Badmaash

Maddy came across this Indian poutine in Los Angeles. Thanks Maddy for your review.

She said, " It was chicken Tikka on top of curds, spiced fries and good ole gravy on top (plus parsley). It was great. Actually I think in this case it was butter chicken and it went really well with the fries (not too stiff, not too soggy), the curds were melty and the gravy was hilariously traditional."

Funny thing. Maddy is originally from Montreal. And has never had poutine. As she says, " It took coming to LA to claim my cultural inheritance."

"I'd give it a 3 out of 5 curds but just because I suspect there are better poutines out there." Go get 'em Maddy and let us know about what other poutines you discover!

Badmaash, 108 W. 2nd Street, Downtown Los Angeles
Phone: 213-221-7466
Website: www.badmaashla.com

La Boucanerie Du Nord

In Val David, Quebec, on our way to the amazing ceramic show 1001 Pots, we stopped for lunch and when I saw pulled pork poutine, I had to give it a try.

La Boucanerie Poutine was all that it said it would be. Pulled pork with fabulous clear and dark gravy topped fresh cheese curds and nice fries.

I guess my only complaint was it was a little short on the curds. But overall, this poutine rocked.

A solid 4.5 out of 5 curd rating.

La Boucanerie du Nord, 2482 rue de l'Eglise, Val David, QC J0T 2N0

Tel.: 819-322-3104

Appalachian Brewing Company

Best news I've had in a long time! Jack D'Mestiere, Poutine Chronicles' infamous poutine reviewer is back. Thanks Jack. It's been too long!

A coupla weeks ago me and Dolly-girl were back in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, down here south of the border where my son sets his brake. Along towards the evening hour when it’s time to put the feed bag on, we decided to head to Appalachian Brewing Company, a moderate sized chain of brewpubs, as chains of brewpubs go—you can partake at 8 locations.

Well, we happened in on a slow Friday night, which I’m guessing doesn’t happen often, but it suited us just fine as it’s gettin’ harder for me to hear in a busy joint. Maybe harder to see too. I picked up the list of beers and said “Outta Focus” and Dolly-girl says right off, “You should have brought your glasses, Jack, I told you!” “No, Dolly-girl, that’s the name of the beer—Outta Focus—I’ll have one. I picked up the menu and started looking at the salads as, you know, maybe I’ve had a few too many beers and poutines lately…

Wowsa! Right there in close proximity to salads where a tempting trio: Coal Cracker Pierogies, Cheddar Ale Soup, and Classic Canadian Poutine! How could I pass it up? As some of you readers know, I feel duty-bound (although Classic Canadian Poutine seemed to be tariff-free…) to eat poutine when available. But, resigned to be good, I ordered  the roasted red beet…I DID NOT! I ordered the CCP, although I wondered how classic it was, seeing as how they prided themselves on Yancy’s Fancy® cheddar cheese curds and something called “Jolly Scot” gravy which they make there in Harrisburg themselves. Maybe the spuds were from PEI, but the gravy makings didn’t look like anything I’d seen in Québec...

The Classic Canadian Poutine arrived. It was a smallish serving, so it lived up to its location in the “Appetizers” section of the menu. The fries were crispy and good and they didn’t have any problem standing up to that kilt-wearing gravy maker. Maybe because of the size of the plate they were still snappin’ at the bottom. The gravy, even though it was named after some Scotsman, was tasty—just the right amount of salt to ring my dinner bell—that would be way more salt that Dr. Rachel S. Graves, MD would say I should be eating, but then she would have raised her eyebrows and shook her head over the whole thing. Now then, what about Yancy and his fancy curds? Blaaaat! They were yellow and melted. No curd shape. No curd squeak. So, an automatic 1 curd deduction for no squeak and I’m going to knock another half-curd off for calling it “Classic Canadian Poutine.” Not bad, but at 10-and-a-half Canadian bucks for a small plate, it’s a little dear.

“Well, Dolly-girl, let’s pack up, get into the mini-van and head down the road.” “Hand over the keys you Outta Focus poutine muncher…”

Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 North Cameron St., Harrisburg, PA 17101

Tel: 717-221-1080

Website: https://abcbrew.com

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

If it's on Facebook, it must be true!

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

Pop-up poutine

Air Canada has created a pop-up featuring local cuisine to entice Londoners to use the airline for travel to the Americas.

