Canadian/Quebequois Foods

I am currently traveling in Montreal for the Waterhouse art exhibit. This is also a chance for me to sample the French influenced foods of Quebec province. So far I've consumed:

Quiche (tasted like microwave oven...)
Octopus and lentil salad (marvelous)
Sorrel soup (which I didn't even know what Sorrel was)
Freshly baked french bread (perfect crust to soft interior ratio)
Poutine (was amazingly non-greasy given the fries drenched in gravy factor)
Terrine au canard et orange (Pate is the perfect combo of fat and meat)

And some other foods I might have forgotten.

My impression of Quebec is that it is a lot like France in mindset and approach to food. The people eat well and the produce they buy and utilize in the foods are amazing. We visited the Marche Atwater, a local farmers and gourmet foods market and were blown away by its cleaniless and the quality of foods available. I sampled the terrine there, which was creamy and savory with a touch of citrus. It was my breakfast and was immensely satisfying!

The gleaming fruits and vegetables and GIANT turnips at the farmers market were also found in the regular big chain super market. Prices there were very comparable to US prices, and the quality of meats seem far superior. Case in point the pork tenderloin. In the US, pork tenderloin is sold in large hunks which contain both the actualy tenderloin and all the surrounding meat. In Montreal, the tenderloin is a thin strip of extremely soft meat sold in a vacuum package. The meat's superior softness really makes it worthy of being called "tenderloin," and the US version really pales by comparison. I cannot imagine how delicious the tenderloin tastes when sliced and the lightly grilled...

The supermarket there also carried exotic cuts of meat such as milk fed veal and horsemeat (I was a little freaked out by that one). There was also plenty of liver from chicken, pork and beef variety all located right next to the regular cuts. In the US you'd have to ask the butcher for pork and beef liver if you wanted some.

The foods in Montreal are also very international. In fast food courts at the mall, foods ranged from Thai to Vietnamese to Mediterranean. Usually you're lucky to find just one Panda Express in a Chicago food court. Never will you encounter other Asian varieties.

Tomorrow is my last day here and I want to eat at the local Chinatown. I've heard very good things about the restaurants and can't wait to try it!