Another bite of Charlevoix — where to eat

All the delicious I couldn’t fit into my Toronto Star article

“Now I wouldn’t eat these this late in the day, they’re too cold for me,” said Bruno L'Abbé as he handed me a bag of cheese curds, still warm after being scraped from the whey hours earlier. We were touring Laiterie Charlevoix, Bruno’s family’s fermier, economuseum and store where they make over a dozen cheeses and offer pretty much anything food-related you can buy in the Charlevoix region. 

Back in my car after the tour, I chomped down on the squeakiest cheese curds of my life – the delicious curds felt like rubber in my mouth but milky, salty and oh-so-delicious. A barrage on all the senses in the best kind of way.

Charlevoix was a culinary adventure for all my senses really — as I rubbed culinary lavender between my fingers at Lavande Azulée, drove through the rolling hills like a racecar driver, woke up to the highland cows mooing outside my hotel window and ate the squeakiest cheese curds in the world, I discovered just how special this place was. 

It's so special that my 1000-word Toronto Star article about Charlevoix’s Tasting Trail couldn’t contain even half of it. The Flavour Trail isn’t new — it was established years ago as part of Tourism Charlevoix’s mandate to showcase more than 40 producers — but I spent four days exploring this riverside region tasting has to offer, and much of it was new. A taste of Charlevoix is always in flux, changing with the seasons, and a barrage of new products is amplified by the producers' crafting based on the region's bounty. What I loved most about it was that most producers have no interest in selling beyond Charlevoix – delicious for the people by the people. 

Here’s another taste of what I enjoyed in the Charlevoix region, about an hour’s drive up the Saint-Lawrence River from Quebec City.

Non-alcoholic beers at Le Saint Pub

I wrote about MicroBrasserie Charlevoix and its bustling Le Saint Pub in my article, but there was so much more than local produce. Though Frédérick Tremblay and Caroline Bandulet founded the thriving Baie-Saint-Paul microbrewery in 1998 on the backs of strong Belgian beers, they’ve tapped into new success with low-alcohol brews. Last year it was the award-winning 2.5% Nano-Pils and this year, the 0.5% extra pale ale is already flowing from the microbrew pub’s taps, with canning expected to start by year’s end.  

“We knew low alcohol was important for some of our customers, but now we’ve totally embraced this part of our portfolio… and it is just the beginning,” Bandulet explained to me as we devoured pub favourites on the patio of the pub – think boar burgers, lobster rolls and a variety of poutine options with deliciously dark gravy.

The most interactive plate of food at Les Labours

My stay at Le Germain Hotel & Spa Charlevoix in Baie-Saint-Paul was a highlight of my visit to the region. From the Nordic spa and turndown service to the farm tour with head gardener Virginie and the highland cows, it was a special experience and I can’t wait to return. But it was the dinner at Les Labours and one particular dish that was the cherry on top of a delicious stay. 

After an amuse bouche of pickled and fresh beets from the garden with venison gravlax and creme fraiche, the Foie Gras two ways arrived on a slate platter. I loved the interactive nature of this dish, right on trend with Top Chef this season – it was so fun to swipe the brioche through the coulis, sprinkle the foie gras terrine with salt or top the mousse with pickled rhubarb from the garden. I swiped, I spread, I slathered –  every time creating a different bite, paired with a lovely sparkling wine.

Poutine party in La Malbaie

The breezes of the Saint-Lawrence River cooled me down as I sipped my Orange Crush. I was sitting on the busy patio at Casse-croute Bar Laitier La Goélette in La Malbaie, about 45 minutes up the river from Baie-Saint-Paul, waiting for my number to be called. Lucky 13 was yelled out to on the microphone and I grabbed my precious order from the window – a giant poutine, just for me. 

The darkest of gravies, the squeakiest of curds and the crispiest of fries. A perfect poutine party for one while enjoying the view.

A buzzy balcony dinner at Le Mouton Noir

This was one of the least solo dinners of all solo dinners. I strolled down Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street on a warm summer evening in Baie-Saint-Paul – lined with art galleries and restaurants filled with tourists and locals alike. Upon arriving at Le Mouton Noir’s temporary location (their original riverside location is being renovated after flood damage last year) inside Auberge La Muse I immediately knew I wanted to sit outside on the verandah. 

Alexandra, the manager and my server for the evening, was as charming as the buzzy al fresco scene with couples, groups of friends and families dining on beautiful plates of local produce – I didn’t feel alone for a second. All the way frommy amuse croquette, through the veal tartare fresh from La Marre farm down the road, to my beautiful seafood linguine I soaked up the terroir and the ambience of a fantastic restaurant.

Patio lunches in Baie-Saint-Paul

When I looked up the translation of Le Diapason, the bistro-turned-sandwich shop in Baie-Saint-Paul, I understood its namesake immediately. Appropriately situated at a three-way divergence, with a lovely patio, the upbeat music drowned out the car noise as I munched a sandwich of fresh herby bread, layers of roasted ham, cornichons, mustard and cheese served with fries and greens dressed with a light, punchy sesame vinaigrette.

Ève Soulard opened Le Diapason Bistro épicurien in 2016 with her partner Steve Michel but reopened last year as Le Diapason Boutique Gourmande & Sandwicherie with a new concept and outlook. 

“We wanted to have more of a family life so we decided to switch so we could manage daytime work and be home at night. And to follow people’s new habits. They want to eat fast and less expensive but they want nice options,” says Soulard. Now Le Diapason serves both as a gourmet sandwich shop and meals-to-go and the corner épicerie with local beers, wines and snacks.

Dinner at Faux Bergers

The meal (or should I say experience) I had at Faux Bergers is up there with the best I’ve had. It will probably have its own newsletter as there were about ten beautiful, delicious courses that served Charlevoix’s terroir and devotion to local up on a platter (made of gorgeous local pottery). Aside from the fact it’s located at Famille Migneron, a cheese farm that also makes amazing natural wine, the meal I shared with Tourism Charlevoix’s Mylène was one of my favourites of the trip – the whole restaurant is served in one sitting like a party.  We all started with cocktails and bites on the patio which was their version of a Paper Plane paired with beef tongue. 

Salmon mousse, Artic char escabeche with melon emulsion, bok choy with bonito and tomato with black oyster mushrooms, pork lardons and duck broth were just some of the plates that came out of the open kitchen and described to the dining room in great detail by co-owner and chef Sylvain Dervieux. We learned not only what we were eating, but who grew it and how they did it – all within less than 100 km of the vineyard restaurant.

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