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

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

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

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

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

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

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/

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

Market Garden Brewery

Another recipe from our intrepid poutine reviewer Jack d'Mestiere...thanks Jack!

It's been a while!

This poutine at the Market Garden Brewery on the West Side of Cleveland sure sounded good from the description: fresh fries, smoked pork gravy, mozzarella cheese. What could go wrong?  Stale fries killed the dish. I suspect they use old fries that had been sitting around, figuring the gravy would "freshen" them up. Then the cheese. Not curds. No squeak. Gravy was delish, but couldn't carry the day. My rating? A generous 1.5 curds based on the gravy alone, but overall, not worth the calories. The beer was pretty good though. And if you go there, stick with kielbasa!

Market Garden Brewery & Distillery, 1947 West 25th St., Cleveland, OH 44113

Website: marketgardenbrewery.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

Pirate's Lunch

Another review from our roving poutine eater Jack D'Mestiere. This time he was in British Columbia! Read on...Jack here. While motoring around Vancouver Island on an outing from Victoria, Dolly-girl and me ran into Pirate’s Lunch. We stopped quicker than a ’59 VW going up hill. “This is it, Jack, I just know this is it! Great road-side food, by the water!”


There were all sorts of signs advertising Pirate’s food offerings...


...and then one special one caught my eye. Yes, indeed, I was looking at a chance for poutine. Here was a chance to have a 5-curd poutine from a roadside stand, just like Ronna and Richard talk about! Great decor and poutine, too. I ordered it. Dolly-girl was right! This is it! But, I should have known: Pirate pronounced it "poo-teen."

The “Poutine” arrived. My excitement faded fast. While the fries were fresh cut and cooked just right--in fact, delicious fries--and the gravy, while likely from a can or mix was tasty--although not salty enough--the curds were--WHAT? Strips of American cheese (wait, I guess that would be Canadian cheese--or would it be? I think Canadians have more taste) had been torn up and laid to rest on the fries and gravy. IMPORTED AMERICAN CHEESE! Strips!

Sorry Pirate, poutine ain’t poutine without curds. Final score? 0, zero, nil, naught.

Kooky Canuck

A review from poutine lover and traveller, Jack D'Mestiere -- this time a review from Tennessee.

I'm not a great believer in fate or the supernatural, but given all the energy associated with Memphis--Blues meets BBQ meets Elvis--it seems a little hard to believe that I would end up staying at a hotel with marching ducks, across the street from a restaurant called The Kooky Canuck without some sort of paranormal intervention. So, at lunch time, I inspected the menu to see if there was anything Canadian about the place at all. I was rewarded in maple leaves!


I walked in and saw immediately that the decor was designed to make Tennesseans believe they were in Canada. Note the birch sticks, wood paneling, and animal heads on the wall. Not all of them were real, but still, the feeling was of the north, and I don't mean the north end of the famous Highway 61, the Blues Highway. It was noon and the joint was filling up with hungry Memphisarians.


I slid into a seat at the bar, picked up a menu, and saw I was north of the border, at least in one regard.


Yes, there it was on the menu, poutine, complete with the correct phonetic pronunciation guide! Meghan asked me what mine would be. "Poutine [pronunced just the way Richard taught me--"pooh-tin"]. She looked at me, smiled, placed the order, and came back. "You Canadian?" "Nope, just go there a lot and have friends there." "You pronounce it like a Canadian--like my boss." Ah ha, there was something to this Kooky Canuck! A half curd premium for the pronunciation.


The poutine arrived some minutes later, served by restauranteur Shawn Dansko, formerly of Montréal, now of Memphis. It was piping hot and served on a hard plastic platter--not waxed paper or cardboard, but still, not china. Half a curd premium for presentation.The plate held one of the most generous servings I've seen. The fries were crisp, but not burned, allowing them to hold up to the gravy long into the meal. There were plenty of curds, nicely heated so they were warm-to-hot, but not gooey. The gravy was brown and salty, just the way I like it. Shawn stayed to chat for a while. Hetold me he'd "take his poutine back to Montreal and stand it up against anything..." He was right!
He's a traditionalist--I asked him about his views on non-standard ingredients like goat cheese and you could guess his answer. I asked about whether he adds anything, like sausage, to his poutine. He answered that he was still in the process of winning Memphis over to poutine. He pointed out that Southerners are inclined to try poutine--they like gravy on anything--but when you tell them it's brown gravy instead of chicken gravy, they become cautious and conservative.


Shawn and the Kooky Canuck have a great product at a reasonable price. I'll give the poutine itself a solid 4.5 out of 5 curds. Add in the two half-curd premiums and the decor, and you will be rewarded with a 5+ curd performance! I have confidence that Shawn and the Kooky Canuck will win Memphis over in the end. He has a great opportunity as the KC is not far from the ball park where the Memphis Redbirds play. Ever try those corn chip-and-chez-whiz concoctions that are so popular? One poutine, please!

Kooky Canuck, 97 S 2nd Street, Memphis, TN 38103-3009
Phone: 901-578-9800
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., 7 days a week.
To go to their fun website, click here: Kooky Canuck.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.