Le Hobbit, Québec City, Québec

We came to Québec City after my father's burial and while it is not my usual style, we had done very little to prepare for this leg of the trip--a shame, because the whole idea was to have a little levity after such a somber event. Food and travel have been unifying themes for our family over the years, but I just never got around to getting too deep in the weeds of dinner planning. The thing that we did not really know is that it is hard to get around certain parts of the city, and not having traveled with my mom in about a decade, just how hard it is to get around when you are 90, so how close you can drive and park to a place is a real issue. We opted out of our first choice option because it didn't fit the bill on the later criteria and landed on this. The restaurant is located on Rue St. Jean, one of the oldest and most populat street in Québec City. It is located on the outside of the fortifications so there is less traffic and easier to park--except on the weekends, when the street becomes pedestrian only--luckily there is a public lot just a block away. The restaurant is tucked into a converted house that was built in 1846 and the restaurant is opened since 1970. The link to Tolkien's book is hard to miss, but it really is a traditional French bistro, with an interesting seasonal small plates menu. We chose to share, and while there were hits and misses amongst them, some dishes were very innovative, and we very much enjoyed our meal.