The Lost Art of The Sugar Shack
TWO CENTS | SEP 2, 2020
The Lost Art of the Sugar Shack
Eat like royalty at a cabin in the woods.
Maple season is upon us. It’s a hard thing to imagine this year from the universal vantage point of indoors, but somewhere between baking sourdough and Cuomo primetime, nature quietly did its thing.
I’ve never really been a sugar person, (cookies and tarts are fine and good, but have you tried chicken parm?) That said, when I heard about a “Sugar Shack in the woods” 45 minutes outside of Montreal serving up French-Canadian delicacies, I jumped at the opportunity to make a trip out of it.
Like the name implies, Sugar Shacks are small cabins, or groups of cabins, primarily found in Eastern Canada where sap collected from sugar maple trees in the surrounding forests is boiled into maple syrup. But, not all Sugar Shacks are created equal, and some have converted their maple-processing facilities into full-service restaurants, worthy of a drive (hello, Michelin).
PHOTO BY DANA FRASER
La Cabane d'à côté is a true culinary destination worth driving 375 miles from New York City for. Opened by an affable young chef name Vincent Dion-Lavallée, who cut his teeth as the head chef at au Pied de Cochon, Martin Picard’s famous Montreal establishment, he set out to create an experience that feels like visiting your extremely generous friend’s Arch Digest-worthy cabin in the woods.
After navigating endless GPS woes (in French) to get out of Montreal, we ended up in a clearing in the woods, where a simple wooden sign pointed us to an icy path– the restaurant in the distance, beckoning us with smoke billowing out the chimney akin to a children’s fairy tale.
PHOTO BY DANA FRASER
The sides of the cabin were all glass, with views of the maple tree forest and apple orchards on either side. We walked in at 4pm for the sunset seating (November in Montreal), kicked the snow off our boots and hung our gear in the stone-tiled mudroom. Old school hip hop played on the speakers, natty juice flowed, and guests celebrated après-ski style in the open kitchen, having seemingly been there for hours. Antlers and animal pelts adorned the walls, empty wine bottles lined the windowsills and long, communal farmhouse tables filled the main dining room. We ate off mismatched plates, painted with woodsy flora and fauna. This must be the place.
After learning it was my boyfriend’s birthday, a cheeseboard from the gods was set up in the open kitchen. Sparklers made their way into everyone’s hands and champagne flutes floated amongst the guests. After 8 courses of wintery French-Canadian dishes reimagined, and many maple-based after-dinner drinks in the kitchen, we were word-vomiting to Chef/Owner Vincent about how cool it all was.
As we walked out into the night, the glow from the cabin looked like it could seemingly warm the whole clearing in which it was situated. Blurry-eyed and filled to the gills, we vowed to make it a tradition, or at least a mission, to see as many sugar shacks as possible.
Where to Go & What to Eat
La Cabane d'à Côté
3595 Montée Robillard
St-Benoît de Mirabel, QC
J7N 2S3
What it is: Inventive French-Canadian dishes served in a vibrant and cozy cabin. A tasting menu 8-courses long is $56 per person. (This should be #1 on your list)
What to order:Plogues (small buckwheat pancakes topped with shavings of cold foie gras and maple syrup), Tourtiere (like a French-Canadian pot-pie), and Sugar Pie topped with blueberry and maple-soaked grand-pères, and crème fraiche.
Au Pied de Cochon
11382 Rang de la Fresnière
St-Benoît de Mirabel, QC
J7N 2R9
What it is: The fancier (and pricier) big brother to La Cabane d'à Côté and Au Pied de Cochon (Montreal).
What to order: Foie Gras, Mushroom pie, Duck in a Can, and Pudding al Dulce.
Cabane à Sucre La Pause Sylvestre
58 11e rg de Dudswell
Dudswell, QC
J0B 2L0
What it is: A BYOB, vegetarian Sugar Shack.
What to order: Savory pies (millet, tofu and black bean), omelet, and potatoes from their garden.
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Dana Fraser is Director of Marketing at Social Studies, the modern party rental company revolutionizing entertaining. She is a Momofuku and National Geographic alum, documenting her love of all things food and travel at @dvfraser.
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