How many times can you write the word “sugar” in an article before having a hyperglycemia attack? We test the limits every year during maple syrup season.
Sugar season is the time of year when maple sap is harvested to make the famous Canadian syrup. The sap is drawn from the trunks of maple trees while the snow melts all around. It is boiled, sweetened, and turned into the quintessential Canadian maple syrup.
The season also brings with it a heavy dose of nostalgia and the menu that goes with it —and it’s eaten in an overheated room, sitting on a rough wooden bench, surrounded by 18 crying cousins with wet feet. That’s how it is, and it’s wonderful.
To enjoy the experience without leaving Montreal, here is our agenda…
Saturday, March 14: Le Temps des Sucres at Plaza St-Hubert
Tire sur neige, traditional French Canadian music, and if you want to get into the spirit, bring your own flannel shirt… It’s free!
March 18-21: Cabane Panache Festival on Wellington Street
The Cabane Panache festival, which takes place every year along Wellington Street in Verdun, combines sugar shack traditions with a touch of folklore and a dash of modernity.
We can eat pea soup, bacon, anything with maple in it, and we want the wooden taffy sticks from our childhood to cover the inside of our mouths with sugar. The event is co-sponsored by Brasserie Benelux, so there will be beer and everything that goes with it too!
Sunday, March 22: Maple Brunch at Richmond
For a maple syrup brunch, but with the added bonus of crystal glasses and white tablecloths, head to Richmond on Sunday, March 22, and then take a stroll along the Lachine Canal (because after all that sugar, you’ll want to get some fresh air).
To make a reservation, click here!Cabane au Pied de Cochon— available for delivery and takeout.
The Rolls-Royce of sugar shacks is offering a take-out menu. Our recommendation is the Menu des Sucres for 2, which is $94.
You can order a whole maple ham, a shepherd’s pie, maple taffy, apple pie… To make your own Cabane at home.
