La Patate du Coin

 It was the first really warm day of spring and we decided to celebrate...

 ...time to have our first poutine of the year, eaten in the great outdoors.

 We stopped in on our way to a sculpture show...and were surprised to see brochures advertising our destination...with all the condiments!

 We decided to share a medium poutine. It was absolutely fabulous!

 Hot gravy, not too salty. Squeeky, fresh curds. Well cooked and yummy fries. A definite 5 out of 5 curds. Just a delightful poutine!

They had a wonderful spot to eat with several clean picnic tables and even a grackle or two looking for a handout. Well done La Patate du Coin!

La Patate du Coin, 1299 Labrosse, St-Eugene, Ontario K0B 1P0
Phone: 613-674-1616

Jimmy Fallon eating poutine!

Saw this on my Facebook feed today. Apparently Mr. Fallon is a Rangers fan...but as a nod to the Canadiens, is having a poutine? Hmmm. Go Habs Go!

Willy's Wagon

Thanks to ace reporter Scott for his review from Almonte, Ontario.

Tucked away, just off the corner of Ottawa and Martin streets, you’ll enjoy tucking in to a serving of their poutine – a mound of golden brown fries, lathered in delicious gravy, and complemented by a generous sprinkling of curd – of course – throughout.

   It’s definitely deserving of a five-curd rating (no, I’m not being too laudatory, trust me).

   And if you don’t believe me, check out the look on the face of Rhea, seen here with Scott as they sample a family-sized order.

   Rhea’s mom, and Scott’s girlfriend, Sherly, who snapped this pic and whose idea it was to visit Willy’s during a Victoria Day excursion to Almonte, is absent from the image but, according to Scott, deserves a five-curd rating of her own for suggesting the lunch-time stopover. Rhea was very impressed with the poutine, particularly its mouth-watering gravy – nary a drop of which remained once the towels, or serviettes, were thrown in – which she eagerly scooped out with her fingers as the fries and curd quickly disappeared.

Willy's Wagon, 23 Martin St. N., Almonte, ON K0A 1A0

Phone: 613-253-6830

Poutine: Rich in Fibre?

Who knew? (Seen in Montreal by Natalie Rowe. Thanks for the heads up Nat!)

Huffington Post Poutine

From the Huffington Post: Click HERE for the link.

Big Russ' Chipstand

A new local place for poutine. Can't wait to go try it. Their poutine looks terrific! 

Here's the e-mail I got:

We are located in St.Regis, Quebec on the Akwesasne Reserve. You have to go through American Customs and head towards the casino and turn left at traffic light in Hogansburg, NY. Head 2 miles down into St.Regis/there is no customs to go through and you're back in Quebec. I've been open for 2 years in June 2014.

My potatoes are from Quebec and my curds are made in NY and I've found them better than St. Albert's curds.Check out my FB page Big Russ' Chipstand or friend request me Russell King if you have Facebook. I have been to chipstands,restaurants and tried poutines everywhere around me like Cornwall, Alexandria Ottawa Montreal and think my poutine rates up there!! Thank you for taking time to read this and hopefully I can get me on the map 

Big Russ Chipstand, 71 Angus Thomas Street, St. Regis, Quebec
Tel: 613-575-2857 
Email: King.russell@hotmail.com

Grandma's Kitchen

A friend and I went out to try Grandma's Kitchen which opened recently in Alexandria, Ontario. She ordered a side of poutine and it was pretty darn good. Hot gravy, crispy fries and nice, fresh curds. Rating? Likely a 4 out of 5. Nicely done, Grandma!

Grandma's Kitchen 79 Main St. N., Alexandria, ON
Tel: 613-525-4949

OddSeoul

Thanks to Sarah for a review of our first ever SQUASH poutine!

