At long last, we have food trucks in Montreal! Well…. we actually had some last year but they couldn’t actually, you know, park somewhere and serve food outside of festivals, so this is closer to the real thing. Regardless, there is much rejoicing around these parts and for me, it means that I have some more trucks to track down this summer. I won’t spend anytime here discussing how this summer’s pilot project works so please just google MTL street food to find out the details in terms of locations, hours and the full list of trucks.
First up, on the opening day of the project, I had the chance to head to Victoria Square to try out Camion Au Pied de Cochon. Now I realize that this will be the 4th post I write about Au Pied de Cochon and its various off spring. The reason is quite simple… I love them that much!
The concept they are going for is salty and sweet. You order in the front and from there, you pick up your items from either the salty window and the sweet window. The menu is an blend of dishes from the Duluth restaurant, the Sugar Shack and some unique truck items.
I went for their big combo option with an added item. That item was a fried duck leg with maple syrup BBQ sauce. Anyone who went to the Sugar Shack this past spring got a taste of this particular item. Nice tangy BBQ on top of some great duck. Nice crispy exterior while still keeping some moistness inside. Great option for only 3$!
The combo box itself contained four times – a maple soda, a foie gras poutine, a “beigne Cochon” and a “beigne sucré”. The maple soda was nice and refreshing with just the right amount of maple syrup flavor to make it sweet but not overbearingly so. This was one of the components of the Whiskey Soda I had up at the Sugar Shack…. Still the best one I have ever had.
Next up, the foie gras poutine – their old restaurant classic and signature dish. If you’ve had it there then you know what to expect. They succeeded in translating perfectly to the food truck. Crisp golden fries, cheese curds, a piece of foie gras and their foie gras gravy – perfect in the restaurant and perfect here.
Now for the new stuff. The “beigne Cochon” really stretches the definition of a doughnut. In reality, this is a smoked meat sandwich where a doughnut is the bun. Yeah…. You read that right… A doughnut bun. Picard and his team are just nuts man. Anyway, this sandwich was amazing. A very generous portion of pork smoked meat, white ham and pork tongue with some mustard sandwiched in between that doughnut. Great combination as the doughnut mimics a sort of brioche bread. Nice and golden with a good crust yet a soft interior. The perfect way to differentiate themselves in this food truck rush.
For the “beigne sucré”, they take the exact same doughnut but then stuff it with a filling of your choice and then add powered sugar. In my case, I went for the rhubarb option. Stuffed to the gills with a cream and rhubarb filling, the doughnut, which had been perfect for a sandwich, became a wonderful sweet treat to cap off the meal.
A very strong entry to the food truck world by the Au Pied de Cochon crew. Keeps in line with their “go big or go home” style of food all while adding some new twists for the truck. Very generous portions at a reasonable deal overall I think. If this is indicative of what we can expect from this generation of Montreal food trucks, we will all be very lucky people.
Cheers!
Camion Au Pied de Cochon
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Ramblings from the Complex Mind of a 30 Something 
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