We left our hearts in … Québec
Joanne and I just visited Québec City for the first time to do a shoot for What’s Cooking? TV. (Watch for us in November.)
We fell in love with the city. Part of the appeal was the individuals that we met. The welcoming staff at the beautiful Québec Hilton, the City TV crew and their gracious, fun host Richard Cazeau.
La belle cruise
After the shoot, we decided to do a walking tour of la vielle ville (old town). We knew Québec must be special because there were three cruise ships in the port that day (including the gi-normous Queen Mary II).
Walking tours r us
Tours Voir Québec was very friendly and helpful in deciding which tour was the best for us. We decided on their 2 hour walking tour of old Québec and could not have made a better choice. We try to do walking tours of every city that we visit and this was without a doubt the best walking tour we’ve ever been on. Click here to see a slide show of Québec sights.
Joanne starts a new Québec fashion trend
Our guide for the tour was Marie Legroulx and even though it was a bitterly cold day, she brought the culture and history of Québec city to life. (Joanne and I were wearing all the layers we had. Check out the photo above of Joanne. Isn’t she wearing some glamorous mittens? Ten points if you can guess what the resourceful Joanne is actually wearing on her hands.)
Dining tips for Québec
We enjoyed some fabulous meals so we have some fantastic restaurant dining tips to share with you. (Thanks to our bilingual fellow speaker friend Michelle Devlin and What’s Cooking researcher Sarah Williams, who passed on their dining favorites to us.)
The Crazy Pig
Don’t miss The Cochon Dingue. (I still can’t pronounce Dingue right. That’s me in the photo with the crazy pig. I’m on the left.) It has several Cochon restaurant locations and a smaller cafeteria style little crazy pig – Petite Cochon Dinque. We had fisherman’s soup and mussels in sauces to die for. Click here for some mouth watering photos and menu.
Krieghoff Café
On Cartier Street we tried the warm and homey Krieghoff Café for superb vegetable bisque and huge bowls of fine café au lait. (We needed the warm up. Joanne finally removed her “mittens”.)
Graffiti of the best kind
For slightly more upscale dining (but still reasonable) with friendly service we visited le Graffiti (also on Rue Cartier). Joanne had a mouth-watering venison dish. I surprised Joanne by taking a chance and letting our server suggest a complete Table d’hôte selection. Joanne was jealous of all my dishes from the pâté to the sinful dessert. (But I did let her share a little of mine.)
People made the difference
Yes, Québec is a beautiful historical treasure and yes, the dining was a symphony in your mouth, but what made Québec standout was the people. Everyone we met acted like a true host.
Talk of the town
Will we be telling everyone about our experience in Québec? You bet we will. If you want people to rave about you and your organization, take a tip from Québec and put on your host hat to make great customer experiences at all your points of contact.
The host mentality
In our business etiquette and networking dining presentations, we preach about the host mentality and how important it is for business success. It can make you stand out from the crowd and it can make a beautiful city even more memorable. Québec City – Je me souviens!
i love canada
Louise, you’re right. 10 points to you! You caught us red (or should I say green) handed.
lol, those have to be Terry’s green socks!
Hey Terry,
Just read your blog regarding your ever so minor error on the misspelling of the French terminology that you had used. Just wanted to let you know as usual, you handled that like a pro. At any rate might I recommend a little book for that individual who was ever so critical? I read the English version years ago.
Ne pas transpirer les petites choses
Hi Joanne and Terry,
I am enrolled in a post secondary course in ‘Children’s Literature’. We had to read two children’s books ‘The Three Little Kittens’ and ‘Wednesday Is Spaghetti Day’. We were asked to compare and contrast the two books. We were also asked to explain some very important things that a child could learn from these two books. I was stumped for an answer on what a child could learn from these two books. Then I remember seeing your ‘Dining Etiquette Video’. Thanks to you Joanne and Terry, I was able to complete my assignment on time and ended up getting bonus marks for originality. If you remember the story of ‘The Three Little Kittens’, well they ate their pie with their mittens, not the most appropriate thing to do when you are dining, and in ‘Wednesday Is Spaghetti Day’, the dining etiquette of the animals is atrocious. Thanks again.
John B.
I remember The Three Little Kittens but I had to look up Wednesday is Spaghetti Day, It looks like a hoot. I always wondered what cats did when their owners were away – had dinner parties with bad etiquette. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wednesdayisspaghetti/id400661727?mt=8
Thanks for that. It’s observant readers like you who keep us on our toes. Spelling now fixed, I hope. The perfectionist in me cringed at my mistakes. 🙂
Please get the French names spelled properly!
It’s either Le vieux Quebec or la vielle ville – not vieue ville
And the poor restaurant owner, his restaurant is called “Cochon Dingue” not Couchon Dinque!!
Merci beaucoup, for all the great dining and hotel tips, Sarah.
Great post Terry! Glad I could contribute to your great stay in QC.