Paddy's Bar & Grill

Our favourite poutine reviewer, Jack D'Mestiere has been out and about, and tracked down another beauty in beautiful downtown Portland. Read on...

I met up with a fella that needed meeting up with at a joint in Stumptown called Paddy’s. Paddy’s fancies itself an Irish pub and claims to be the oldest in town. Frankly, it doesn’t seem that Irish to me—no peat fire, baseball game on a big screen, I could understand what the barkeeper said—but they do have a lot of green signs and their, what Dolly-girl would call, “on-line presence” has some Irishy looking things on it.

I slid into a seat and ordered a pint—no, I’ll pass on the Guinness and Smithwick’s and go with a good IPA from Bend, Oregon. Harumph, what’s this small glass about? That doesn’t like like an Irish beer glass—it’s only 4/5ths of a real pint… 

I perused the What’s-to-Eat and low and behold... Irish Poutine?

Well, how could I not try that? After all, don’t I owe it to Poutine Chronicles to eat it if it’s right there staring me in the face? I sure do. The server took our order—she gave me the usual look when I pronounced it pou-TIN, so I’m assuming she calls se-LIN se-LEAN. Oh well, we’re a long way from Charlemagne on the Rivière des Prairies…What’s this? Céline won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin and now I’m ordering poutine in an Irish pub? I guess this was made to be.

The order was back in a flash. Generally speaking, it doesn’t seem like it should take too long to throw together a poutine and the fella I was meeting ordered one too, so quick as a tin whistle, there it was.

Let’s do it by the numbers: Fries—crispy on the outside, hot and tender inside. Gravy—good onion flavor (as advertised), salty, and not too much of it. It coated the fries but didn’t saturate them. Curds—didn’t squeak, but they were tasty, hot, and only partially melted. Corned beef—sure, it was yesterday’s sandwich, and it was probably not the same as mentioned in Aislinge Meic Con Glinne (which actually does mention cheese curds!), but it stood in for bacon, which, according to the fount of all knowledge (including whether it’s fount or font…), Wikipedia, is what Irish immigrants substituted for corned beef for in the US of A. Maybe Canada too. Where was I? Oh, the rating…

Amazingly, I’ll put it a squeak short of 5 curds, so 4.5 curds for Irish Poutine at Paddy’s Bar & Grill in Portland, Oregon. Nine bucks does seem a little pricey though...

Paddy's Bar and Grill, 65 SW Yamhill St., Portland, OR 97204
Tel: 503-224-5626

Website: paddys.com

MarKum Inn

Ooh, it's been a while since we've had a review from Jack D'Mestiere.
It's been waaay too long Jack. Welcome back!

Me and Dolly-girl were down the valley on a Sunday for a meet-up with Beluga Slim. Yes, there was some beer drunk and some baseball talked. About 5, Dolly-girl gives me the time-to-go shot through the wave, so we saddled up and headed home. There was an empty spot in our bellies so before we left, we got a little feed-bag advice from a local: “Try the MarKum Inn & Muddy Boots Bar. They put a lot in front of you and it can’t be beat."

About 20 minutes later, we slid into a booth and looked at the Whaddaya-gots. Right away something called The Horseshoe was appealing to me just because, well, what could sound more appealing than eating a horseshoe? Dolly-girl wasn’t having it.

I looked at the menu. It mentioned four ingredients I liked: meatloaf, fries, cheese sauce, and cardiologist. “Jack, you’ll be heading in for a ream-n-clean on those stents if you keep eating like this!” “Dolly-girl, this looks to me like Cattleman’s Poutine—I owe it to Rouge to write this one up, and I can’t write it up if I don’t try it!” If those green eyes could talk, well, I’ll just leave it at that.

I ordered it. I have to tell you, it’s going to get zero curds, because it had no curds. But, when the Cookie-in-the-Kitchen decided to take a short-cut and combine the cheese and gravy, well, I have to give him some sort of credit. I dug in.

The fries were crisp right to the very end. The cheesy gravy was salty and cheesy. Of course it didn’t squeak ‘cause there weren’t any curds, but it was pretty tasty. The meatloaf? Well, I found out what they did with Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday’s leftover meatloaf—they put it in The Horseshoe on Sunday. I presume they have some sort of moving average thing going where they pour cheesy gravy over the meatloaf that's going to leave the kitchen one way or another and call it The Horseshoe. 

