In theory, we are approaching spring which brings the maple thaw and the subsequent lust we develop for the sweet free flowing liquid gold that is maple syrup. But by the looks of it, that won’t happen until one more heaping dose of powdery white stuff that will or will not paralyze the city. Luckily I started my maple sugar shack tour early this year and managed to visit a unique one. What do you get when you mix an Italian restaurant and maple syrup season? That’s right an Italian inspired cabane à sucre. I know what you’re thinking, “what does that even mean?” My thoughts exactly when I visited Aux Délices des Sucres, a sugar shack by Les Délices De Rosa located in St-Lin-Laurentides.
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cabane a sucre
We are finally at that time of the year when the spring thaw releases the cold clutch of old man winter’s grip over the city and when we welcome the warm weather by abusing our pancreases into producing more insulin for the litres of maple syrup we ingest. Like clock work, hungry hoards of people rush to make their cabane à sucre reservations to indulge in a Quebecois tradition of jumping in their car, driving 45 mins outside the city, see some animals and fall into a catatonic, sugar induced baked bean and bacon lust coma. Classic sugar shacks are common, but uncommon are the ones located right in the city, especially the ones that offer a unique contemporary spin of this timely maple season tradition.
If you don’t know by now, when it comes to Sugar Shack season, the hottest seat in town (or 45 mins north of town) is none other than the Cabane à Sucre Au Pied de Cochon; established by none other than the culinary genius behind the Pied De Cochon brand, Chef Martin Picard. Word has gone around the block a couple of times that these exclusive reservations are taken explicitly through email through what seems to a lot of people as a lottery system, where the chosen ones humble-brag on Facebook and make a conscious effort to make sure you know they went. As you would imagine, the menu was completely over the top featuring foie gras on top of foie gras layered over confit duck and lobster glazed by blind nuns served to you by strippers carrying balloons on roller-skates… well, not that last part.