Quebec City

[sfriedlander]

I'm heading up to Quebec City for its 400th anniversary. Are there any cool stores to check out?

[2000dB]

I dont think there's any cool stores over there, but I dont know much about the city. It's a really cool place to spend a few days though, good places to eat and it's a fairly beautiful city.

[jcotteri]

most beautiful city in Canada. Not sure about the shopping though.. guess the Québécois will clear that up for you though. Even though they know how to party i have been hearing the celebrations so far haven't been that good.. great time to go nonetheless

[Fuuma]

No shops to speak of. Just wander around. If you feel like reading something about it H.P. Lovecraft wrote a great review of the city.

[jcotteri]

where are you from fuuma? your french is great

[poshpol]

where are you from fuuma? your french is great

he is fluent both in french and quebecois lol

[Fuuma]

he is fluent both in french and quebecois lol

tabarnack!!!

[jcotteri]

hahaha câlisse

[Histrion]

I go to school in Québec City so I know the places... Let me know what you're looking for in terms of restaurants/bars/activities and I shall help you out.

Here's the basics:

- Shopping: well, let's put it this way: I shop in Montréal and on the web. Québec City is pretty much a wasteland shopping-wise. They don't even have Nudie denim anymore (they were carrying it at Holt Renfrew and Simons a couple of years ago). Holt's has the traditional "high-end" stuff (Burberry, Zegna, Canali, Etro, Boss) and their streetwear blows (mostly Diesel and Modern Amusement). At Simons, there is an area with designer-stuff (they usually carry Gaultier, Costume National, D&G, other eurotrash stuff, Lindeberg, Paul Smith and some unwearable shit). Basically, don't shop here unless you lose your luggages.

- Bars: if you want to go to some clubs, it will pretty much be Le Maurice (the crowd is a bit older), L'Ozone (I don't recommend it at all) and Le Dagobert (never been but its pretty popular here). They are all on Grande-Allée and if you want to go for some clubs, there's no reasons to look elsewhere. The other bars are in random parts of the city where I never go and neither should you. There are some trendy lounges in the Nouveau St-Roch part of the city; I've been to a cocktail party at Le Boudoir and it is a pretty nice place; the food is alright, too. If you want to go for drinks, the classics would be Pub St-Alexandre on St-Jean (best selection of import beers in the city). There are plenty of small bars on St-Jean and crossing streets that are cool to drop by for a pint (Fou-Bar, St-Angèle, tons of places I can't think of right now).

- Food: stick to French/Québecois stuff. Québec City is not multicultural at all and the ethnic food, as a rule of thumb, blows. That's quite unfortunate.

Here's a couple of places you could look into:

Not too expensive:

Le moine échanson: wine bistro on St-Jean, prices are reasonable (appetizers are 6-10 bucks, mains 12-20 and desserts 6, wines by the glass are 6-12 if I remember correctly... its been a while). Seasonal cuisine. The Belgian server/co-owner is very knowledgeable about wine and he is a very cool guy to boot. I've had a good experience there and I'm a picky eater.

Chez Victor: hamburger place with a decent selection of beers. The best burger in Québec City in a landslide. There's a location on St-Jean.

Le Cercle: affordable tapas place, pretty trendy at the moment. Its in the St-Roch part. Sometimes they have DJs later on or expositions. Never been yet, its quite new and I've been away for a while. Some friends invited me there but I couldn't make it.

Le cochon dingue: its an okay bistro, nothing exceptional but its solid and very affordable. Various locations.

High-end:

If you want to spend bigger bucks on food (which you should budget as its one of Québec City's strong suit), then here are a few suggestions:

Le Continental: its not the best, neither is it the most expensive (40-45 pp before wine and taxes can do the trick I'd say), but it is one of the city's quintessential experience. Classical french cuisine, luxuous setting, near Château Frontenac. Its one of the city's institutions.

L'Utopie: arguably the best restaurant in the city right now. If I had to check out only one high-end place, it would most likely be my choice. Either this one or L'Initiale.

Laurie Raphael: very expensive, very gifted chef.

Toast!: the chef had a stint at the French Laundry, I want to check out this place badly.

Saint-Amour: not as expensive as some of the others and one of the city's best.

Things to do:

Check out Robert Lepage's Moulin à image. I'll have to do that myself.

The Louvres exposition at Musée National des Beaux-Arts.

There will be a Bloc Party concert soon enough...

If you have any questions, go ahead. You can also PM me...

-----

We would spell it 'câlisse', not 'chalice'. T'as-tu compris, hostie ('stie)?

[jcotteri]

yes that was rough, i understand, also only a joke

my french is not so good, some Québécois

[sistersuzie]

I miss living there

[Histrion]

yes that was rough, i understand, also only a joke

my french is not so good, some Québécois

Hah, I know... It was a nice try though. My Québécois is quite poor... and I've lived here all my life, so go figure...

[jcotteri]

its a bit of a joke statement. not really used anymore anyway.