Sunday, December 20, 2015

Smoked Meat, Poutine Pleasures

Garnish, garnish, garnish. For many the idea of the classic, simple, uncomplicated grub of Canadian palates just isn’t enough. Poutine has seen its fair share of creative redesigns from the bold and brave restaurateurs determined to reach a new echelon of poutine perfection, and the stomachs eager to gobble it all down. Although the straightforward meat, cheese, gravy combo will always have its place in the kitchens of the greasy spoons, it’s got some stiff competition. Restaurants have upped the ante on the poutine. 

Dunn’s Famous has a rich history and stellar track record of consistently providing savoury smoked meat to the patrons of Montreal for decades. With over 88 years under its belt, the delicatessen has managed to remain an authentic staple in Montreal’s restaurant scene. With a philosophy of “no quick fixes and no cutting corners,” Dunn’s has kept their tradition of stacking the smoked meat as high as they were in 1927 when the franchise was born. And their offerings have since expanded to include another staple of Quebec culture.

Of the numerous South Shore restaurants, Dunn’s Famous, nestled just a stone’s throw away from Montreal, offers an tantalizing spin on poutine that is uniquely famous:

ITALIAN
The poutine that will make you want to call your mama! Here, the classic gravy is replaced with an Italian-inspired meat sauce so delicious, spaghetti will be crying foul.

ALL DRESSED
Think pizza minus the dough. This poutine gives you sautéed mushrooms, onions, peppers, pepperoni and Dunn’s homemade gravy. It’s pizza for when you don’t actually want a pizza.

LE HOT CHICKEN
What came first, the chicken breast or the peas? In addition to these ingredients, the poutine is topped once again with Dunn’s homemade gravy and fresh cheese curds. Handle with care!


BUFFALO
Go head to head with this Dunn’s creation of chicken tenders cloaked in buffalo sauce and topped with shallots. No guarantee you’ll grow buffalo horns, though.

DUNN’S FAMOUS
The namesake of the restaurant, this Quebecoise poutine is packed with the Dunn’s famous smoked meat. It’s a 2-in-1 for the newbies to poutine and to Montreal’s famous smoked meat.

MEXICAN
If you were to weigh all of Dunn’s poutines, this one would take the top spot. You’ve got your fries and seasoned ground beef garnished with banana peppers, shallots, cheddar cheese and sour cream. Chances are by the time you’re done you’ll be in a satisfying food coma.

If these selections just aren’t enough to fulfill your Dunn’s poutine cravings you can always build your own with extra cheese, hot dog, bacon, smoked meat, grilled chicken, ground beef and sautéed onions and mushrooms. 

Montreal’s premier deli doesn’t skirt on ingredients, flavour or polish on the menu. In fact, you can’t get any messier than with poutine and smoked meat. With an array of traditional offerings mixed in with modern dishes, Dunn’s is a restaurant that young and old can enjoy. If you’re ever in the Montreal area, this is one stop you can’t ignore. 

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

If tweets about poutine were motivational posters.

This was in a Buzzfeed post called "Poutinespiration."











Saturday, November 7, 2015

"I Hike for Poutine" t-shirt



I heard from Jill who admits shes obsessed with poutine. She also happens to love hiking! She says, "I feel if I hike I am allowed a poutine. I am the founder of Rocky Mountain High Est. 2015 and have created a I HIKE FOR POUTINE shirt."
She's offered readers of this blog 30% off any order using the discount code POUTINE. Click HERE for the link to this fun t-shirt!
Thanks for the heads up Jill!

Thursday, November 5, 2015

President Choice poutine


At the grocery store the other day I came across the new offerings in the frozen food case from President's Choice, a brand available across Canada in Loblaws, Your Independent Grocer and others. I also think the brand is available at various stores in the U.S.



In the "World of Flavours" gropu there was a pulled beef poutine PIE!!! Goodness, fries and pastry. Whaddya think? Too much of a good thing?

 More looking and there were the "kits" where I suppose there are different pouches and you create your own pulled beef poutine. I imagine you cook up the fries first and add thawed beef and frozen curds...

 Also offered was a butter chicken poutine kit. It seems butter chicken is a popular flavour choice these days....President's Choice makes a butter chicken lasagna that is a best seller (it's terrific!) and this year they created butter chicken spring rolls. But poutine? The jury is out. If any of my faithful readers tries one of these creations, lemme know. I think I'll have to try one myself. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Frisco Fries

My friend Betty, a longtime poutine lover, chimes in on her latest tasting...

Betty needed a poutine fix and happened by Frisco Fries in the Georgetown Marketplace. Betty reports," It was excellent....lots of curds and gravy." She rated it a five out of a possible five curds. Nom, nom, nom! Thanks for the heads up Betty. I'll have to check it out.

