While waiting for spring, it’s the most important mid-season of the year in Quebec: maple syrup season.Maple 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 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.
For those who don’t want to stray too far from Montreal but still want to eat pea soup while listening to the couple next door argue about who will take care of the kids on Friday night—oh, bliss!— we know of three sugar shacks within an hour’s drive of downtown.
Sucrerie de la Montagne
For the more traditional, we recommend La Sucrerie de la Montagne sugar shack. There are horse-drawn sleigh rides, music like in the good old days, and maple taffy is made in a cauldron—the old-fashioned way.
Pea soup and crispy pork ears are also made according to tradition, and the cabin smells like the forest thawing.
Find out more here!Labonté de la Pomme
Here, it’s an “apple shack,” with cider and a generous helping of Oka cheese (the local specialty) in addition to the obligatory cretons, baked beans, pea soup, and crispy pork ears.
The meal is available in three formats: dining room, on the go, or take-home. You can alsohikeone of their trails, pick your own maple sap, learn more aboutsyrup making, and visit the general store.
For more information, click here!Cabane au Pied de Cochon – Cabane d’à Côté
Martin Picard, the famous Quebec chef from Le Pied de Cochon, runs one of the most renowned sugar shacks in the province— the Rolls Royce of sugar shacks, La Cabane d’à Côté.
On the (fixed) menu arered wine beans, pea soup with foie gras, and maple French toast. This is for the more chic among us, and reservations go very, very quickly.
Find out more here!