Living in the Detroit area there are no end of the people who say “I know what you have had is not the same as Quebec/Montreal, but there is this little place who does it RIGHT, it’s gonna be an hour or so, but it will become your new religion, it is that amazing!”
…and for the 28,274,923rd time today, it was not amazing, it was,once again, one of the poorer tasting ways to fill my gut with grease and carbs.
I find poutine awesome for about three or four bites, and then it’s diminishing returns. Granted, my sample size is about twenty, but I’ve had various poutines at La Banquise, as well as a few other places in Montreal, as well as Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. The best I had was a curry poutine at a place called Chef Guru. It was awesome. For about three or four bites. Then it was just too much.
I find most poutines disappointing because (1) their fries are not good or (2) their gravy is not good or (3) they use bits of mozzarella rather than proper curds.
But when it’s got good fries, sauce, and curds, it is heavenly. Yam fries, on the other hand, have never yet been any good.
@Dr.Drake makes some key points. Also, the fries and gravy have to be hot enough to decently melt the curds enough. Also it really helps to have the curds warmer before they’re put together with fries and gravy, not curds right out of the fridge.
But I also agree that it’s a heavy dish, and I’m sated long before finishing the serving. And it doesn’t reheat all that well.
Properly made, those first dozen bites are glorious.
Ya know, I think I just don’t like poutine
Congratulations, you’ve just added a decade to your lifespan!
That’s been my experience, although I’ve never had real Canadian poutine. It’s something I want to like but never could balance off the health dagger to the heart.
From what I’ve heard, poutine sounds more like an appetizer than it does a main course.
i’ve never had it, but it sounds like it should be a side dish rather than an entree.
Ugh, I have never had poutine. But making wonderful fries with a crispy outside and tender inside soft by pouring gravy or chili on them has never appealed to me. I’ve had chili fries, and I am going to try to continue to avoid having had poutine.
My experience is closer to @scabpicker’s and @pulykamell’s. I’ve had poutine maybe half a dozen times, each time sampling off a friend’s or family members dish. And those first few bites while everything is fresh, hot and crisp were indeed wonderful.
But said friends have never finished a full helping, and when I came back to help them try to finish 20 minutes later, it was more leaden and soggy. Which is honestly, true for a lot of foods 20 minutes later, but it’s especially true for heavy dishes.
But I think SP’s comparison to chili or cheese fries are good - I avoid both of those because there is no way to eat them fast enough to prevent 2/3 of the dish becoming soggy and and limp, and when that happens my appetite for them checks out.
Yes, it needs to br ordered by a group and eaten quickly or its either too much for one or it gets too cold to enjoy.
I find having it once or twice every decade suits me fine.
I live in the greater Detroit area and have never had poutine. Wolfman, is there a Detroit location that’s supposed to have ‘authentic’ poutine, even though you’re not impressed by it?
Now chili fries, that is the food of the gods. Chili cheese fries if just the chili is not decadent enough. Has to be Coney-style chili. Really needs to be from an actual Coney restaurant. These days I only indulge maybe once a year.
Poutine originated from food trucks, if I recall correctly, and was made by shaking up the ingredients in a brown paper bag, meant to be eaten on the spot, before it gets cold. The portions were also smaller. It was more of a snack.
Transferring it to a restaurant setting badly affects the quality, both in terms of time to eat, as mentioned, and also in serving size (“Bigger! make it bigger!”)
This is true of many dishes, which Is why I rarely trust online reviews from people who had the food delivered.
Anyway, I’ve now had poutine many times, and if there is something wrong with any of the 3 main ingredients, it’s bad. But when all 3 are perfect, there maybe nothing better. I found this hole-in-the-wall spot in downtown Toronto pre-pandemic, which was the best I’ve ever had. I hope they are still there when I go back. I’ve also had good poutine in Montreal, but never Quebec City, which someone here mentioned was the best spot for poutine (due to the freshness of the curds).
And that’s the only way I’ve ever had it.
I used to visit Bancroft, Ontario with some friends, some of them from the area(or at least, the Toronto/Hamilton area). Along the way driving up 62, there was a stop with a food truck that sold poutine that we would stop at and partake (I went up a few years in a row, and that truck was there each time).
It was quite good, but I can certainly see how it wouldn’t hold up long if it isn’t eaten quickly, and if I saw it on a menu here in the States, I don’t think I would get it.
I expected this thread to be about Vladimir Putin, whose last name is spelled “Poutine” in French. Because of the name, it took us all a while to take him seriously when he started being on the news in the late 1990s.
Poutine is to me a food that amazingly wonderful at the right time and place and disgusting otherwise.
Cold and physically exhausted, such as during a break from skiing? Divine. In a sit down restaurant? Blech.
It sounds like something you would eat after a night of boozing, fill up your stomach with grease and carbs. Ick.
I believe I’ve offered this up once on a similar thread – about 15sec:
I don’t think that would be incorrect.