The Poutinerie will have 10 dishes that are a twist on the Quebecois dish.

They include: Miami's South Beach Pollo made up of corndusted fries, white cheese, pulled chicken and avocado, as well as Halifax Downstream Poutine which is chips, Canadian lobster, cheese curds and shellfish gravy.

To read more click here 

Arby's has poutine!

As our country’s official food, it’s no secret that Canadians love poutine.  Regardless of the current food trends, this French-Canadian classic remains on top, and quick service restaurant, Arby’s, is taking full advantage of that.

Starting off the year with a bang, Arby’s is bringing Canadians what they love for the first time ever. Made with the brand’s signature curly fries, melted cheese curds and rich, creamy gravy, consumers will only be able to enjoy this delectable menu item for a limited time, while supplies last.

If you give it a try, send us a comment. We'd love to know what you think of it.

NY Times: Poutine Canadian or Quebecois?

A recent article that ran in the New York Times suggested that poutine might be considered "Quebecois" and not "Canadian." I say "bonk!"
To read all the news that fit to print, here's the NY Times Dec 19/17
What do you think? Lemme know.

Northern Soul Christmas poutine

My friend Jennifer from Prescott, Ontario sent in this review. Thanks Jen!

Northern Soul is at it again with its "Holiday Poutine" in time for the Christmas season. We were able to try it out Thanksgiving weekend. 

It is a very generous serving and good from the first bite to the last. I very much enjoyed the added cranberry sauce and turkey to a traditional poutine.  Reminded me of the Madame Benoit recipe for Leftover Turkey Casserole my mom used to make after every holiday meal. Years later my own children, now men, still call it "mush" where all the components of a Christmas dinner become a one pot or casserole meal.  Comfort food at its best.  This is the same.

The picture of the complete poutine is from the Northern Soul ad on Facebook. The second picture is from when we paused a moment to catch our breath and I grabbed a shot before it was completely gone!

If you find yourself out this way, it is worth the trip to enjoy the food at Northern Soul. They have great ribs and a number of different poutine to choose from.  I hope you bring a friend along to share with. You won't be disappointed.

Northern Soul BBQ, 169 Lake St., Mallorytown, ON K0E 1R0
Phone: 613-923-2111

Fundy Take Out

Going though my summer vacation shots, I came across these.

We drove through Fundy National Park in New Brunswick...

...and came across this little joint. While we had lobster rolls, I saw two fellows having poutine.

 I told them about my quest for poutine tasters and they were on board! One fellow gave it a 4 out of 5 curds, the other a 4.5 out of 5. The fellow on the left wasn't keen on the fries.
The guy on the right was pretty pleased with the whole thing.
Overall, pretty much a two thumbs up.

 The poutine DID look good! And...did I mention the shack is by the sea?
5/5 for the view alone. Loved this place!

Fundy Take-Out, 21 Fundy View Dr., Alma, NB E4H 1E7
Phone: 506-887-2261

Archibald at YUL

Next time I'm at Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport, I"ll be trying out this joint. 
Thanks Jack D'Mestiere for another rollicking review!

I got off the Clipper from the north and figured I'd take a stroll before my flight from YUL to YYZ. Little did I know that I would be overtaken by circumstances beyond my control. I'd spent the week behaving--eating bales of lettuce and walking. Before you get all "Wow, that's great, Jack," you need to know that I was in Kay-beck, which is how I think Québec is to be pronounced. Given that, and given my language skills, it makes it a little more difficult to put on the feedbag, but salad is salade so there you have it. The only voice whose French pronunciation is worse than mine is Ms. Google US English who pronounces Saguenay, "say-goony" and Chicoutimi "chic-oh-you-tee-me."  I'm better than that. What's that? OK, I'll get on with the story. 

So I'm walking through YUL and I note a place to get a beer. They also have poutine. Danger! I walk on. I pass another place. No poutine, but bad beer. Another place. No beer or poutine. I'm headed back to the gate when I see:

I feel my defenses crumbling. Even souvenir stands are conspiring against me. Maybe a beer will make me strong! I slide into the first place--Archibald. 

The bar man eyes me up and immediately speaks English. Still feeling strong, I order up a beer.  "Food?"  "I'll look." 

There it is and it sounds tempting. Tempting, it sounds great after a week of grazing. Summoning up all the Québécois Newshawk gave me, I called the barman and said "I'll have a Pou-tin." Not "Pou-teen". He gave me an approving look. I guess he says Ce-lyn instead of Ce-lean...

