A Fine Mess …

Just Don't Call 'Em Cheese Fries

On a recent visit to Montréal, I finally took the plunge and tried poutine. For the uninitiated, poutine is a mix of fresh cheese curds —an intermediate step on the way to actual cheese— and French fries topped with a light gravy or sauce. It's a former working-class snack, '50s comfort food that's morphed into a foodie favorite that's as much a symbol of local pride in Québec as deep-dish pizza and cheesesteaks are in Chicago and Philadelphia. The term itself is said to have come into French as a loan-word from the English word "pudding" and essentially means "a mess."

I've visited Montréal several times over the years, but something about the combination always sounded unappetizing, and the few references to it I'd seen, even those written by its fans, did little to dispel the impression. But not only is the mix not all that odd a combination —potatoes and cheese, basically— it's not really even much of a mess. More to the point, it simply tastes good and can accommodate a wide variety of added ingredients to produce numerous appealing main-dish possibilities.

Location is key : just east of Montréal is Québec's cheese making region, with the towns of Drummondville, Victoriaville and Warwick —recently referred to as The Poutine Triangle— each of which has a claim as the birthplace of poutine. Freshness is of the essence with cheese curds.

Parenthetically, although poutine itself is still a rarity in Chicago, fresh curds are a popular snack all by themselves in neighboring Wisconsin. You can even find them at some Chicago farmers' markets, specialized dairy shops and available fried on the menus of some neighborhood bars owned by and run for expatriate Wisconsinites.

Poutine additionally profits from the devotion both in Québec and Ontario to the art of French fries that makes them special even when plain. Eastern Canada —just north of Maine— is known for great spuds, and in cities like Toronto and Ottawa, you'll find "chip wagons" parked downtown : big lunch trucks serving delicious fresh hot fries, often made using the classic double-fry method pioneered in France and Belgium. Potatoes prepared this way are soft inside, crisp outside and imbued with a rich flavor.

Many chip wagons also sell poutine, and on my visits to these Ontario cities, I always make a point of getting something from a chip wagon. The quality of the basic fries emboldened my curiosity. It finally just seemed foolish not to give poutine a try, especially in its home province.

It's important to keep in mind that poutine is not French for cheese fries. Cheese fries are widely available in Chicago, and there are many variations on cheese fires across the US —including "disco fries" in New York and New Jersey, and "hobo fries" around Washington DC, but they both involve melted cheese. Fresh curds may soften, but they don't melt, and —this is, too, key— when fresh, they snap and squeak when bitten into. Cheese fries are simply not poutine.

It's probably no surprise that poutine is not a health food, but it is in fact nourishing: a typical 12-ounce serving has 29 grams of protein —nearly half the daily requirement for a six-foot man doing endurance training. And potatoes being a low-fat food on their own, it's possible to lower the overall fat content of the dish substituting oven fries for deep-fried potatoes and going easy on the butter in the sauce, typically based on beef or chicken stock with added roux.


And poutine has its fun side. At a Michigan Presidential campaign rally back in 2000, for instance, a Canadian humorist approached candidate George Bush, informing him that the country's Prime Minister Jean Poutine was a supporter —never mind that the PM's last name was Chrétien and that Canadian officials don't endorse US candidates. Bush —having been famously tripped up on the subject of world leaders in an earlier gotcha interview— gamely accepted the endorsement, even pledging close cooperation with Poutine. The interview then aired on national TV in Canada, doubtless to the amusement of everyone north of the border. On his first visit to Canada as US President, however, Bush seemed to enjoy having been punked, taking time to say that he wanted to thank this Monsieur Poutine for the endorsement, expressing mock disappointment at not having had the chance to meet him.



So where to get this mythical dish in its homeland? Drummondville eatery Le Roy Jucep —once owned by Jean-Paul Roy, self-proclaimed inventor of poutine— offers 15 varieties in addition to the classic, each as a main course. In Montréal, the place to go day or night is La Banquise, open 'round the clock since 1968, with 25 varieties —including Tabasco sauce-laced Kamikaze Poutine, Three Amigos Poutine [three kinds of sausage], Elvis Poutine [made with ground beef, peppers and sautéed mushrooms —none of which immediately comes to mind as a favorite of The King]— and even an Obélix Poutine, named for a popular French comic book character and made with smoked meat, another local specialty that's basically a cousin of pastrami. Gourmets head for chef Marc Beaudin's Au Pied de Cochon to sample his version made with duck foie gras. Both Montréal eateries are in the city's busy, fashionable Plateau-Mont Royal neighborhood.

Throughout Québec, you can even order Poutine at major chains like McDonald's, perhaps as an accompaniment to un Sandwich Poulet Grillé Classique, but most Montréal locals favor the neighborhood spots like Alto on Avenue du Parc, near McGill University, the Roi d'Ontario in the city's historically blue-collar Hochelaga Maisonneuve neighborhood, or any one of several branches of small local chains like Frite Alors, Lafleur, and La Belle Province, this last being synonymous with Québec's nickname, located variously around Montréal island. For the truly devoted, there is the Festival de la Poutine in Drummondville, an annual event whose first edition was just celebrated last August, and rival Warwick claims that its annual Festival des Fromages —held each June and said to be the largest festival dedicated to fine cheeses in North America—actually began as the first-ever poutine gala back in 1993.



