Since I live on the US-Canadian border, I am privileged to have sampled and loved the only Canadian culinary contribution I am aware of, the esteemed poutine. Poutine is essentially a Quebec thing but is certainly available throughout the other provinces. It consists of french fries and cheese curd swimming through a sea of brown gravy. It's irreverant, it's disgusting, it's delicious. It's really great when the fries are thick-cut with the skin still on, the cheese curds get soft but retain their shape and the gravy is rich and salty.
I went to Toronto for New Year's Eve and about twenty minutes past the border, my car inadvertently swereved off the road towards a nearby Harvey's location. Harvey's is a fast-food restaurant and this remarkable outlet was teamed up with a Swiss Chalet, both inside the same building! Is that classy or what? As I entered the building and saw a haze of deep fryer smoke in the air, I knew I was in a for an artery-clogging treat. I was not disappointed. Nicole thought this was not the best representation of the fine dish but since I get poutine so rarely, I thought it was just dandy.
I'm not sure of the origins of the dish, nor can I figure out its murky etymoloigcal background but I do know that if you find yourself on the other side of the border, order the poutine.
1 comment:
i LOVE my poutine!!!!! i think we should petition for restaurants here in the U.S. to make it a standard menu item! c'mon, why does canada get to have all the fun??
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