The Merits of Apples, Hops & Cheese in Quebec

Just got back from a trip to Quebec where I entreated the locals to suffer my butchered French. They were very kind and only gagged me once.

Highlight of the trip: A culinary focused jaunt from Montreal to Quebec City with my lovely Francophone buddies, Marco & Eliane. We tasted at every cider house and cheese shop that we could rustle up from Ile d'Orleans to Rougemont. Don't know if you can find any of their cider or brandy out here, but Cidrerie Michel Jodoin is tha bomb. Their brandy was like boozy liquid gold.

Best cheeses included; The hard to find...Le Bleu d'Elizabeth, Le Baluchon, L'anceire 3 year, Fritz Vielilli, Louis D'Or (bit like a nutty Gruyere) and a few you can get in Vancouver; Bleu Benedictine (made by monks), Savagine, find them at Benton Brothers.

If you are in Montreal you must go to Jean Talon Market, this is a massive open air market like Granville Island, but cool and not just for tourists (sorry Vancouver).

And lastly, I must mention the beer, I would need a few months to taste the wide array of microbrews available... the picture are my two favourites. One is a sour red ale fermented in red wine casks and the other is a smooth creamy blonde ale (both in the picture).

Pie Making at Pierre and Christine's in Montreal... Strawberry Rhubarb with iced cider... cause you're in Montreal. Thick steak with herb de provence and potatoes cooked in duck fat! A little 1974 Armagnac (Pierre's birth year bottle) to finish the night off. C'est Parfait! Thanks guys!!!!