Poutine Anonymous

Check out this very fun site with cheeky reviews of poutine, mostly in southwestern Ontario at this point, but I bet Poutine Anonymous will spread out and taste a poutine near you real soon! Here's the link:poutineanonymous.weebly.com

Pirogi poutine, anyone?

Cunningham's in downtown Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC offers a pirogi poutine.
A friend sent me this menu card and hasn't tried it yet but threatens to next time.
Would you try it?

Poutine at White House State Dinner

Prime minister Trudeau and President Barack Obama dined on many tasty things last night at the state dinner held at the White House with one of the offerings being poutine! Poutine has gone high brow! To see the link to this page click here.

Wedding cake poutine, anyone?

I love poutine, but seriously?

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

Fromagerie St. Albert - Poutine Week

 Yesterday, we headed over to St. Albert, Ontario, to the St. Albert Cheese Factory.

 Several years ago, the factory was destroyed by fire so it was rebuilt and they added a huge restaurant and gift shop.

 It was Poutine Week, so we figured it was a good chance to try a few different pouts!

 We missed the poutine eating contest by only a few hours.

Richard tried the Italian poutine which came with Italian sausage.

 I went for the Montreal smoked meat poutine. The meat was delicious but for me, there was too much added smoked meat spice added on top.

 Richard was shocked but I added a bit of mustard to the pout. That meat was great and it needed the hit.

Our final analysis? The fries were too soggy and not crisp enough. But the gravy was tasty and good and hot. And the curds? Best and freshest ever, natch. We gave them both a 4 out of a possible 5 curds. Extra points for the recyclable cardboard serving box. I guess that boosts them to a 4.5 out of 5.

St. Albert Cheese Co-op, 150 St. Paul St., St. Albert, ON K0A 3C0

Tel: 613-987-2872  Toll free: 1-800-465-1553

Website: fromagestalbert.com

Poutine for each province & territory

Check out Food Network Canada's "Great Canadian Cookbook" where they feature a poutine for each province and territory. Neat! The link is here.

Poutine Pizza anyone?

From MTLBlog, could this be the new trend? Poutine pizza? Lemme know what you think. To read the blog click here.

Big Boy Shawarma

 The first poutine of the year? A shawarma poutine at Big Boy Shawarma in Hawkesbury, Ontario.

 My dining partner chose the somewhat healthier fare.

I threw caution to the wind, and tried Big Boy's shawarma poutine which is garlic roasted potatoes, chicken and beef shaved off a hot spit and melted mozzarella.

Okay, so it's not exactly a classic poutine. No fries? No curds? True! But it was darn yummy! I can't rate it like the other poutines on this site, but if you want something sorta, kinda like a poutine, that's very filling (two can share this baby), I'd give it a thumbs up.

Big Boy Sharwarma, 452 County Rd 15, Unit 30, Hawkesbury, ON
Tel: 613-676-4556

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. 

Poutine Fact #12

If tweets about poutine were motivational posters.

This was in a Buzzfeed post called "Poutinespiration."

"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!

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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!

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

Website: coltivareithaca.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.

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...