Eastern Townships

[alvino]

My wife and I are planning to spend 3 - 4 days in August in the Eastern Townships, a region we do not know. We hope to stay in one of the smaller towns or villages. We would appreciate any recommendations as to restaurants, cafes with good coffee, and cheese producers/wineries/cideries to visit.

[food face]

Here I am a foodie in the Eastern Townships. A couple places worth mentioning:

Keet-Baird Smoked Fish

260 Bissell Rd (Fitch Bay)

Stanstead QC, J0B 3E0

819-876-5942
http://poissonfumekeetbaird.com

These lovely people smoke their own product. Both cold and hot smoked. Their product is very fresh and not over smoked. They also smoke their own giant scallops which are buttery and so incredible. Their stuff is cheap too! Each batch sitting about $5-6.

Chez Paul- Everyone LOVES their poutine. I did not love it. Everything was flavourless and curds were shameful considering how close they are from Coaticook cheese factory.

Chez Papie- had a lovely meal there. A solid family restaurant. They make their own smoked ham and preserves. Their sous-marine was amazing. So big and flavourful. Salad dressing was home made too.

[porker]

I concur with the smoked fish place. Stopped into this place a few years ago while staying in Georgeville and visiting the Fetes des Vendages Magog. Friendly folks will show you their small operation as well.

[tdiddy23]

I've heard good things about cafe massawippi in north hatley, it can be booked on opentable. Manoir hovey is a little bit more money but I had a really nice meal there last summer. Either would be a good choice if you wanted an upscale meal i think

[finefoodie55]

I would suggest Auguste in Sherbrooke certainly one of the best restaurants in the Eastern Townships.

[WhoNew]

I would add L'Imperial in Granby, was there last winter,great food & service.

[TheSnowpea]

I'll add Sherbrooke's La Suite, which is a nice BYOB that serves up pleasant fusion fare in the old part of town.

[torontrealais]

If you happen to be in Bromont, the microbrewery Brouemont has some nice beers (tried the "Nutty Brown" most recently, tasted of hazelnuts and slightly of chocolate, though not too viscous or bitter), and amazing burgers and fries. It's quite a casual place, but my husband and I always are well-taken care of there. For a nicer meal, we've had good experiences at Auberge Le Madrigal and Les David et Goliath. Neither were write-home-about meals, but both very pleasant and competent the times we went.

For a non-food activity, Balnea spa is a main reason why we head out to Bromont, really gorgeous, and their food isn't bad at all. After 5 p.m., they have a promo right now where entry + table d'hote is $45, the latter of which comprised a soup (rhutabaga and maple when we went), a main course (we had the raviolis with some kind of cheese and cèpes - the olive oil they drizzled over it was so lovely), and a dessert wine.

[zippypinhead]

Well, this thread couldn't come up at a better time....
Towards the end of June we'll be heading up to Magog for an automotive event. (You'll see more classic Minis than you can believe that weekend)
Looking for restaurant/pub recommendations within 10-20 miles of Hotel Cheriborg.
Me? I'll eat darn near anything but will be traveling with the wife also known as "plain Jane". Her preferences tend towards burgers, pizza, red sauce Italian. Hell, she won't even use dressing on her salad. Like I said, plain Jane.
Thanks in advance.

[sealion]

I stayed there this summer. Right across the road was a little place with lobster rolls, fish and chips, good caeser and garden salad.

[Peaches to Poutine]

Believe me, if you walk down Rue Principale, you will have many options. I just recently went to the microbrewery on the corner and holy cats, was the beer and food good.

[kpzoo]

You didn't mention bakeries, but if you're interested in those too... this bakery in the Eastern Townships might be worth a stop. They made amazing garlic rolls for the Ste-Anne's garlic festival last year (only a once-a-year thing, sadly) but if you're out that way, maybe check it out:

La perle et son boulanger
3746 rue Principale
Dunham, QC
J0E 1M0
450.295.2068

[TheSnowpea]

There's also those freshly-made doughnuts at Dora's

Beignes Dora
805 Principale
Eastman, QC, J0E 1P0
450-297-2828

[Peaches to Poutine]

Where are you going specifically in the Townships? I'll leave it to Modelestrie to give you the thorough rundown of where he and I are located in the Townships (I'm in Sherbrooke; he's in Stanstead).

In Sherbrooke, we have amazing yummy microbreweries--BoqueBiere, Siboire, La Mare au Diable, and The Golden Lion--a really ace avant-gardish chocolatier, a handful of nice restaurants, a couple of interesting vegetarian cafes, and your standard slew of traditional boulangeries.

[porker]

Theres an interactive map here
http://www.easterntownships.org/map
you can click on "Attractions and Activities" then "Vineyards" to pinpoint them (as well as other activities/restaurants/attractions etc etc).
Not quite in the townships, cheesemaker Fritz Kaiser is excellent
http://www.fkaiser.com/