With a grin, a man in a flannel shirt, head shaved save for the long braid that whipped as he walked, crossed the bustling dining room and placed a slender wooden board on a table draped with red-and-white gingham. In the center sat two waffles, sandwiching ham, bacon and gooey cheese, which oozed and puddled on the wood. Apple compote lolled on top. Filling as it was, the decadent sandwich was just one of many items that comprised my recent sugar shack brunch at Labonté de la Pomme, a cidery and maple syrup producer an hour west of Montréal. While Vermont's sugaring-season traditions involve snacking on hot dogs, eggs and other goodies poached in simmering sap — or dishing up sugar on snow alongside cakey doughnuts and crisp pickles — Québécois sugar makers have a rich history of offering full meals and boisterous hospitality to those who visit their shacks, known as cabanes à sucre. Sugar shack fare, generally served in banquet halls, tends to be pork-heavy; classic dishes include split pea soup with ham, baked beans with bacon, crispy pig skin, omelettes and mixed meat pies. Maple desserts abound, such as pouding chômeur, a tender cake sopping with syrup. Many locals make a day of it, sticking around for on-site sleigh rides, snowshoe treks and live folk music. Québec is the world's largest producer of maple syrup, and the sweetener's economic and cultural importance shows in the maple fever that sweeps the province each spring, as sugar makers fire up their evaporators and invite guests to dine. Some restaurants specialize in sugar shack fare year-round, manufacturing "snow" used to turn hot syrup into taffy. One such spot, Au Petit Poucet in Val-David — where roaring fireplaces illuminate walls decked with snowshoes and moose heads — feeds as many as 1,000 visitors a day. Recently, there's been both bad and good news about our northern neighbor's sugar shack culture. The pandemic closed many businesses, and where there used to be more than 200 cabanes offering food and cheer to the public, the province now has around 140. The bright side: Even as many continue to offer traditional feasts in their meaty, smoky glory, some have diversified that fare, giving visitors a reason to expand single sugar shack visits into full-blown, multiday tours. Hungry for exploration after a long winter, I wanted to try a little bit of everything… ...read more read less