 On va-tu s´taper une poutine, tabarnak?-Ever the eye-sore but always delectable.
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As a fourth-year American student, the concept of poutine has always been one of intrigue. Since my arrival in this province, the idea of mixing cheese curds and gravy with french fries has been part of my preoccupation with Québécois culture. Although it has been reported that poutine was a restaurant owner's concoction back in 1957, its hearty goodness boggles the mind.
Poutine's scene in the Quebec lifestyle seems all too fitting. The long, cold winters lend themselves as a plague for which poutine is the cure. Its 40-year lifespan provided ample time for the simple side dish to come in various forms and sold at various locations.
Never having been afraid to eat poutine, I took a crack team of taste testers to a few downtown restaurants to offer our readers the best and worst of poutine here in Montreal.
As a poutine eater for the past four years, I've taken the opportunity to become adept in selecting more "traditionalist" poutine. La Belle Province (1216 Peel) is an excellent place to go, rating a 4 out of 5 on the curd-o-meter. For $4.89, you get small poutine with large cheese curds that melt quickly. The service is unusually fast, yet the poutine is not prefabricated. The fries are not frozen, and are always extremely hot. This is a key factor to selecting good poutine.
Passing along rue Ste-Catherine, one critic commented about Nickel's (710 Ste-Catherine W.)" "We are not giving Céline Dion any more money." The poutine here is not horrific, but the critic raised a valid point.
Our next stop was the McDonald's by rue University. Much has been said about the weakness of a McDonald's poutine but for $3.10, its generic taste rates a 2.5 on the curd-o-meter. Outside of Montreal however, McDo's tends to be the habitual place to order poutine. The fries are simple McDonald's french fries with watery gravy. One critic suggested that "the fries look like they're lacking."
With not enough cheese to spare and sogginess that made it hard to stick your fork into, we left McDonald's for higher ground.
Frite Alors (3497 St-Laurent) was one of our best ventures into poutine territory. Open until 5 am, Frite Alors (formerly Moozoo/Grano), has an excellent atmosphere, with Québécois classics playing in the background and paintings of Tintin on the wall. For $5.25 you get a small poutine, consisting of hot and crispy fries and more cheese than McDonald's poutine. Frite Alors placed a 4.5 on the curd-o-meter.
The last place we visited before wearing out our stomachs was Alto (3462 Parc). This was one critic's favourite poutine due to its gooey, freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. "The cheese is pretty cheesy," said his sister, but even when the poutine was almost finished, the plate was still steaming. Alto is centrally located for those living in the ghetto, and it is open until 4 am, but that doesn't award it anything more than a 3 on the curd-o-meter.
Another place of note is the notorious Mamma's poutine, which is a popular staple for first-year students. Their french fries seem like freezer fries and their cheese tastes like it comes from a pack of Kraft shredded mozzarella. Curd-o-meter rating: 2.
The 99-cent pizza places often offer poutine priced at $3 for a small. The wait is often long since customers come for the pizza, rather than the poutine. For a cheap poutine fix though, it is often edible and on average, these stores would rate a 2.5 on the curd-o-meter.
My personal favourite with a 5 on the curd-o-meter is LaFleur (3620 St-Denis). LaFleur is known province-wide for its excellent french fries. The dark-brown sauce adds to their oily goodness and easily melts the plethora of curds. Curds are essential to a traditional poutine and with sufficient amounts of gravy that soak the fries but do not make them soggy, LaFleur offers easily one of the best poutines in the city. In addition, the service is quick and they offer four different sizes to choose from.
While some people think of poutine as an acquired taste, I prefer to think of it as a mixture of ingredients that have always been eaten together albeit in different permutations. Though poutine can often come with various toppings such as smoked meat or bacon, or in different incarnations such as Italian poutine or vegetarian poutine, I still regard the traditional poutine as the best.
Hopefully this serves as a basis to indulge in the heart of Québécois culture, or just to find new places to sample this delectable food.
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with files from Dave and Naomi Brodkey and Laura Saba
2008 Woodie Awards
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