I guess it’s time for the curds to hit the fries. I give it 3.5 curds* where the asterisk leaves it out of the record book because of the whole no curd thing. What pulled it down? Wednesday’s meatloaf that should have left the kitchen through the other door...

MarKum Inn, 36903 OR-213, Mt. Angel, OR 97362 

Tel: 503-829-6006

Website: markuminn.com

"Thanks-For-Giving" Poutine!

Jack is back! Yep, it's been a while in coming, but our most loyal contributor
 Jack D'Mestiere is back with a doozie! Please read on...

One of my favorite joints--goes by the name of Radio Room, a moniker they come by honestly as the place is decorated with radios--is helping a fund raiser this week for Providence Cancer Research Center. They call the fête Poutine-For-The-People. Sixteen different hash houses join in.
Now I like poutine as much as the next guy but 16 in a week would be too much, not to mention the 32 beers that would find a way to join in...

RayRo, as me and Dolly-girl like to call it, conjured up a Thanks-for-Giving poutine. Fries, of course. Cranberry curds--no idea where they came from. Turkey. Turkey gravy. Bread stuffing for good measure. And some green onions. The only things missing are green bean casserole and Aunt Vieve's ambrosia!

Well, I have to say that the bread stuffing, while it gussied the dish up and made it look like the third Thursday in November--or the second Monday in October for certain neighbours to the north--wasn't necessary. The curds didn't squeak so that was disappointing. The gravy was scrumptious and the turkey was cooked over a grill and tasted like the real thing, which it is. The fries held up nicely. 
So, what's not to like. No squeak. I'll deduct a curd for that. 4 curds. If you've a mind to give them credit for the fundraiser, add a half curd!
4-4 1/2

Radio Room, 1101 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211

Phone: 503-287-2346.

Website: radioroompdx.com

Red Star Tavern

Our reviewer Jack D'Mestiere was none too pleased when he spied this poutine.
His review is brief.

If you would like to go to the only place that serves poutine where the cook apparently has never had or seen poutine, this is your place...

His rating? You guessed it. 0 out of a possible 0 curds.

I mean, come one, how could you even call this poutine?

Red Star Tavern, 503 SW Alder St., Portland, OR 97204
Tel: 503-222-0005

Website: redstartavern.com

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.

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

Radio Room

Jack is back! It's been a while since his last review and we've been dying to hear more from him...so at last, here's his latest review.

So me and Dolly-girl, I mean Fiora, decided seeing how it was Mothers' Day and all that, would head on over to one of our favorite joints and tie on the feedbag. And maybe, just maybe, have a couple or three beers. Se we perambulated over to Radio Room just in time to hit the happy hour. It was a shocker to me to see that the menu had changed and even more of a shake-my-tree to see that poutine was now on the card. What a great day. I ordered it. Fiora shook her head and mumbled something about how she thought I was watching my waist and she didn't exactly see how this fit with that. Well, it doesn't, but who can resist an untried poutine?

The bowl arrived and I'll just issue this one alert right now. THIS IS TOO MUCH POUTINE FOR ONE HUMAN TO CONSUME although this human did. Bring help.

It looked good--I guess that means the presentation was pleasing. The menu described fries, covered with vegetarian gravy (a minus in my book), curds (of course), bacon (a plus in my book), a poached egg (plus again), and scallions (nice touch). First the negatives. The fries should have been crispier to slow the absorption of the gravy and the curds should squeak. The tastes, including a rich gravy and bacon, more than made up for that. The egg was a perfect topper (but then I like poached eggs) and turns this poutine into a perfectly good bacon, egg, and potato breakfast too!.

So Radio Room, the score: 4 curds. I might be talked into adding a half a bonus curd for a bowl that clearly tops 1,000 calories, but 4 is a really good score for me. Crisp up those fries and you're headed to a 5...

If you're looking for poutine in Portland, and you like poached eggs (and beer, and a fun spot), head to the Radio Room and tell them Jack sent you...