By the time he put it in front of me, I'd convinced myself I didn't need to eat it all. After all, the taste is what counts! And it was work! I was on the Poutine Chronicles beat! 

Crisp fries, a salty rich beef gravy, shredded beef in that gravy, caramelized Pearl onions, pickled onions...and lots of curds, but sorta parked on the side and not warm. Maybe it's a YUL thing, I think. And a piece of what I assume is tuile de caramel au bacon. Still don't know what that added. I'd rather just had some bacon...

The fries stayed crispy, the onions were great, I mixed the curds in to warm them up, the beef was good, the gravy rich to the end. It was damn good. Of course, for $16 for poutine, it ought to be good. 

Tempted as I am to give it a 5, I have to maintain a tough palate, even after a week of salad. Four-point-seven-five curds. I've reached new heights in splitting curds, and for an airport poutine, no less!

If you are in YUL, head on over to about gate 50. The beer's good too!

By the way, I ate it all.  "Mare-cee Kay-beck!"

Archibald Microbrasserie (Aéroport de Montréal), (zone sécurisée, face à la porte 51), Casier postal 205, 975, Romeo-Vachon Blvd N, Dorval, Quebec H4Y 1H6

Tel. 514-687-9977

Website: archibaldmicrobrasserie.ca

"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

20 of Toronto's over-the-top poutine

Toronto Life just published its "20 of Toronto's most preposterous over-the-top" poutines list. Here's the link: Toronto poutine

Atwood Restaurant

Yay! Jackie's back! Another great review by Jack D'Mestiere

Me and Dolly-girl tied on our travelin’ shoes and headed off to what we here in the land south of the Great North call The Windy City. Dolly-girl fancied seeing’ some sort of musical show about when KG III, whoever that is, was getting’ the boot from what was to become the Third Nation while the First Nations watched thinking, “Damn, we should have locked the door…”

We took the Clipper from Stumptown, the train from the aerodrome, and Shank’s Mare from the depot to our lodging. While we were doing’ the paperwork, the clerk thumbed in the direction of the hotel restaurant and said, “Pretty good spot to tie on the feedbag in the A. M.” That was soundin’ like sound advice for a couple weary travelers.

Turns out, it was. Come morning, we didn’t have to drag ourselves more than a few feet and what to my wondering eyes should appear…oops, wrong season…when I looked at the What-We-Got, I spied…

bacon & eggs poutine! How could I possibly pass that up? “I could pass that up!” Dolly-girl rolled her peepers and looked skyward with the usual unsaid, “How did I end up with this guy?”

I ordered a feed-bag full and before long, what to my wondering eyes…I mean, a gorgeous platter appeared

I dug in. Let’s do this by the numbers: 

First, the fries were fresh, made in the house, and fried like fries should be fried. Or is that frited like frites…

B. The curds were generous, real curds, and even though melted, they squeaked! 

iii. The gravy was a taste-treat made from a clucker, rich, just the right thickness, and just the right amount of salt for me (Dolly-girl: “You know, Jack, Dr. Rachel S. Graves, MD would not enjoy your working at cross-purposes to that handful of pills you take…”)

d. The hen fruit on top were cooked perfectly—aesthetically pleasing and done enough that when the yolks ran they didn’t really increase the fry-saturation factor (I believe that’s called Ψ something) significantly. Whoa, where’d that talk come from Jack?

and 5. The farm-style bacon came in thick cubes and what doesn’t improve with bacon? Even Dolly-girl said, “Hey, Jack, if you happen across a cube or two of cured porker, you could flip a couple my way…"

Five out of five! I don’t believe I’ve ever awarded 5 curds to a poutine. But 5 it is.

If you’re in the Big Windy and hungry for poutine, check out Atwood, Southwest corner of Washington & State, Chicago, Illinois, USA atwoodrestaurant.com

Beast Restaurant

A quick poutine review from my niece Sam. This time poutine gnocchi!

My niece Sam dropped me a note and let me know she and her better half went to Beast on Tecumseth in Toronto. She tried their version of poutine: fried gnocchi, chicken and peas, cheese curds, creme fraiche.
When I asked her for a rating out of 5 curds, she gave it a strong 4. Her partner, however, didn't like it. Opposites attract, right?

