Poutine – What’s not to Love?

Poutine: A dish of Canadian origin made with french fries topped with cheese curd and covered with gravy. When I first heard of its existence, my first question was, why is this not in my belly right now? Oh, 42nd Parallel don’t be so cruel. With all the culinary delights available to me (I can go buy a dish of Cantonese chicken feet right now!) why is this one so hard to come by.

That was then, this is now.

This week The New Yorker published a piece by Calvin Trillin trying to explain the appeal of this concoction. (The New Yorker Out Loud podcast has an interview/sample tasting with Trillin, too.) Poutine is now available across the U.S., mainly in hipster-filled restaurants.

First a few clarifications. Don’t get thrown off by the word “curd.” Just think cheese in little blocks. Not really all that flavorful, but it does the job. Gravy to those in the American heartland means white gravy, unless it’s Thanksgiving or there’s a pot roast involved. Here, gravy means brown, ostensibly of beefy birthright.

I feel like my entire culinary history has led me to this food.

Let’s start with french fries. We’re raised on the stuff. From McDonald’s to, well, everywhere, fries are (for better or worse) America’s side dish. In Seattle, I had the pleasure of sampling this food at it’s finest. Frites on Capitol Hill did the Belgian style, straight from the motherland. (The secret is two rounds of frying.) They were served in a cone and were simply outrageous.

Now, let’s talk gravy. If you grew up in Amarillo, TX in the 80s and early 90s, Calico County was the “home style cooking” joint of choice. Besides great chicken friend steak and the slightly scary chicken fried corn on the cob, this place did something amazing with their fries. Behold, “Wets:” french fries covered in gravy. Yes, it was a heart stopper, but what food mentioned thus far isn’t? Seriously, amazing.

The concept of cheese on fries shouldn’t be new to anyone. A good plate of cheese fries with a side of ranch for dipping just screams Texas, doesn’t it? The Chicken Oil Company in College Station does them as well as anybody, and I’ve had my share. Now that Outback and Chili’s are serving them up, this dish doesn’t even raise any eyebrows.

All this leads us to poutine. We have the fries (Belgian style, hopefully), the cheese (partially melted) and a slathering of gravy. There’s now a joint in my neck of the woods serving this up. Frank, which specializes in fancy hot dogs and sausages, does a waffle fries version. I finally partook, and it wasn’t bad. Not the be all, end all, but worth the trip. Now, it’s just a matter of time until poutine completes the invasion and McDonald’s starts selling it. Don’t be shocked.

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