Best Poutine in Montreal?

[PDC]

I've heard of--but never tried--an Italian version that is apparently available in Montreal, involving some spiced up tomato sauce concoction. Is it at all edible?

Edible but not great. "Poutine Italienne" is basically "pizza fries", fries with tomato sauce and mozzarella instead of the unripened cheese curds the real stuff uses.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Peel Pub on Peel and St. Catherine. It's my favorite poutine place when I'm up there. Although the La Belle Provence outlet right near the Centre Molson, sorry, Centre Bell is good too.

Also, if you want to make it at home, just stop at any ol'IGA or Provigo and you can get canned St. Hubert poutine sauce and cheese curds which keep for quite some time if you have a nice cold refrigerator (I keep 'em wrapped up in something or in a small cooler for the drive back to NYC). I know using a canned sauce is probably blasphemy, but I've never been able to recreate the unique flavor of poutine gravy and doing a poultry, pork or beef gravy just doesn't taste the same.

[grill-it]

Has anyone mentioned la Banquise? It's the best according to my poutine-eating friends. I've honestly never had a 'good' poutine. I love the cheese, I love the fries, I can even stomach some gravy... but the mixture of all three just doesn't do it for me. I'll stick to a nice steak+frites...

[Rabbit Angstrom]

I'm happy to report on the State of the Poutine Union in Montreal for my first post on this board...

According to folk wisdom, there is no decent poutine to be had in the 514 area code. But regional allegiances sometimes cloud poutine lovers' better judgment: Abitibians swear by Chez Morasse Poutine (awful yet involuntary pun, as aptly-named Mr Conrad Morasse serves an excellent poutine in his Rouyn-Noranda restaurant); Grand-Mère folks praise Auger's poutine high and low, whereas Shawinigan people are prone to lionize Beauparlant's stuff. And let's not even talk about Quebec City denizens: Quebecers' undying affection for Chez Ashton's poutine remains a mystery to me... L'amour a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point.

I for one am partial to Cantine Saint-Bernard's poutine, on Highway 116, in Sainte-Madeleine, near Saint-Hyacinthe. And there is a fantastic poutine to be had at the main crossing in Coaticook, just across the road from the local cheese curd factory.

But there are also some excellent poutine-makers in Montreal, none of whom practice this fine art in chain or franchise restaurants...

Some people have mentioned La Banquise, on Rachel Street, whose straight poutine is quite well-balanced. Resto du Village, on Wolfe Street, is also a choice destination, although their fries are not as good as they used to be. To this list, I would also add Ma'am Bolduc, on De Lorimier Street near Marie-Anne. And if you long for poutine when you're stuck in the West Island, you can always count on Chez Paiement, in Sainte-Geneviève, near Cégep Gérald-Godin, to satisfy your craving very nicely.

I always find that the big question mark is the gravy...

Fries, well, everyone knows how to make good fries, don't they - although practically no one bothers actually making them at most fast-food joints.

Cheese - again, it could be a no-brainer. Martin Picard laid down the law very nicely on Josée Di Stasio's show when he explained that the curds must (1) be day-fresh and (2) SQUEAK under your teeth. For once, size does matter: most restaurants serve cheese curds that are too small, and therefore melt too fast. Poutine cheese must never, never be gooey. S-q-u-e-a-k-y.

But gravy is where a poutine-maker can best express his or her creativity. Forget about the instant or canned stuff. Of course, the Pied de Cochon's foie gras appareil may not always be the most accessible option. Simplicity is often the best bet: any beef- or chicken-based gravy can do the trick. What's really critical, in my opinion, is (1) temperature (it's gotta be warm enough, but not too much, or the cheese will melt too fast) and (2) thickness/texture (it's gotta be thick). Watching your fries drown in watery gravy is a sad sight to behold at 3:30 a.m., when you haven't had any success on the singles market. But I digress.

Anyway, I'm very anxious to take part on other discussions... I'm really impressed to see so many highly-regarded Montreal foodies on this board. It's a pleasure and an honour to share these premises with them!

[fresco]

Great report, Rabbit. Poutine is one of many. many things that cause severe Montreal envy elsewhere--hope you see fit to address some of these other things in subsequent posts. Is your username an indication that you appreciate the Updike series as much as you do poutine?

[VivreManger]

Excellent.

RA, do you plan to apply your throughly well-conceived and expressed principes de poutine in testing the virtures of 514 poutine purveyors? If so, when may we receive your next report? My hangover and frustrations can't wait.

[Lesley C]

Hey Rabbit, great post. Welcome to eGullet. Looking forward to hearing more from you!

[Rabbit Angstrom]

fresco: indeed, I am a great fan of John Updike's novels...

VivreManger: I certainly intend to do so, not only in the 514, but also in the 418 and the 819 (I could tell you about a wonderful chicken poutine - called a galvaude - I had at the Roulotte du Nord in Chibougamau, aaah...). Looking for the best poutine in Quebec has been a sort of Grail-like pursuit for me over the past few years, as a matter of fact!

Lesley C: Thanks for your kind words! I have been lurking on this board for a while, and I think I'll definitely stick around...

Rest assured, I do have many other food-related interests besides poutine... such as Danny Saint-Pierre's deconstructed Black Forest cake, at Derrière les Fagots, for instance! Absolutely loved it - man, this guy's got talent...

Edited August 9, 2003 by Rabbit Angstrom (log)

[Rabbit Angstrom]

More adventures in Poutine-land - and I don't mean Russia!

I went up to Joliette with a friend of mine, two weeks ago, and we decided that lunchtime was the right time for a great poutine. I remembered visiting a grease emporium somewhat north of Joliette, a few years back, so we took the 131 North to Saint-Félix-de-Valois, in search of a decent poutine.

Sure enough, there it was: the Repaire du Nord. Ordered the extra-large regular poutine. (Note: when I order poutine in a new spot, I never ask for extra cheese curds. That's my way of testing their sense of proportions. You get the proper fries-cheese-gravy ratio, and you're halfway there.)

And it was truly excellent. The fries were crispy and gold-brown on the outside, not too slender, piping hot and wonderfully greasy - just as they should be. Very good cheese, quite tasty, just salty enough, in exactly the right amount, although the curds were a little small, in my opinion. You know what that means, of course: a larger surface of contact with the hot gravy causes the cheese to melt too fast. If your cheese isn't top-notch, you get runny poutine at the bottom of the plate, which is deemed to be cruel and unusual punishment in most democratic countries. Finally, hot, thick, brown gravy - obviously not the canned stuff: not too much of it, just perfect.

Le Repaire du Nord's poutine comes close to Chez Bernard's, in Sainte-Madeleine. With larger curds of better cheese - it was a little bit blander than I like -, it would be a serious contender. Plus, there are no trucks speeding by your table, or wasps buzzing by your soft drink, as would be the case on the 116 in Sainte-Madeleine. Le Repaire has some very nice picnic tables, close to the main street - which is very quiet, I mean, this isn't La Catherine, right? -, in the heart of the village.

(I know, it's in Saint-Félix-de-Valois, i.e. quite a long drive from downtown Montreal. Yeah, so what?)

Speaking of Chez Bernard, I went back there last week, and it was still a fabulous poutine. Almost perfect, in fact. The cook did go a bit overboard, and ladled too much gravy onto the fries. But thanks to Chez Bernard's perfect curds that remained solid until the end, I didn't have to wolf down my plate. Phew.

I'll be back very soon with another report!

Stéphane

[Steamtrain]

Bump!

anything new/changed in the Montreal poutine scene in the last few years?