OddSeoul is a hole in the wall in downtown Toronto. We'd walked past is many times without noticing it. Great post-bar eats, all of its dishes are in snack portions, great for sharing. Seems to have a Korean/Asian influence, as per the name.
The poutine was very fresh tasting, surprisingly! The gravy was light and it was topped with green onions, tomatoes, cilantro and ginger, I believe. So it was a sort of Spanish take on poutine. Very unusual. Most unusual? Instead of fries they used squash which was cut into bite-sized pieces and was soft and flavourful. Loved it!!

OddSeoul, 90 Ossington, Toronto, ON M6J 2Y7

No website but click HERE for a review in Toronto Life.

As if...

Trader Joe's Poutine!

I guess you know poutine has really made it when Trader Joe's, the amazing American grocery store, makes poutine. Frozen poutine! My cousin who lives in  the city of angels sent me this image and said, "Mediocre; the curds were too squeaky." I myself love a good squeaky curd, so I'll just have to head south and try it myself. If anyone else has give this a try, please leave a comment and lemme know.

Poutine-flavoured potato chips

 President's Choice has come out with poutine flavoured chips.

 We figured we'd have to give them a try.

 Not sure they were "mouth watering." They were pretty good...

...but after much discussion we felt that these chips were no match for the real thing.

However...kudos for giving it a go, President's Choice!

Swedish Chef Makes Poutine

Best Folk Art in Town! Poutine? Not so much...

 On a recent trip to Muskoka, ON, we decided to stop at a chip truck in Huntsville
and try their poutine.

 The big temptation was the folk art. 

 All her own paintings of the food she was cooking up in her little hut.

How could we resist  this? With real curd!

 Unfortunately, the poutine was just not as good as the painting. No curds but shredded cheese instead. Crispy fries. Okay gravy. Extra point for using recyclable container but not a huge winner taste wise. About a two out of a possible five curds.
But...I LOVED the folk art!

Farmhouse Tavern

 We went for brunch at the Farmhouse Tavern in Toronto and we sat outside on the patio.

 Inside there are tractor seats at the counter. Authentic farm stuff everywhere.

 Outside it was a busy, sunny, brunchy spot. I HAD to try the Hangover Poutine.

What can I say? A real knock out! It was a ragout with potato chunks vs. fries and topped with a seared foie gras. Really over the top and almost impossible to rate on my regular curd scale. Totally amazing and in a class all its own.
How about a 5 on the "high-end" curd scale? 

Yah! That's it.

Farmhouse Tavern, 1627 Dupont St., Toronto, ON
Text reservations: 416-561-9114 or email dupontfarmhouse@gmail.com

www.farmhousetavern.tumblr.com

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

The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro

Another great review from Jen. Thanks Jen!

We were at The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro  in Ottawa recently and took advantage of a coupon we had and ordered their "Lipstick on a Pig" poutine. It is pulled pork and BBQ sauce on your traditional poutine. At The Works you always get plenty of food for your money and the burgers are so totally worth the wait! This poutine did not disappoint either. Generous to the bottom with gravy and curds, the pulled pork and BBQ sauce added a nice touch and depth of flavour to the experience. They make great fries and it was warm and toasty to the last bite. 

We rated it a 4.5 out of five curds. It was a nice treat to share with plenty for two people.

The Works Gourmet Buger Bistro has various locations across Canada, mostly in Ontario.

If you'd like to see where they are located, click here.

 

Two Rivers Brewing Company

A review from PJ in Pennsylvania. Thanks!

Yes, the poutine was very good and very rich. I mean, short ribs, gravy, cheese curds, French fries. I ate everything but most of the fries. What it seemed like to me was pot roast beef. It had that type of flavor. Really, what's not to like?  I was always put off by the term "cheese curd" but it's just melted cheese to me. 

The restaurant says that their influence is New Orleans, so I guess they do poutine because of the French influence, nothing to do with Canada. (Note: Uh, poutine from New Orleans...now...come on Two Rivers!)

Two Rivers Brewing Company, 542 Northampton St., Easton, PA 18042
Tel. 610-829-1131
Website: Two Rivers Brewing Company

Poutine Soda?

Okay, what the heck do you think this tastes like? Anyone?

