Poutine: Curdy Canadian Comfort
Photograph from iwona kellie on Flickr
Our Quebecois cousins to the North may speak a different language and enjoy the solace of universal health-care, but when it comes to comfort food their North American tendencies peek through in the form of poutine, a fancy word for cheese fries with gravy.
OK, well they're a little more involved than that. The cheese is really a helping of fresh cheese curds, made soft by the heat of the fries, and the gravy is Canadian-style barbecue chicken gravy, which is quite different than traditional American gravy—dark, thick and vinegary. Last weekend the Boston Globe profiled Chez Ashton, a chain of Quebecois fast food restaurants that many consider as serving the best poutine around.
Cheese curds are nuggets of fresh cheese that are removed in the middle of the cheddar-making process (before pressing) and sold separately. When they are very fresh, they make a squeaky sound when you chew them, and are a very popular snack in Wisconsin and Quebec. (And like most American culinary foodstuffs, there is also a deep-fried version of cheese curds, usually available at state fairs and the like.)
In America we enjoy a very similar dish to poutine, but we call it gravy fries. I remember as a kid getting steak fries topped with melted mozzarella cheese and brown gravy at my local Long Island diner. I don't want to know how many calories and grams of fat were in that dish, but to a 16 year old at 2 a.m., nothing could be better. At Nectar's in Burlington, VT, many a stoned Phish fan has enjoyed a midnight helping of gravy fries topped with either chili, shredded cheese or cheese sauce.
Whatever you call it, it's hard to beat the combination of fried potatoes, cheese and gravy. Canadians, who makes your favorite poutine and what makes it special?
About the author: Jamie Forrest publishes Curdnerds.com from his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, where he lives with his wife, his daughter, and his cheese.
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24 Comments:
Ashton makes a great poutine (poo-teen)... For a chain. You can probably find a better one at any highway exit between Montreal and Quebec City. In Montreal, the first place people will mention is La Banquise and they do make a really good poutine, but maybe not the best. I believe the best poutine is at Ma'am Bolduc. Others will say Patati Patata. Some idiots even think the best one can be found at Burger King. No matter where you get your poutty though, there is one ingredient that is essential for a real poutine: fresh cheese curds. If it's made with shredded cheese it's not a poutine. It's disco fries.
And oh yeah, the foie gras poutine at Au Pied de Cochon is really fantastic, but what people never mention is that they also make a regular poutine that's much more affordable and really delicious.
Here's a website all about Montreal poutine: http://www.montrealpoutine.com/
P.S. You really shouldn't ruin poutine by having it with Rickard's Red. What an awful, awful beer.
SqueezeBottle at 10:41AM on 05/06/08
As SE resident Canadienne lilartist might recall from earlier discussions, the only place this Michigander has had poutine is at Crabby Joe's in Wallaceburg, Ontario. There are pics of their "poutine" on my blog from our visit there last October, which looks a lot different from the pic here on Serious Eats! I understood early on, the Crabby Joe's version isn't all that "authentic" and is very Americanized.
LunaPierCook at 10:49AM on 05/06/08
On a sidenote, the Boston Globe article mentions that: "Now Chez Ashton is a 25-restaurant chain found all over the province. All thanks to poutine."
That's not true. Ashton is exclusively found in the Québec City area. If you ask people in Montreal or Sherbrooke where the nearest Ashton is, they'll probably just look at you funny.
SqueezeBottle at 11:03AM on 05/06/08
as someone who doesn't like gravy, that picture makes my tummy hurt a little *blech*
Southern_bella at 11:18AM on 05/06/08
hem hem polite dissenting cough: melted mozzarella cannot make it a "very similar" dish to poutine. I am no crazed nationalistic poutine lover, but I just can't let that comment slide. :) Poutine heresy!
i8alot at 11:23AM on 05/06/08
Good god, I suddenly miss poutine. It was a staple in my university years, often after the bars closed. It was years after university graduation when I learned that eating poutine before an evening at a bar increases my alcohol tolerance, even though the poutine the consumed in the early afternoon. I'd like to repeat that experiment.
Some restaurants - but most likely fast food places - will do fries with cheese and gravy and call it poutine.
Luna: Sounds like the place should be called "Crappy Joe's", as no doubt the kids (not your kids, "the" kids) call it. Other good food notwithstanding, poutine is not hard to get right. Curds are essential. No curds, no poutine.
SE needs an official Canadian commentator or blogger.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 11:27AM on 05/06/08
Ahhhh thanks for the memories! I loved getting gravy fries at the diner as a teenager. We'd cruise back and forth from one diner to the other (our town on Long Island had two), pick the one with the higher number of cute boys (as deduced by the cars in the lot) and head in for our fries. If we REALLY had the munchies, we'd also get Belgian waffles with ice cream and hot fudge.
foodmomiac at 11:53AM on 05/06/08
Agreed. That picture looks AMAZING. I will be having a poutine this evening for sure (dispite it's extensive fat content); yum, the Canadian way.
hungrychristel at 12:33PM on 05/06/08
You *must* make poutine with cheese curds, not mozzarella or any other "white cheese". The "squeak" is part of the experience.
