Queues de Castor / BeaverTails, Montreal

I arrived in Montreal, for a very quick 2 day business trip, driven by my parents from their home in New Hampshire, since I was visiting them prior.  The plan was to drop me at hotel, get a snack, and for them to get back on the road, with a 3.5 hour drive ahead of them.  I presented a few options to my mom, all the things I wanted to check out, that I thought might appeal to them.  Poutine.  BeaverTails.  Soft serve dips.  Both my mom and dad were very clear.  They wanted the BeaverTails.  Soft serve they have all the time.  They really were not into the idea of poutine.  But fried dough?  That was their style (and, in fact, when I was at their house, they quasi-seriously proposed driving to the nearby town, 35 minutes away, to attend the summer fair, each pay $10 to get in, *just* to get fried dough.  Its a very rare treat for them).

Entrance.

So, to BeaverTails we went, called Queues de Castor in Quebec, because, French.  The location we visited was in Old Town, hence the stone front.

What is a BeaverTail?  Yes, it is just fried dough.  No different from what you find at any fair, beach boardwalk, amusement park, or ballgame concession stand.  The inspiration for the "Snowshoe" desserts I had my first time to Canada, at The Crazy Canuck, in Waterloo.  But not something they have easy access to in rural NH.  And with a name that makes my mom giggle.  "I just want to say I ate a BeaverTail!", she said, several times excitedly.  

BeaverTails is a chain throughout Canada, started in the 1970s in Ottawa, for a fair.  It is now a large franchise, with about 140 locations, mostly throughout Canada, and a few in the US.  BeaverTails does have a few other items on the menu, all things I do like: fries, poutine (of course), and "Beaverdogs", pastry wrapped hot dogs, but from what I can tell, most people don't get those things.  BeaverTails and nothing else.  Or maybe ice cream, from the co-located ZooMoo ice cream parlour, with gelato, hard ice cream, frozen yogurt, and vanilla/chocolate soft serve.

I'll admit I was tempted by the sundae option though, with ice cream base, sauces and other toppings, and, balls of fried dough surrounding them.  I nearly went for that option, but decided I had no reason to believe their soft serve would be any good.  BeaverTails it was.

Trio of BeaverTails: Avalanche (minus Skor), Classic, Apple Cinnamon.

We each ordered one BeaverTail, and sampled each others.  There were only 9 options, no ability to craft your own, nor to add your own toppings.  That was always my favorite thing at the summer fair, loading on the powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, and Bavarian cream to different sections as I pleased.  Here I had to pick just one, and someone else would do it for me.

I really didn't know which to select, as options ranged from very simple cinnamon and sugar to creations with spreads and toppings, and the classic things I grew up with, powdered sugar and Bavarian cream, were not options.  Many had chocolate hazelnut spread or chocolate components, which I didn't opt for, since I didn't want caffeine.  I was fairly tempted by the "Coco Vanil", which is actually the Oreo one, not for the crushed Oreos on top, nor the drizzle of chocolate sauce, but for the vanilla icing.  I saw one kid nearby with it, and it looked melty and tasty, and I considered getting it just without Oreos and chocolate sauce, if they'd let me.  I was also tempted by the "Killaloe Sunries", classic cinnamon and sugar, but also, lemon to boost it up a bit.  But that seemed boring, and I knew my father would go Classic, and share.

They were handed over immediately after I completed payment, topped to order, the pastries fairly fresh, as there was a steady stream of guests.  We each sampled all three, but mostly stuck to our own choices.

All were fine.  Not memorable.  I don't see a reason to return.

Outdoor Seating.

There is no seating inside, but outside are a handful of tables.  It was very windy when we were there, and our napkins, and those of everyone else around us, kept flying away.

Classic: Cinnamon & Sugar.

"A sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar."

My father is a traditional man, and his food choices are not adventurous.  Cinnamon and sugar was all he wanted.  He made a good choice, and my mom admitted she wished she had followed his lead.  It was well coated with cinnamon and sugar.

It also gives the best view of the pastry, oblong, not too thick, not too fried, not bad like the base funnel cake at California's Great America theme park.  Just very basic, very generic, fried dough.  No reason to rave about it, no reason to take a bite and throw it out.  It was what it was.

Apple Cinnamon.

 "Apple pie filling with whole apple slices and caramel sauce."

My mother opted for the one that sounded the least good to me: apple cinnamon.  I expected apple gloop from a can, and, well, that is exactly what it was.  Exactly like my horrible experience being lead astray by the Yelpers who encouraged me to get the Apple Pie version at the funnel cake stand at the Santa Cruz boardwalk.  Lots of goo, soft mushy generic apple slices.  Tons of toppings, very sweet, and totally dominated the pastry.

She was clearly quite disappointed, and tried to be a trooper, saying "it tastes like apple pie ...", and, after sampling it myself, I said, "yeah, like gas station apple pies!", and she sadly said yes.  She didn't finish it, and gave it to my dad, who clearly didn't want it either.

This was the loser of the group.

Avalanche (Minus the Skor®).

"Cheesecake spread, Skor® bits, and caramel sauce."

I went for the "Avalanche", the most crazy sounding, at least by name.  I was seconds away from ordering the Oreo one just for the vanilla icing, and realized that I could get this one without the Skor instead, and still have a creamy sweet white topping, plus caramel.  I was trying for something as close to Bavarian cream as I could get!  The person taking my order didn't seem phased at all by my asking to have the Skor left off (which I only did because of the chocolate, I do love toffee!).

Mine was ... ok.  I'll admit I was fairly sad at first, but it grew on me.

The bare ends and edges gave me a chance to sample the pastry on its own.  I appreciated that was it was decently warm (not super fresh and piping hot, but not cold), and that it really wasn't too oily.  It almost had a hearty taste to it, which surprised me.  It was thin and not super puffy inside nor crispy outside, but it was fine.

The "cheesecake spread" was the part that needed some expectations re-setting before I started liking it.  It didn't taste anything like cheesecake.  It tasted just like sweet frosting.  Which, since I was tempted to get the Oreo one with its vanilla icing, really wasn't a problem.  Sweet frosting, sure.  Generic drizzle of sweet caramel? Sure.  Much like my mother's, it was loaded up with topping, and very sweet.  Once I was ready for sweet, and "generic sweet", I liked it, but it certainly wasn't cheesecake, and it certainly wasn't high quality.

So overall, fine.  I think my favorite of the three, although the cinnamon sugar was a close second, just, totally different.