Sign of the Times...

Seen in Alexandria, Ontario today. Does this inspire you to order a poutine?

Why Can't America Get Poutine Right?

Here's an interesting read from the website BuzzFeed entitled
"Why Can't America Get Poutine Right?"
It's worth a read. Click here for the link.

Talea Bistro Urbain

This just in from my friend Natalie who was in Quebec City. 

Here's her poutine review. Thanks Nat!

We tried out the smoked meat poutine at Talea in Quebec City and it was very delicious! The restaurant decor is lovely, featuring exposed brick, birch trees and other things that make you feel like you're in a comfy ski chalet atmosphere.

 The poutine came served in a metal bowl on a wooden board, with a tasty 

and healthful side salad.

The "fries" were fat, oven-baked hand-cut morsels of tuberous tenderness. They were blanketed with a yummy gravy, fresh squeaky curds 

 and ample amounts of authentic smoked meat.

 My hubby Gordon would have liked more curds in the mix, so he rated it 4 curds out of 5.

 I agreed that the curd ratio could use a slight improvement, but still decided on 

4.5 curds out of 5 for this scrumptious concoction. A wonderful dining experience!

Talea Bistro Urbain, 634 Grande allée Est, Québec City, Québec G1R 2K5

Phone: 418-523-7979

Website: Talea Bistro Urbain

Be Still My Heart

I saw this on Pinterest today. Could I be dreaming? Could "poutine" be a new flavour of

 Lay's potato chips? Lay`s is holding a "name the next potato chip" contest. 
In the U.S.A. the final round's flavours are: Cheesy Garlic Bread, Chicken & Waffles and Sriracha.
In Canada? Maybe it'll be poutine. Click here to get to their Facebook page to vote or suggest your own flavour!

Smoke's Poutine - Scotiabank Place

Richard and I were in Ottawa at Scotiabank Place to see a Blue Rodeo concert and needed to have supper. We looked for the Smoke's Poutine outlet that's there, but it was closed (only open for hockey games). So...we found that their poutine was served at a few other places so we tried one.

It was a delicious poutine with TONS of curds! We both loved it. Hot gravy, not salty, fun serving container that is biodegradable! Top marks. 5 out of 5 curds.

Winter Visit to Gaetan's

 Richard and I love the poutine at the chip truck called Gaetan's in the town of Alexandria (Ont.) on their main drag. After we stand in line on a freezing, snowy day and place our orders...

...we hop into the car, dig in and enjoy our fabulously creamy and hot poutine. I love how the windows fog up. An annual mid-winter treat for sure!


To see my original review of Gaetan's from a few years back, click here.

R.I.P St. Albert Cheese Factory

The best curds from around this area (and the world!) are from St. Albert Cheese Factory in St. Albert, Ontario. Today the whole factory burned down. There will be no curds available for a while until they rebuild. This is so sad for the community, for the people who worked there and for all of us who love their curds on our poutine.
To see photos of the fire from the Ottawa Citizen click here.

Chicago Holds Its First Poutine Festival

America is catching on to Canada's national dish! Check this link and read about Chicago's Poutine Festival.
To see my review of the terrific poutine I had at The Gage in Chicago click here.

Jack's Pub

I've always wanted to try Jack's Pub in Williamstown...

 ...so a few of us headed over there to have a Sunday lunch.

We ordered a large to share for the table as a starter.

And we all tasted it. Overall, the fries were amongst the crispiest and best I had ever tasted.

 The curds were plentiful and the gravy yummy.

 I immediately pronounced it a five out of a possible five curds. Two of my companions said that it was a 4.5 out of five because the curds were cold and didn't melt quickly enough. The third companion said a 4 because he thought the gravy wasn't hot enough. My, my!

In the end, we all agreed it was a delicious plate of poutine, well worth revisiting and settled on a solid  rating of 4.5 curds out of five. Well done Jack's!

Jack's Pub, 19700 John St., Williamstown, ON K0C 2J0
Phone: 613-347-3475