Radio Room, 1101 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211

Phone: 513-287-2346

Email: info@radionroompdx.com

Website: RadioRoomPDX.com

15th Avenue Hophouse

Jack's back with another review from Oregon! Thanks Jack!

The 15th Avenue Hophouse http://oregonhophouse.com/ is a great place to get a beer, particularly an Oregon microbrew. But, it turns out to be a great place to get a little taste of Québec, as well. The poutine on the menu is worth the trip, even if you aren't after great beer.

It's full-holiday season in Portland, so we were all in a festive mood. I went to this pub prepared to have a burger, when, What to my wondering eyes should appear, but poutine on the menu among all the beers...OK, I'll knock it off.

I was skeptical given the menu description: a vegetarian gravy and cheddar curds. What gravy can't use some meat drippings, and generally, "curds" is good enough. Plus, I live a long way from the mothership of poutine. On top of that, I am fighting the "battle of the bulge" so poutine is an unusual treat and I want it to be great. But, it's the holiday season, so what the hey? I ordered the wasabi deviled eggs as a backup.

The small order arrived with more than enough for one person (although this person managed to finish it). The fries were crispy and stood up to the gravy to the very end. The gravy could have been a bit saltier, but, it's easy to add a little. And, even though the gravy was missing a key ingredient in my book--meat--it was very tasty. The curds were yellow, I suppose to emphasize the "cheddar" part, and tasty, however, there was no squeak. I'm here to tell you that if those curds had spoken, they would have said "FIVE CURDS!"

But, I have to withhold a half curd for squeak. I'll add a quarter since it came on a nicely heated china plate. So, 15th Avenue Hophouse...drum roll please...4.75 curds out of 5. It will stand up to almost every poutine I've had in Québec. Now, if the waitress can just learn to pronounce it like Richard... 15th Avenue Hophouse, 1517 NE Brazee, Portland, OR Website: oregonhophouse.com

Block 15

Another review from the incomparable Jack D'Mestiere, poutine aficionado.
Block 15 is a brew pub in Corvallis, Oregon that has developed a reputation for brewing great beer, serving an excellent pub fare, and bringing good (and free) music to the little burg in the Heart of the Valley.


This writer joined his son and a friend there recently for lunch and was rewarded with a fine seasonal ale--the 12 Hops of Christmas--and an excellent poutine. If you'd like to read Jack's original posting, click here to head there.


First thing first: the only flaw with Block 15 poutine is the pronunciation guide in the menu--"poo-TAIN"? What's with that? I asked the waitress, who happened to hail from Halifax--not the home of poutine, but she can see it from her house...She agreed that those in the know know it's "tin" and not "tain". She agreed with the Newshawk: "If you call Celine Ce-LEAN, you call poutine poo-TEEN."


The poutine arrived piping hot on china--not this reviewer's favorite presentation, but I think you'll agree that it looks good even before fry one passes one's lips. Block 15 starts with beer battered fries--a light coating of batter that one would hardly notice makes the fries fry up crispy without being burned. It turns out it also lets the fries stand up to the gravy; they were not gravy-soaked until the very end. The gravy was the real thing and one suspects it's made mostly for the meatloaf they serve, also quite tasty, by the way. It had the right amount of salt--say about a 10 to 15 point temporary elevation in blood pressure...The curds were, well, curds. Not a heck of a lot of taste, but one doesn't have to hunt for them and they were melted just right in this reviewer's opinion--gooey while still a little stringy.


So, the rating. Now, remember, this is coming from south of one border but, drum roll please...Block 15 gets a solid 4 Curds and we are tempted to go a half-curd higher. Yes, 4 and 1/2 Curds! So, if you are driving down I-5 on your way south for the winter or north for the summer, Block 15 is worth the 10 mile drive from the interstate. Keep the driver away from the beer, though!

Wait, you say, what about the opinion of that Canadian waitress? Since moving to Corvallis it seems she's developed an allergy to wheat, hence gravy, and hasn't given it a try. "It looks like the real thing, eh?" was her comment.

Oh, and beer, particularly a good hoppy ale, is a great way to wash a poutine down!

Block 15, 300 SW Jefferson, Corvallis, OR 97333
Phone 541-758-2077
Hours: Sunday-Wednesday 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. - 1 a.m
Click here to read more about Block 15.