Traveling Table: Montreal

Au Cinquième Péché French-born chef Benoît Lenglet's buzzy Plateau bistro swells with locals and roving European tourists who want to sample seal meat (which was recently banned by the E.U.). If you're not into seal, there are plenty of other enticing dishes, like bone marrow with seaweed salt ($7), pork loin smoked with vine shoots and cherries ($23) and a crunchy Speculoos cheesecake with endive and honey ($7). 330 rue Mont-Royal Est; 514-286-0123 or aucinquiemepeche.com

Au Pied de Cochon At his perennially packed meat palace, iconoclast chef Martin Picard turns rarely encountered animal parts into haute offal that could tempt even a die-hard vegetarian. You can start by spreading guinea-hen-liver mousse ($5) or eight types of foie gras ($17 to $45) on crackers, but save room for the duck-in-a-can ($31) or the namesake pied de cochon (pig trotter, $20), two famed dishes that have made APC a favorite spot for visiting chefs and food celebs. 536 Duluth Est, 514-281-1114 or restaurantaupieddecochon.ca

Joe Beef Though Frédéric Morin's newest restaurants--McKiernan and the Italian-forward Liverpool House--have helped colonize the city's delightful Little Burgundy neighborhood, the chef's firstborn still packs the biggest punch. Its nine coveted tables (pictured) are full of Montreal's belle monde slurping down oysters and cutting into the restaurant's eponymous boeuf (named after a 19th-century innkeeper). The adroit bartender--who happens to be the drummer for Montreal indie band The Dears--sweetens the deal. 2491 Notre-Dame West; 514-759-6677 or joebeef.ca

Le Club Chasse et Pêche There's something unapologetically masculine about this subterranean Old Port den, which pays subtle homage to Quebec's 17th-century hunting and fishing heritage without mounting taxidermy or anchors on the walls. Plunder tasty catches like grilled octopus with cherry tomatoes, jalapeño and shiso ($14), braised piglet risotto with shaved foie gras ($14) and a double chop of boar with carrots, corn and black garlic ($28). 423 rue St-Claude; 514-861-1112 or leclubchasseetpeche.com