Cabane au Sucre was a sweet success for J.C. Poirier's St. Lawrence
Credit to Author: Mia Stainsby| Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 19:00:09 +0000
St. Lawrence
Where: 269 Powell Street, Vancouver
When: Open for dinner daily.
More info: stlawrencerestaurant.com, 604-620-3800
On my first Cabane au Sucre dinner, I begin with an idiotic move, throwing back a glass of maple syrup — really delicious but, oops.
I was at St. Lawrence restaurant where chef/owner J.C. Poirier launched the Quebecois tradition. It wasn’t the authentic country sugar shack experience during maple syrup production season but Poirier’s food was miles better than you’d get at the real thing — except perhaps at Martin Picard’s Cabane Au Sucre Pied de Cochon, one of Canada’s best restaurants.
Red and white checkered table cloths covered tables and a server matched with a red plaid shirt. On the table, there were little glasses filled with a dark amber elixir which I thought were aperitifs. But it was maple syrup for amping up the dishes that would come marching out of the kitchen. It was gorgeous artisanal syrup which had been collected in buckets and evaporated over a wood fire, the old-fashioned way, produced by friend of a friend of Poirier.
Such is the allure of this Quebecois tradition that when Poirier launched the Cabane au Sucre it was to be a three-evening event with two seatings — the $125 tickets sold immediately so he added another two nights. Again, poof! Gone in a day. The last one was held on January 23 but watch for it again next January. Sugaring off season is in the spring but Poirier thought January was the best chance for snow and maple syrup snow taffy in Vancouver.
Typically Cabane au Sucre restaurants are informal and family oriented.
“Most often, they serve breakfast — eggs cooked in maple syrup, sausages, ham, beans, nothing fancy, and lots of beer. It’s meant to be fun,” Poirier says.
A cabane au sucre dinner at St. Lawrence, located at 269 Powell Street in Vancouver.
His grandfather, father and brother produce small batches of syrup for family and friends and so for Poirier, it’s nostalgia central and Cabane au Sucre at St. Lawrence, as you can imagine, is a big proud deal for him. Guests power through six courses à la carte and with each of them, there were family-style sides. Added up, there were 15 different dishes.
So! We started with a cocktail, maple oreilles de crisse in a maple syrup can — deep-fried pork rind chips — so very yummy! — and maple dinner rolls. Sliced pickled pork tongue sat atop crostini with maple mustard and pickled shallots.
Maple oreilles de crisse from St. Lawrence, located at 269 Powell Street in Vancouver.
“My grandfather and uncles like their pickled pork tongue with beer,” Poirier says. “They even serve it in taverns.”
The food kept coming — pork sausages in maple syrup; split pea and ham hock soup with a puff pastry roof; beautiful salmon gravlax cured in gin; duck tourtiere with foie gras, onion puree and duck jus. Brussels sprouts with Quebec cheese; baked navy beans with smoked bacon, onion, garlic maple syrup.
“It’s Quebec’s risotto,” Poirier laughs.
Split pea and ham hock soup from St. Lawrence, located at 269 Powell Street in Vancouver.
There was ham pork loin, brined, cooked slowly then rolled in mustard and parsley served with meat balls and veg; gratin savoyard (scalloped potatoes).
For dessert, flamed house-made marshmallows, fudge and pudding chomeur (cake baked in maple syrup).
Oh, not quite done. As well as the cocktail, we had a glass of “blue collar beer” and a ‘Maple Jack’.
“In Quebec, people might have a shot of Jack Daniels,” Poirier says about the latter. “It’s not the best whiskey so I mixed maple syrup and lemon juice with it to make it tasty.”
If you’re thinking that’s a lot of food going down the gullet, yes, quite true. You can control portions by scaling back on the family-style side dishes but seriously, if you want the authentic experience, you’ll leave groaning and unable to breathe.
“Typically, there is a lot of food and there’s a lot of drinking and it’s loud,” says Poirier. “Quebec people are loud and excessive when it comes to food and drinking. It’s festive.”
And a reality check, maple sap running so freely these days thanks to climate change. On Poirier’s father’s property, last year, the season lasted four weeks instead of the usual six to eight weeks.
“It’s probably been happening for a few years but people are really noticing more than ever in the last two years,” he says.