What to Eat in Quebec City: Squeaky-Curd Poutine, Tourtière, Sugar Shacks & Ice Cider

Traditional Cuisine Québécoise was invented by 17th-century French settlers, fur trappers (coureurs des bois) and lumberjacks to fuel work through snowy winters, combining slow-braised meats, warm spices (cloves, cinnamon, allspice), farm-fresh cheddar curds and pure Quebec Maple Syrup (Quebec produces over 72% of the world's supply of maple syrup).

Four Landmark Québécois Foods & Where to Try Them

1. Authentic Québécois Poutine (The Cheese Curds Must Squeak): invented in rural central Quebec in the late 1950s, real poutine never uses shredded mozzarella. It is made with fresh, unrefrigerated, room-temperature white cheddar cheese curds (fromage en grains) delivered the same morning from the dairy so they squeak (skouik-skouik) against your teeth when topped with hand-cut red-skin fries and hot brown chicken or veal gravy.
   • Where to Eat It: for the classic late-night local diner institution, go to Chez Ashton (on Côte du Palais or Grande Allée); for a gourmet potato-smashed poutine with braised beef or wild mushrooms right beside Château Frontenac, visit Le Chic Shack (15 Fort St); or try microbrewery poutine at Chez Gaston in Lower Town.
2. Tourtière (Spiced Double-Crust Meat Pie), Cretons & Pea Soup: a flaky golden pastry pie filled with minced pork, veal, beef and potatoes seasoned with warm cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, served alongside Soupe aux pois (yellow split-pea and smoked ham-hock soup) and Pâté chinois (Quebec shepherd's pie) at historic spots like Aux Anciens Canadiens (housed inside the oldest house in Quebec City, Maison Jacquet built in 1675; their midday 3-course table d'hôte lunch menu offers great value compared with dinner) or La Bûche.
3. A Traditional 'Sugar Shack' Feast (Cabane à Sucre) & Maple Taffy on Snow: during spring maple-tapping season (March to April), and year-round at places like Érablière du Lac-Beauport or La Sucrerie Blouin on Île d'Orléans, feast on maple-glazed ham, soufflé-like omelette, crispy fried pork rinds (oreilles de crisse), pancakes and Pouding chômeur (warm cake baked in boiling maple cream), finishing by rolling boiling maple syrup onto a trough of packed snow (tire d'érable, also sold year-round on Rue du Petit-Champlain).
4. Boreal Indigenous & New-Nordic Bistronomy: experience modern Quebec forest cuisine (seal, venison, sea buckthorn, wild mushrooms) at Chez Boulay, Bistro Boréal on Rue Saint-Jean, Légende in the Old Port, or La Traite in Wendake.