Kebec not Quebec

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It’s pronounced Kebec, not Quebec. And it’s pronounced “poo” – “tin” not “poo” “teen”. Though it does go great with a Teen Burger from A&W, and A&W was my first poutine as we’d stop for it on our way to the cottage in Northwestern, Ontario. This poutine however, is not from A&W, it is from La Poutinerie Albert in Quebec. Lucky for us you don’t have to be in Quebec to have great poutine, though Kebecers will tell you it’s better there, and they will also tell you how to pronounce it properly … tomayto, tomahto … just eat it.

La Poutinerie Albert
780 Boulevard Saint-Joseph
Gatineau, Quebec

Relax, homemade pulled pork is easy peasy

Lazy Saturday dinner. Before noon, put a couple of chopped onions and garlic in the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour in a cup of chicken broth and 1/2 a cup of apple cider vinegar. Get a 4lb pork shoulder from Windsor Quality Meats and rub that pork with a concoction of seasoning (cinnamon brings out the best). Then sit back and watch Netflix for 6 to 8 hours. Grab a couple of forks and pull. Prep some BBQ sauce with mustard, brown sugar and more apple cider vinegar, mix 1/2 of your slow cooker juices with your BBQ sauce and add that to your pulled pork… easy peasy.

Now put that sweet sweet pulled pork you just made on some fries and curds and shout a lil’ Texan yeehaa… ’cause $50 worth of ingredients pulls 10 huge servings at 5 bucks per. Don’t forget to tip 20% and buy the chef a beer.

Windsor Quality Meats
4110 Main St.
Vancouver, BC

 

 

 

Poutine toppings are great,

Relax, you can put whatever you want on your poutine

Some folks put pineapple on pizza, and some don’t. Some folks like cilantro on their tacos, and some don’t. And some folks put ketchup on poutine.  Relax, that’s my friend’s poutine, I had the tacos instead… tacos are hot right now.  Mag’s 99 Fried Chicken and Mexican Cantina is also hot right now.  Nestled under The Chief on the southside of Squamish – the outdoor recreation capital of the universe – Mag’s 99 is a post boarding, biking or camping must. Usual lineups out the door confirms it’s good. Their poutine places a Canadian staple in a lineup of fried chicken and Mexican inspired food.  And with Star Wars themed Day of the Dead art on the wall it doesn’t matter if you like ketchup on your poutine.

Arriba!

Mag’s 99 Fried Chicken and Mexican Cantina
1584 BC-99, Squamish, BC

 

Relax, you don’t have to buy the art on the walls

There’s something to say about a restaurant where the chef or owner walks table to table to greet their guests. You might expect this from a Michelin starred restaurant, where it adds to the patron’s experience, personalizes the food, and helps justify the high prices of exclusive dining. While some patrons enjoy eating in peace and quiet, quickly pay their bill, and be on their way, there’s something to say about taking a more relaxed approach to dining where you’re not in a rush, you take your time and enjoy the interactions with the establishment’s staff.

When you eat at Frenchies Diner in Vancouver, you will likely be greeted by the owner, a hefty French guy who will try and sell you the art on the walls. He’ll ask you how your poutine is, where you’re from and why you’re not interested in buying the paintings on his walls. This is what fine poutine dining should be. Feel free to say there’s too much sauce, not enough cheese or the fries are undercooked. He’ll quickly remind you that you’re wrong and the fries are soaked 24 hours before hand, pre-fried, then refried to order, quality cheese curds with the proper sauce to match. Don’t mess with this guy’s poutine… bug him about the art on the wall, but don’t bug him about the poutine. Order a large poutine, a pint and say hi when he comes by your table. Oui?

Frenchies Diner
2470 Main St.
Vancouver, BC

Relax, your poutine is too big… but it could be bigger

The Charlatan
1447 Commercial Dr.
Vancouver, BC

Relax, you can have champagne with your poutine

The last spike was hammered down near Revelstoke in 1885 signifying the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, fulfilling British Columbia’s promise of connecting the west coast to the rest of Canada. Poutine would now be able to travel across the country, though it won’t be invented for another 72 years. Commemorating this historic achievement, Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s 15km run The Last Spike takes you top to bottom at North America’s highest vertical decent. Aside from that leg burner, Revelstoke is host to some of the best terrain in BC’s Kootenay mountain range.

