# Poutine, or chili-cheese fries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039 "2010-07-17T16:25:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Furry\_Mongoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Furry\_Mongoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furry_Mongoose)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/41 "2010-07-18T22:41:37Z")
I voted Poutine, but the Isle of Man’s version of Poutine is probably a Canadian person’s worst nightmare of Poutine, usually mass produced fries (although some places do lovely home made chunky fries, grated cheddar and gravy from a packet. I’m not ashamed to say it, it’s still awesome. Hope to have the real deal one day 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/42 "2010-07-18T23:03:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Not to be confused with [poitín](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poit%C3%ADn), of course. 😉 My thoughts exactly! However, either of these deadly snacks sounds like the sort of bad idea that might occur at the end of a poitín session. This far from Quebec, I’ll have to go with chili-cheese fries. But I’d gladly try poutine if I ever make it Up North. Available[in Houston](http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2010/06/robb_walshs_100_favorite_houst_80.php): > [@](#): > > “The Tex-Cajun Virgin” at BB’s Cajun Cafe is a plate of hot, crispy, shoestring French fries topped with thin roast-beef slices, chile con queso and brown gravy. In this amazing triumph of Gulf Coast folk cuisine, BB’s owner Brooks Bassler has concocted a Tex-Mex Cajun version of poutine. When I congratulated Bassler, he told me he had never heard of poutine, the famous Québécois snack of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. > > “I got the idea from a restaurant in New Orleans called Domilise’s,” Bassler said. Domilise’s is famous for its roast beef poor boy and for shoestring fries with gravy. “While I was sitting there, I saw a lot of people ordered a side of roast beef on top of the fries and gravy.” As a long-time Texas resident, Bassler had the bright idea of adding that quintessential liquid cheese, chile con queso. I’m a big\* advocate of multi-culturalism, but admit it might have its pitfalls. - Not _that_ big; I haven’t been to BB’s yet. (This is one of Robb Walsh’s [100 Favorite Houston Dishes](http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/100_favorite_dishes/). (He’s up to #5.) Check them out & understand why Houston has made a few lists as Our Country’s Fattest City.) ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/43 "2010-07-18T23:43:29Z")
> [@Furry\_Mongoose](#): > > I voted Poutine, but the Isle of Man’s version of Poutine is probably a Canadian person’s worst nightmare of Poutine, usually mass produced fries (although some places do lovely home made chunky fries, grated cheddar and gravy from a packet. I’m not ashamed to say it, it’s still awesome. Hope to have the real deal one day 🙂 Not really. You would only need to replace the grated cheese with cheese curds to have an acceptable poutine. You want a nightmare poutine ? Replace the grated cheddar with moszzarella. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/44 "2010-07-19T01:25:44Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Poutine is Quebec’s revenge for the English victory at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Living well _is_ the best revenge, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/45 "2010-07-19T01:38:54Z")
OK, I’ve just made some poutine… I didn’t have any potatoes, so I made a paste out of instant mashed potatoes and formed them into French-fry shape. I didn’t have enough oil to fry them, so I sprayed some foil with cooking spray and baked them instead. I don’t have any brown gravy around, but I made a roux out of the little salad oil I have and some flour. I found a couple of beef boullion cubes and mixed them in with some hot water. Fortunately, I had cheese. Well, Kraft Singles; which is actually ‘Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product’. I still prefer chili-cheese fries. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/46 "2010-07-19T02:06:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > OK, I’ve just made some poutine… And so ends my dopper crush. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/47 "2010-07-19T02:08:22Z")
😃 I may have made up one or two of the details. Or I may have actually had carne asada tonight, and not poutine at all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/48 "2010-07-19T03:30:08Z")
I gave in. Two threads in a week, and the craving just got to be too much! My husband also really wanted one, so we ordered a medium poutine and a pizza from a local place. Too good! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/49 "2010-07-19T06:08:12Z")
How about combining the two? Chili cheese poutine? A winner! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/50 "2010-07-19T06:11:41Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > And so ends my dopper crush. [Dopper](http://www.slang-dictionary.com/definition/dopper.html)? 😃 😉 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/51 "2010-07-19T12:27:08Z")
I’ve never been eating a plate of fries thinking: “You know what this needs? Kidney beans and ground beef.” Gravy, all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/52 "2010-07-19T13:13:37Z")
Until this thread I had never heard of Poutine. so I voted chili-cheese. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/53 "2010-07-19T14:42:49Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ve never been eating a plate of fries thinking: “You know what this needs? Kidney beans and ground beef.” > > Gravy, all the way. Who the frak puts beans in chili? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/54 "2010-07-19T15:31:05Z")
Of the two, I choose poutine. Of course, replacing the cheese curds with mozzarella would make the poutine even better. I went to Swiss Chalet near Toronto once and asked them to do this for me. My excuse was that I’m American (and don’t know any better). They acted like this would be an international event that could harm relations between the two countries. I relented and eventually ate their sub-par poutine. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/55 "2010-07-19T15:34:19Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Of the two, I choose poutine. Of course, replacing the cheese curds with mozzarella would make the poutine even better. We call those disco fries here in NJ. They’re awesome too. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/56 "2010-07-19T15:37:08Z")
I don’t know; I can’t choose. They’re different and I like them both. I was in NW Ontario two weeks ago and was able to partake of poutine again for the first time in a long, long while. Yummy! ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/57 "2010-07-19T15:51:31Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > We call those disco fries here in NJ. They’re awesome too. I know. I live in NJ too, which I neglected to mention. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/58 "2010-07-19T16:43:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Who the frak puts beans in chili? Anyone who makes chili. Meat is optional, but it’s not chili without the beans. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/59 "2010-07-19T16:46:14Z")
Your continued heresy aside, not as a topping they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039/60 "2010-07-19T16:52:42Z")
Beans are optional, but it’s not chili without the meat. (Sorry, **silenus**. I prefer bean-free chili, but I don’t see beans as heresy. 😉 ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-or-chili-cheese-fries/547039.md?page=4)