Dining

It's difficult to find a bad meal in the Eastern Townships. French culinary delights abound and Americans have the added benefit of a highly favorable exchange rate. The best way to order a meal here is by selecting something from the Table d'hôte, or set menu, which usually includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert, for a fixed price.

Orford
On-mountain, you'll find a pub and a cafeteria (there's seating in several areas on different levels, so finding your friends and family is a bit like playing hide-and-seek).

La Loyaliste at Auberge Estrimont (819-843-1616; $$–$$$) serves excellent regional cuisine in a cozy dining room with a fireplace. If you're a chocoholic, you'll want to order Le Diable, a rich chocolate mousse filled with chocolate sauce—absolutely to die for! We could have eaten here all week, but in the interest of suggesting variety, we forced ourselves to dine elsewhere. Les Jardins at Manoir des Sables (819-847-4747; $$–$$$) also focuses on regional cuisine with a French influence. It sets a sumptuous buffet breakfast as well (try the patè). In town, Restaurant Do (819-843-9570; $$) is a small Vietnamese restaurant serving excellent food with either a fixed-price menu or a la carte in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. Some Continental dishes, such as rack of lamb, are also available. Homemade pates and terrines, local produce and cheeses are on the three- to six-course menu at Aux Jardins Champetre (877-868-0665; 819-868-0665; $$$–$$$$). Bring your own wine to accompany your dinner.

For a much more casual meal, head to Rôtisserie St-Hubert (819-847-3366; $–$$). The kids will be happy in the playroom while you drink their private-label beer (on lees, so it's light and somewhat like champagne), munch on the "teaser appetizers" that allow you to sample two or three of your choice (you must try the spicy tortillas—fried corn tortillas stuffed with spiced jalapeño cream cheese) and indulge in their scrumptious rotisserie chicken.

Bromont
In the base lodge are a cafeteria and a bistro/restaurant.

The elegant Les Quatre Canards at Le Château Bromont (819-534-3433; $$–$$$; below) is a must for dinner. Here you'll find regional cuisine served with a French flair that will simply blow your taste buds away. Try the Le Brome duck, raised at nearby Lac Brome and famous enough to be in demand in the finest restaurants in Europe. The local wines in this region are excellent, we recommend a bottle from L'Orpailleur vineyard. The Château also has a bistro-bar and café-boutique for lighter menus and drinks.

Auberge Le Madrigal (877-534-3588; 450-534-3588; $$$–$$$$) is an excellent French restaurant with a delightful atmosphere of understated elegance. Le Denzan (450-405-6738; $$) serves a vegetarian menu. Le D’lices de la Table (450-534-1646; $$$) is renowned for its gourmet French cuisine.

Boulangerie l’Âme du Pain (450-534-4478; $) is a small bistro/restaurant that sells fresh and pre-made meals, sandwiches and deserts, either to go or to eat in. There’s also a Rôtisserie St-Hubert (450-534-0223; $–$$) here, where the specialties are spit-roasted chicken, ribs and steaks and their own label of beer, and where kids can idle away the time at the play area.

Sutton
Mont Sutton has four cafeterias, two at the summit of lifts and two at the base. Our favorite is Altitude 840 m., where you can have pulled pork and fries in front of a roaring fireplace while you look out at the valley below.

Auberge La Paimpolaise (800-263-3213; 450-538-3213; $$) is a casual restaurant in a Swiss-style chalet that serves yummy regional and European cuisine. It can get very busy since it's at the base of Mont Sutton, but there's a lively après-ski bar for a drink while you're waiting. Auberge des Appalaches (877-533-5799; 450-538-5799; $$) is another casual restaurant that serves fine European cuisine. No wonder, the chef is from Paris. Ask for a table next to a window so you can watch the sunset. Auberge West Brome (450-266-7552; $$–$$$), a rustic turn-of-the-century farmhouse in nearby West Brome, provides an intimate but casual setting for friends and family. Try the West Brome lamb, which is less gamey than that found in the U.S. A wonderful plus, you can choose from five kinds of sauces for your meat or seafood: five pepper, peanut, Thai, satai or Indian.

In the town of Sutton, chefs Karen Anderson and Pierre Tetreault, trained in France and Rome, bring superb French cuisine to Auberge Le St-Amour (888-538-6188; 450-538-6188; $$–$$$). The dining room is decorated with hand-painted reproduction frescos from Impressionist masters.

Owl's Head
There is a cafeteria in the base lodge. The dining room at the Owl's Head Auberge (800-363-3342 or 450-292-3342; $$$) serves a full-course dinner (Table d'hôte) featuring lamb, fish and steaks, a salad bar and desert.

About halfway back towards Mansonville, La Vielle Buche (450-292-0302; $–$$$) has a full restaurant upstairs, serving Quebec and Continental fare, and a pub "gourmet fast food" menu in the bar downstairs, known to locals as "Louie's"; highlights there are the spaghetti night on Thursdays and Sunday two-for-one dinners.

In Mansonville, try Boulangerie Owl's Bread (450-292-3088), a bistro and bakery where you'll find mouth-watering croissants chocolat, truffles and cheeses. Great sandwiches also are available in an adjoining sit-down area. This upscale French bistro has an award-winning chef who prepares exquisite fois gras, duck liver pate and smokes his own salmon. For desert, visit Perkins Bakery (450-292-3160) in Poton.

Dining Legend (Cdn$): $$$$–Entrees $30+; $$$–Entrees $21–29; $$–$10–20; $–less than $10