I live in Ottawa, Ontario and the best poutine is found across the river in Gatineau, Quebec. There are several small "chip wagons" and little dives that make drool-worthy poutine.
There are several variations on the original poutine including "Italian Poutine" (with a meat/pasta sauce instead of the gravy), or the "Montreal Poutine" with chopped smoked meat thrown on. Personally, I love the original version the best.
And now i know what I'm having for dinner tonight ...
AmazonGoddess at 12:53PM on 05/06/08
I'm more than a little obsessed with Poutine since my visit to Montreal last year. Seems like the perfect late night drunk food or I've even had it for a Sunday brunch.
I found some at the pommes frites place on second ave here in NYC but their fries are now somewhat soggy and disappointing due to the fries there now being parboiled instead of twice fried. Anyone know of a better place in NYC to get my poutine fix?
Mischiefdish at 1:09PM on 05/06/08
There was a pizza place out here in Phoenix called Western Pizza--supposedly a chain from Canada--that sold poutine, and it's the only time I've had poutine. It wasn't bad, but considering the hype it's gotten, I was a little disappointed. Maybe it was the lack of squeaky cheese (the cheese curds entry is one of the most entertaining Wiki entries I've ever seen).
OneWallKitchen at 2:57PM on 05/06/08
The boyfriend and I have been trying to recapture the poutine he enjoyed in Québec years ago, and I think we nearly got it with fresh curds from Tillamook (we live in Portland), crispy frozen fast-food-style fries from the grocer's freezer, and topped with chicken-goose gravy (homemade). It was ah-may-zing. We're heading up to Vancouver in a couple of weeks and plan on stopping by NYFries or similar from some good ol' Canadian poutine.
devlyn at 3:02PM on 05/06/08
I had very good poutine in Brooklyn, at the Sheep Station on 4th Ave. By the way, for the poutine lovers out there, there are a bunch of funny t-shirts over at cafepress.com: http://www.cafepress.com/buy/poutine/-/source_searchBox/x_0/y_0
mlt43 at 4:04PM on 05/06/08
I live in NY just across the Canadian boarder and when a craving hits it's straight over the bridge I go......YUM
joanpieroni2 at 8:50PM on 05/06/08
I insisted on eating poutine while I was in Montreal for the jazz festival last summer. I was in Quebec, and I was determined to eat the national dish. I'll admit that I wasn't overwhelmed by the experience, probably because the gravy and cheese curds were not top quality. As my companion and I were finishing our beers and gazing uneasily at the empty plate the waiter came by and asked us, "Well? Was it almost good?"
mslaas at 9:09PM on 05/06/08
One of my best friends comes from Warwich, reportedly where poutine was invented (discovered?), so I've heard all the debates about provenance and attributes.
That said, as a vegetarian, I can't have real gravy - so authentic or not, when the craving hits (every other year or so), I make poutine with veggie gravy. And it's awesome.
piccola at 9:21PM on 05/06/08
Haven't tried Poutine yet. Looks good!
There was a place in Quebec that Tony Bourdain ate at on an episode of No Reservations. There were a variety of Poutine! One that had peas on it and an "Italian" version too.
paris221966 at 10:45PM on 05/06/08
Over on the site for the Canadian cartoon "Chilly Beach", be sure to check out the webisode, "Poutine on the Ritz". It's a commercial for Chilly Beach's "only two-star restaurant" in the vein of the older Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ads ("Oh no ... you got cottage cheese in my fries with gravy!" "No ... you got fries with gravy in my cottage cheese!") Mmmm ... tasteless! ;-)
LunaPierCook at 7:45AM on 05/07/08
Best poutine I ever had came from a chip wagon on the Gaspe pennisula in Quebec. It was a total meal in a stryrofoam container - the fresh french fries, squeaky cheese, homemade gravy - along with (ready for this?) peas, cabbage, and some other veggie. I looked highly askance at it but man, I would do anything for another serving now!
As a Canadian, I concur- poutine MUST have curds. I can't abide curds in any other format.
Maureen at 11:38AM on 05/07/08
We live in northeastern Massachusetts, but we drive to Portland Maine to have the poutine at Duckfat. The gravy isn't very vinegary, but the cheese curds are fresh and local, the fries spectacular.
I even named my swirly-colored Maine Coon cat Poutine!
TwoNewfs at 4:11PM on 05/07/08
I've never been to Quebec, but I used to have the most amazing poutine at a Canadian bar in Paris called the Moose. For an American living in Paris, it tasted like comfort food even though I'd never had it before. A great antidote to too many croissants and baguettes - not that I'm complaining!
I'll have to get myself to Quebec soon for the real thing - or at least Brooklyn or Portland!
cupcakelust at 11:07PM on 05/07/08
oh my GOSH I miss Nectars!
chelsabeth at 1:08AM on 05/11/08
I have only ever tried poutine once, so, soooo good... the taste memory lingers on, my mouth is watering once again...
I wonder if I can source curds in the UK...
I want poutine... :(
kittie at 9:48AM on 05/12/08
My home town is known for it's french fries in the summer, and poutine is served up regularly at these establishments...Around here it's not summer until your had your helping of poutine.
Lilartist at 1:30PM on 05/18/08