Après–ski at The Village Idiot with a pint of Mt. Begbie beer, a burger, poutine and all you need is champagne in the morning.

The Village Idiot
306 MacKenzie Ave.Revelstoke, BC

Relax, and get POUTINE PROBED by the 90’s

There’s no question about my love for poutine, but I’ve never used biblical references to describe the great Canadian dish. More than just a hipster’s guide to 90’s fashion and haircuts, this 90’s CBC documentary, aptly titled Poutine Probe, serves up some classic investigative journalism on the wonderful world of poutine and will be the best 8 minutes of your day.  Get Poutine Probed Here >>

Poutine Probe
CBC News
Reporter: Stephen Langford
Date: November 5, 1991

Relax, you can have poutenny for brunch

Brunch is one of the more common portmanteau words in the English lexicon. Other notables include, frappuccino, cronut and tofurkey. But it’s Sunday, so let’s talk about brunch.

Eliminating the need for Saturday-night-carousers to get up early for breakfast, brunch is often the highlight of society’s non-churchgoing Sundays, especially when we aren’t feeling great after the previous 1,2, or 3 nights of adventure. In this particular case, Saturday night was followed by Sunday morning snowboarding with a mere 3 hours of sleep in between. Poutine and a caesar will certainly help wrap up this great weekend. Since Tap and Barrel won’t let you order the poutine burger at brunch, The Quebec Street Poutine Benny will have to do. And it did. I think the appropriate portmanteau would be… poutenny.

Tap and Barrel
1 Athletes Way
Vancouver, BC

Relax, poutinespiration is a natural phenomenon

Pou·tine·spi·ra·tion  noun

Definition
: a picture, sight or mention of poutine that inspires someone to go and eat poutine

Origin
: Vancouver, BC

First Known Use
: 21st Century

Example in a Sentence
: It was a rainy, cold summer day in Ottawa, the nation’s capital, and one of the few times the four of them get together to golf; a father, two brothers and a brother-in-law. Despite the heavy rains, they persisted through 18 holes; scattered about, huddling under umbrellas and looking for golf balls in the soggy rough. There won’t be many birdies today. Soaked head to toe, they packed their bags into the back of the pickup thinking of home and dry clothes.

“Let’s get poutine,” one brother said.

The brother-in-law was native to Ottawa and offered to direct the foursome to the best poutine in Ottawa. “But it probably won’t be open when the weather is this bad,” he said reluctantly. This was poutinespiration enough to the two brothers who were already warming up to the thought. They gambled and started towards JP’s Crispy Chips to test their luck.

The rain was coming down hard, the OPEN sign was on… “There will be poutine!” one brother shouted. The two brothers ran out of the truck to get everyone’s requested “medium” poutine. But the prices were the best the one brother had ever seen (having lived in Vancouver the past 10 years he was used to paying over $10 for a poutine, the large at JP’s was only $7.50). This poutinespiration drove him to adjust the order ever so slightly, “4 large poutines please,” he announced. “One with extra cheese,” the other brother added.

The father and brother-in-law didn’t know they were eating large poutines instead of mediums. They ate and ate and ate, but couldn’t finish the remaining cheese and chips floating in a soup of gravy… “these are mediums?” the father yelled in frustration. Not able to hold a lie, the truth was confessed, but not until after the one brother finished his large.

JP’s Crispy Chips
1375 Clyed Ave.
Ottawa, ON

This chip truck has been relaxing for 35 years

One of the great hallmarks of Onterrible is the prevalence of chip trucks; many with simple menus serving nothing but fresh cut french fries. If you grew up back east, chances are you experienced your first poutine at one of these mobile potato slingers.

The concept of a mobile kitchen dates back to 1866. As America’s beef market expanded after the Civil War, “chuckwagons” were created to serve the cowboys herding cattle on the prairies. Today, mobile food is bigger than ever. In urban centers, to satisfy the diversity of cultures and taste, food trucks are slinging city folk a variety of dishes like perogies, fish tacos and butter chicken.

However, with all the variety out there, it’s nice to come across an old school chip truck like Mr. Chips in Parry Sound, Ontario. For the past 35 years, hungry Georgian Bay cottagers have been lining up at Mr. Chips for their hot, freshly cut french fries. And with poutine on the menu… I’ll take a large.

Mr. Chips – Truck #1
23 Seguin Street
Parry Sound, ON