fter a period in the year when our favourite Quebcoise restaurant (from enRoute's best new of 2002) seemed to be going through a minor funk, we’re happy to report that both food and adventure at Au Pied du Cochon (literally, Pig's Foot) have bounced back in a big way.

The buzzing and oftentimes overcrowded restaurant is further stuffed with wobbly wooden tables, housing a crowd that appears to be Plateau-Mont-Royal's hippest, and no respect low fat diets, for this exciting bistro has character to spare.

The restaurant's chef and owner, Martin Picard, is well known for his way with starters such as onion soup, deep-fried oreilles de Crisse pork rinds, four kinds of crabs (summer only) and foie gras. In fact, there are four foie gras dishes on the menu, from foie gras flan to foie gras poutine - yes, to the fries, the gravy and the cheese, the chef has addedofoie gras! When your waiter sweetly tempts you with the now specialty item made with clever varietals, obey: This is a seriously excellent adult concoction. Crispy skin-on fries, tangled with cheese and gravy, were topped with two chunks of foie gras, a reinvention of Montreal’s signature.

Picard advocates pure old comfort food gustatory indulgence while remaining fiercely committed to Québécois ingredients. Some extol French technique; others toss it out the kitchen window. New favourites like its pork chops – the Pied de Cochon (.5 kilograms) – and the smaller version, the Happy Pig Chop are roasted and served atop a nest of sauerkraut and mushrooms; classic Quebecoise comfort food. Also a deer onglet (hanger steak) with mushroom sauce with beer is a winner.

Try, too, new entrées like shepherd's pie with venison instead of ground beef, or tourtiere made with grain-fed veal from the Charlevoix rather than the traditional ground pork. A big andele to the return of the Pigs Foot!