Frisco Fries, Georgetown Marketplace, 280 Guelph St., Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 
Tel: 905-873-3119

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Jane and Michael Stern rate poutine

The creme de la creme of finding the best American road food dishes the dirt on poutine. To read more click here.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Poutine Pie, Bacon Crust

Someone put this on my Facebook page the other day from FoodBeast. My stomach hurts just thinking about it. Whaddya think? Too much of a good thing?

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Poutine's going south

Check out what's going on in the good ol' USA! They love our poutine. To read this CNBC post click here.

Friday, June 12, 2015

The Poutine Tornado

You gotta check this out! Step-by-step instructions on how to make this Poutine Tornado. brought to you by the Montreal Blog. Click here to get your instructions. And if you make it before I do, please let me know how it turns out!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Coltivare

 On vacation last week, we headed for Ithaca, NY to Coltivare to try their poutine.

 The restaurant is basically built into a parking garage but despite that,
it's very bright and open.

 We ordered the duck poutine and dug in. Great fries that were nice and crispy. Big problem: See any curds? They were on the bottom, under the fries (?)

We all loved the flavour of the gravy but it lost points for being just too darn thick. Overall, the average of three judges gave it a 3.5 curds out of  a possible five. 

 Am I allowed to show this on a poutine blog? Grilled romaine. We had this as a side as a healthy part of our lunch.

And I'm just throwing this in there...just loved the bathroom signs. Ladies room left, men's to the right and in between? Grant Wood's American Gothic. Thought it was kind of neat.

Coltivare Culinary Center, 235 S. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY 14950
Tel. 617-882-2333

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Poutine for the People

Portland, Oregon has figured it out! Poutine for the People has seven different restaurants involved, creating seven different poutines with partial proceeds going to a cancer centre. Poutine for health! You rock, Portland.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

28 pix of poutine from BuzzFeed

You just gotta see these photos of poutine on the BuzzFeed site. Click here and you'll have an instant craving for poutine...

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Albatross & Co.

Guess who's back with a review. Yep! It's Jack D'Mestiere. Read on... 

Me and Dolly-Girl weren't gettin' wet enough in Stumptown, so we decided to head to Astoria for a good dousing at what Clark & Lewis called the "Dismal Nitch."  "Jack, I hear there's a new eatery over there that's supposed to be pretty darned good. It's called the Albatross, I think." She doesn't get worked up a lot over feedbags so that sure got my attention even though I thought an albatross was some sort of neck wear. "Let's me and you give it a try!"
Found the joint on 14th Street, right downtown. I was thinkin' that it is either a big town or really short blocks, but you aren't readin' this 'cause you want to know about Astoria. We settled in, ordered a couple to take the chill off and had a look at the WhatWeGotForYou. Right off I saw "Poutine" and figured I might give it a try, even though the quotes seemed, well, it is a long way to Chicoutimi...


I asked Missy what was up with it and she said it was "like oyster chowder and fries..." OK, I got that much. I decided to give it a try.


She was pretty much right on the mark with what she had to say. Cookie had taken some of yesterday's soup, made it a little thicker, tossed in some bacon (can't go wrong there), and poured it on some fries. They were crisp enough to hold up to that OK. Then he dropped some smoked oysters into the mix. "What's the matter, Jack?"  "No curds, DG..."  "The oysters are the curds, Jack. That's the reason for the quotes, I guess. Cute!" Might be cute if you ordered it, but I was thinkin' some curds would have been just the touch. "How do you rate it, Jack?"  "Good question. I guess 3.5 Oysters, but no curds means No Curds in my book, Dolly-Girl..."
Albatross, 225 14th St., Astoria, OR 97103
Tel. 503-741-3091

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Waffle Poutine


A great idea for a cold day. From Jen in Prescott. Thanks Jen. Fun! 

  Here is a potato waffle poutine I made the other day.


 Grated potatoes, piled into a waffle iron, cooked to golden outside and tender inside. 

Topped with tiny squares of cheese and  bathed in leftover hot chicken gravy.
Comfort food for a cold, winter day.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Village Voice: Mile End Deli in NY

Check out this video clip about Poutine Week in NYC. Mile End Deli owner Noah Bernamoff talks about growing up in Montreal and eating his first poutine at Lafleur's. Click here to see it.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Bittercreek Alehouse

Another review from Jack D'Mestiere. Keep 'em coming, Jack!
If you are in Boise, Idaho, go to Bittercreek Alehouse for the beer, not the poutine. I couldn't resist. It looked good. It features turkey gravy and chunks of turkey. That was OK. Fries were a little old; perhaps the kitchen thinks "Since we are dumping gravy on them, why not use some fries that have been hanging around?" But the big problem? NDC. No detectable curds. How can I give it any curds for a score of it didn't have any? Melted cheese, yes, but NDC. so, I'm giving it a DNF--Did Not Finish, so no score. I did finish it, though, so it couldn't have been that bad. The BLT looked really top notch, by the way...
Bittercreek Alehouse, 24 North 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702 
Telephone: 208-429-6340
Website: bcrfl.com/