Restaurant Review: La Poutine

LA POUTINE 8720 109th Street ~ la-poutine.com Instagram: @la_poutine_ ~ Twitter: @La_Poutine_ Co-Diner: Tim Golem

Is poutine the most Canadian food invention? Probably yes. Emerging from Quebec in the late 1950s, this french fries, cheese curds and brown gravy combo has become one of the quintessential dishes of Canadian cuisine. Here are some of my own personal (judgmental) thoughts on poutine and how it's supposed to be made: 1. Crispy french fries. Must be fried twice to a golden perfection. 2. Cheese curds. Must be squeaky. Cheese will melt on the outside while retaining a cool, squeaky centre. DO NOT consume a "poutine" made with shredded cheese. Blasphemy! 3. Sauce brune. The gravy is known as a "brown sauce." Should be silky and piping hot. If these three points are not met then the poutine is generally not worth my time. (Let's have some standards, people!) VUE Weekly named La Poutine as the #1 Best Poutine 2018 and #1 Best French Fries 2018 and therefore I had to check them out! (I've tried their poutine years ago. But since that time I spent 3.5 years living in Montreal, so I figured that I'm due to try them again.) The little Garneau shop has been around for quite some time (it opened in 2011) and is pretty undisputed as thee spot for poutine in Edmonton. One of the owners is actually from Quebec, which is certainly comforting. You need that built-in expertise! The restaurant is very small, however there is seating for about 10 people and they offer outdoor seating as well (even in the winter!). The space is simple and clean with the ordering counter as the focal point. There are some fleur-de-lis here and there which are necessary! And the menu is pretty straight forward: They've got poutine and almost nothing else. I visited on a Saturday evening and I came prepared. The menu consists of sixteen different poutine concoctions, ranging from very traditional Quebec styles to versions that are decidedly suited to a Western palate. (The Perogy and the The Donair scream Edmonton to me.) I like seeing this! It means that they understand their audience. (However, they don't have a poutine with hot dog in it, and that might be one of the most Quebecois ways to eat a poutine.) They also make a feature poutine that changes every once in a while and it's fun to keep an eye out for what they create next. La Poutine does claim to take the three main ingredients very seriously, which is key. Their fries are hand-cut from locally grown russet potatoes and twice fried in canola oil. The cheese curds are brought in from Quebec for added authenticity. And there are three types of gravy to choose from; Traditional (Quebecois-style), Beef (Western-style), and they also do a gluten-free gravy. All of the poutines some in regular or large size and a couple even come in a mini size. As for the beverages at La Poutine, I have some criticisms. They offer cans of pop, which is totally fine, however they don't carry the correct kind. Everyone in Quebec knows that a poutine (or any fast food, really) is to be enjoyed with either a cherry coke or a spruce beer. Neither of these are options at La Poutine. They do have Pepsi, which is probably the next most acceptable thing to drink, but it would be so much better if they carried a few more authentic choices. I was very ready to commit some food crimes and to crush a whole pile of fries, curds and gravy. First up, The Big Mack ($9.50 for regular).

Traditional poutine + ground beef + house mack sauce + lettuce + red onion + pickles + toasted sesame seeds.

Big Mac-themed foods are so hot right now and are a major trend. I was happy to see that La Poutine is on top of this. I thought that they totally pulled this off and did an excellent job of creating a Big Mac in poutine form. It tasted exactly like it. The fresh lettuce, pickles and special sauce really brings in the exact flavour and mouthfeel that you would expect. And I especially liked the nice touch of adding sesame seeds to mimic the hamburger bun - so smart! The "weirdest" poutine on the menu is likely The P.B. ($9.50 for regular) although to me, it really doesn't sound weird at all. It just sounds like something that I would love to eat. We ordered it as our "wild card" item, although I was pretty sure that it was going to be great.

Traditional poutine + bacon + maple PB&J drizzle + crushed peanuts.

This was the one! We all agreed that this was the best poutine of the four that we ordered! Ultra unique, the flavours in this poutine just make sense. The PB&J drizzle offered that amazing, crave-worthy, salty and sweet combo and the crushed peanuts brought a great texture. I kept forgetting that there is bacon in this, which is the absolute best protein that they could have chosen. This poutine was fun, different and delicious! Next up we wanted to sample something really traditional to get a feel for how they're doing a true classic. The Quebecois ($9.50 for regular).

Traditional poutine + shaved Montreal smoked meat.

I was skeptical of how good their smoked meat could possibly be, but it wasn't half bad. The cured, smoky taste of the meat was present. It's a very distinct flavour and this poutine manages to capture it. I would say that there was a lot less smoked meat used compared to what you would see in Quebec, but this is likely because it's much more of a premium ingredient here. I also found the thin shave of the meat to be slightly off-point. To be more authentic it would need to have a thicker shave and be chunky and crumbled throughout. Lastly, The Hot Wing ($9.50 for regular) because I can't say "no" to buffalo.

Traditional poutine + spicy buffalo chicken + ranch drizzle + green onion.

Another example of a bunch of flavours that are tried and true. You can't really go wrong with buffalo and ranch! I enjoyed the heat mixed with the cooling, creamy ranch. The chicken was a little bit dry but still tasted good. It's difficult for me not to be a fan of this one. Overall, the base traditional poutine within each of the ones that we ordered was very good, which is the most important part of all. We selected the traditional gravy for all of them and I was very happy with the light, seasoned sauce. The cheese curds were excellent and squeaky. If I had to pick a weak component it might be the fries which somehow seemed to be missing something. They just didn't seem to have enough life or enough texture. I felt like I wanted something just a bit more from them. When I saw that they're serving Tarte au Sucre ($3.75) I had to grab one!

This is a traditional sugar pie from Quebec and it's an awful lot like a butter tart. This one wasn't all that amazing because it seemed pretty manufactured and the crust was overwhelming and too crumbly. The inside was nice and sweet though, capturing a little bit of the tarte au sucre essence. Over here in Edmonton we're pretty much as far removed from Quebec as it gets. La Poutine is able to bring a little bit of French Canadian flair to the city and they do a half decent job of it. It might not be the best poutine that I've ever eaten but it's a pretty acceptable and delicious option for when the poutine craving strikes. They even have Vachon products for sale at the cash, which is a very nice touch. La Poutine gets it.