Beast Restaurant, 96 Tecumseth St., Toronto, ON M6J 2H1 
Phone: 647-352-6000
Website: Beast Restaurant

Upstate NY spots for pout

Check it out! On A Taste of Upstate New York, there is a list of 14 spots to found our beloved poutine. Here's da link. NewYorkUpstate.com

Poutine lip balm?

Now I've seen everything!

To see the link, click here.

Poutine in England

From MTLBLOG, check out this Montrealer who introduced poutine to the British -- and it's an instant hit. Click here to read more.

The Iron Skillet

Review courtesy of Matt, trying a poutine offered as a dessert. Here's what he thought:

Funnel Cake Fry Poutine (Dessert Poutine)

Funnel Cake Fries - Crispy exterior; fluffy, warm interior.

Cream Cheese Curds - Grated frozen cheesecake, melt in your mouth.

Butterscotch "Gravy" - Not too sweet, under fries.

Cinnamon powdered on top - not overpowering, base of flavour.

Raspberry Sauce Garnish - Provides well-needed colour, real raspberries (seeds), nice and sweet.

5/5 curds, left me wanting more.

The Iron Skillet Restaurant & Pub, 20 Balsam Rd. Collingwood, ON
Phone: 705-444-5804
www.theironskillet.ca

M&M poutine

My cousin sent me this pic but she didn't buy it. Has anyone tried this yet? Do let me know if you do. Inquiring minds want to know!

The Daily Planet

Another Vermont-area review from Marcia. Thanks for this!

 Spurred by our success the previous night, the five of us shared a DUCK CONFIT POUTINE for an appetizer at The Daily Planet, a chic little restaurant in Burlington, Vermont.

We were a little disappointed. The hand-cut “frites” were sweet potato (I love the fact that they are called “frites” on the menu), which didn’t have the heft or crunch to sustain the toppings, which included a small-ish schmear of duck confit (if you can shmear a confit, that is), as well as a gravy with “rosemary and candy cap”… being too embarrassed to ask what that was all about, we just ate it. Turns out that they are mushrooms (according to Wikipedia – “Candy cap or curry milkcap is the English-language common name for several closely related edible species of Lactarius; L. camphoratus, L. fragilis, and L. rubidus. These mushrooms are valued for their highly aromatic qualities and are used culinarily as a flavoring rather than as a vegetable.”). Well, we didn’t get the highly aromatic qualities since there was a lot of rosemary as well, but the gravy was very tasty... And the “curds” … again – Vermont cheddar, no squeak. But not a bad effort. We all decided if we went back to this restaurant, we’d explore the menu further and skip a poutine revisit. But, we all recommend that if you have a hankering for a more exotic poutine, you give it a try.

I would give it a 4 out or 5 curds

15 Center Street, Burlington VT

802-862-9647

Website: dailyplanetvt.com

Waterworks Food and Bistro

Lucky us! Reviewer Marcia visited Vermont on a poutine discovery trip and found two worthy contenders. These are our first reviews from that state.Thanks for the reviews Marcia!

 Our group decided to split a LAMB AND MUSHROOM POUTINE WITH CHEDDAR CHEESE CURDS as an appetizer at this lovely river-side restaurant in Winooski, Vermont. Of the five participants, I think I was the only one who had any prior experience with poutine, but everyone was game to try it. And, what a great choice! 

The fries were hot, thin and crispy with a hint of garlic, the gravy was (as they always say on the TV Food Network) unctuous, which is a fancy food word for thick, creamy and tasty. The ground lamb was great… but then there were the curds. Cheddar cheese! Poutine aficionados would likely have scoffed at them – no squeak to be heard (and it wasn’t just because the restaurant was extremely noisy)… they just weren’t the squeaking type of curd. But they were delicious… and the whole plate of poutine disappeared before the fries had a chance to get cold.

I would give it 5 out of 5 curds!

20 Winooski Falls Way, Winooski VT

802-497-3525

Website: waterworksvt.com/

Poutine flavoured sausages

Okay, now they've thought of everything! My friend Jen saw poutine flavoured sausages by Johnsonville in Newfoundland this week. I haven't seen them here but am anxious to give them a try. Anyone out there try them? Lemme know!

Bon Appetit's Poutine Burger

Bon Appetit's online feed featured a recipe for a poutine burger. For the link, click here.
If you make it, let us know how it tastes! Looks amazing.