dispensed pieces of toast. It was an interesting experience, but perhaps a tad touristy and proof of why ancient Canadian cuisine is not found on the street corners of the world's major cities. Worth it for the experience, but you might continue searching elsewhere for a really great meal... A bientot! David et Marie-Helene
Quebec, Canada
*Best* French Restaurant in Quebec City?
R. B. wrote: >Bonjour (getting in practice)! >My husband and I are hopefully going to Quebec City for 4 days in August >(well, he's definitely going on business and I'm going if my 2 1/2 year old >doesn't self-destruct before then). We have Sat. nite free and want to go >to a really great place for dinner. I won't say cost is not object, but if >it's around $100 US, it's (probably) OK. I've been told that Aux Anciens >Canadiens is great, but I'm not sure what kind of restaurant it is. >Anyway, send us your suggestions, and we'll count the votes! thanks! >risa >P.S. My newsreader stinks - please e-mail me at [email removed] or my >husband Bruce at [email removed] (he doesn't get much e-mail). >Merci! This is a copy of a post I made about a year ago to a similar query -- sorry for not taking the time to handcraft a personalized response! I've been to Quebec City several times in the past few years (but not since last July), and all of these restaurants are long-time "class acts". I would avoid Aux Anciens Canadiens. As another respondent pointed out, the food in "ancient Canada" wasn't worth making the trip for in the first place, and this is a real tourist palace. Bon appetit! Here comes the retread: Le Grand Table de Serge Bruyere - For my money, still the best restaurant in Quebec City (and there are many fine ones). Although some claim that quality has suffered since Serge Bruyere's death (last year, I believe), I feel this restaurant still outclasses everything in the area. The "Discovery Menu" (prix fixe at C$55, a real bargain) was long on seafood and wild game, and breathtakingly good. For the record, the meal consisted of a spicy gazpacho topped with poached scallops, sweetbreads served with shrimp, a black currant sorbet (very effective!), roasted caribou with pinenut jelly, and maple creme brulee. The wine list is excellent, and reasonably priced (not cheap, but not a ridiculous profit magnet as in some restaurants of this genre). If you order a prix fixe dinner, expect to spend between three and four hours there. A La Bastille Chez Bahuaud - The owner-chef is Swiss, and the setting is entirely continental. The prices are about 20% less than at Serge Bruyere, and the preparations make this a strong #2 on my short list. Frankly, the menu is more challenging than Le Grand Table, but I found several items to be lacking in one way or another (e.g. the salmon flan was expertly made but rather bland, and the stuffed veal was inexplicably salty). The decent wine list is sorted by region and contains an icon of each label, but it is handwritten and maddeningly difficult to decipher (we managed to get two good bottles of bordeaux nevertheless). Paris Brest - Another wonderful restaurant, perhaps the best overall value (the night I was there I had sweet rhubarb with rabbit couscous, cream of lettuce soup, escalloped salmon, and white chocolate mousse cake, all of which were excellent, at the table d'hote price of C$19.50). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phil Brown | Atlanta, GA, USA [email removed] -or- [email removed] "TV has made dictatorship impossible but democracy unbearable." - Shimon Peres -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> R. B. wrote: >> >> Bonjour (getting in practice)! >> >> My husband and I are hopefully going to Quebec City for 4 days in August >> (well, he's definitely going on business and I'm going if my 2 1/2 year old >> doesn't self-destruct before then). We have Sat. nite free and want to go >> to a really great place for dinner. I won't say cost is not object, but if >> it's around $100 US, it's (probably) OK. I've been told that Aux Anciens >> Canadiens is great, but I'm not sure what kind of restaurant it is. >> Anyway, send us your suggestions, and we'll count the votes! thanks! >> >> risa >> >> P.S. My newsreader stinks - please e-mail me at [email removed] or my >> husband Bruce at [email removed] (he doesn't get much e-mail). Michelango's in Ste. Foy has my vote! It is pricey-but you can get away with less than $100 if you don't do the entire appetizer, dinner, drinks, and dessert. We did all that, with five glasses of wine and tip and we paid $110-and we did have some of the higher end entrees. The food is MARVELOUS!!! Going back for sure. Went to one-I think it was Cafe de la paix--it was ok. Not bad, just not great. The tables were CRAMMED in there. I could look into the ear of the lady sitting next to me. There are better restaurants. If you're looking for popular-wait until about 8 o'clock and go to the packed ones. If you see a gal standing outside with a menu trying to hustle in customers, don't bother.