I had my poutine out in the back garden of the lively, casual La Banquise —choosing the classic for this inaugural experience. And while this dish began life as a kind of snack-food / junk-food item, today's poutine is best paired with a good wine or microbrew. I technically dined alone but in fact enjoyed my meal with a couple of blondes: Boréale Blonde —brewed just north of Montréal in Blainville. Either the coppery Boréale Cuivrée ale or the brewery's stout, Boréale Noire, might have been a better match, but I had to go with what was available in the house.

Where poutine has appeared in the US —mostly in trendy areas in large cities— it is often, not surprisingly, at places with Canadian ownership. This is the case, for example, in Los Angeles, where both Soleil in Westwood, with its Poutine Christine, and Dusty's in Silverlake, feature the item as a side dish. Elsewhere on the West Coast, the Salt House in San Francisco's South of Market offers a version made with short ribs gravy and cheddar cheese —but purists might want to head straight for the Steelhead Diner in Seattle's Pike Place Market, where the chef-owner and his partner-wife serve poutine made with cheese curds produced right next door at artisanal cheesemaker Beecher's Cheese. Needless to say, these are all upscale versions.


In New York, the dish is a cosmopolitan affair, available both on the menu of the Australian gastropub Sheep Station in Brooklyn's Park Slope and at the East Village Belgian-inspired hole-in-the-wall French-fry emporium Pommes Frites —on Second Avenue between 7th Street and St. Mark's Place, around the corner from Cooper Union. At Pommes Frites, said frites are fried right before your eyes, served no-frills with cheddar curds and chicken gravy, all in a styrofoam cup. Sheep Station offers poutine as a side to accompany main dishes such as salmon salad or grilled lamb chops.

Of the made-in-USA varieties of poutine that I've had, the Pommes Frites version probably comes closest to the blue-collar Québec original, even if the East Village staff is Filipino and the neighborhood is an old Ukranian section of Manhattan as well as home to New York's oldest Irish bar, McSorley's Old Ale House. In fact, McSorley's, open 1854, is just around the corner —at 7th Street and Taras Shevchenko Place, across from the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church— and a great place to grab a beer afterwards, as I did. Two, actually.

Chicagoans can sample poutine, or something like it, at at least two locations: across from Millennium Park, gastropub The Gage —one of whose owners is French-Canadian— features an upscale, main-dish sized side-dish version made with elk ragout, while Edgewater's Pizzeria Aroma, formerly owned by a Canadian, serves one, though with a decidedly Chicago accent, topped with Italian beef sauce and mozzarella cheese —but this version definitely is cheese fries. Note also that The Gage, obviously, has a nice selection of beer and wine, while at Pizzeria Aroma, the drinks are exclusively soft.


If you needed an excuse for a trip to La Belle Province any time of year, perhaps this is it. One caveat : while stick-to-your-ribs poutine makes a hearty winter warmer and Montréal is a great four-season destination, you may want to wait for spring to eat out in the garden.


Poutine Preparation :

This is the basic recipe for two to four servings of classic poutine. You can add other ingredients to the sauce or to the final mixture.

Ingredients

• 1 quart of chicken, beef, or veal stock; vegetarians could substitute vegetable stock here
• 2 ounces flour
• 2 ounces butter or oil for the sauce
• 4 large russet potatoes
• 3 quarts of frying oil —e.g, peanut oil
• ½ pound fresh cheese curds

Sauce

• Prepare a roux by cooking the flour in the butter or oil in a saucepan until the flour begins to turn golden, about two minutes.
• Add the stock to the roux and bring to a boil. Simmer for about a half hour, occasionally skimming the surface. The idea here is to reduce the liquid to half or a quarter of the original amount
• Strain the sauce through a cheesecloth-lined strainer
• Add salt and pepper to taste

Potatoes

This is the classic double-frying method

• Peel the potatoes and cut into quarter-inch square strips of equal length
• Place the strips into a bowl of cold water as you slice them
• When all the potatoes are sliced, drain the strips to remove all water
• Have an oven preheated to 200°F [n.b. 425°F for "oven fries"]
  

• Fry the potatoes in small batches for 2 to 3 minutes in the oil heated to about 320°F in a large dutch oven or a potato fryer
• Remove the potatoes —which should be semi-translucent and limp— from the hot oil, drain on a paper towel and cool to room temperature
• Increase the oil temperature to 375°F
• Cook the potatoes a second time an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until crisp and golden brown
• Remove the potatoes and drain again
• Season with salt
• Keep the small batches warm in the 200° F oven until all are cooked

Here is the reduced-fat "oven fries" method

• Once the potatoes are sliced, washed and drained , toss the slices with about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil until they are lightly coated. If you like, season the potato slices before baking with garlic powder, paprika or parmesan cheese added to the oil
• Spread the slices evenly in (a) single layer(s) on one or more baking sheets and place in the 425°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and tender
• Turn the potatoes over once during baking

Assembling the Poutine

• Cover the bottom of a bowl or oblong serving dish with a layer of cheese curds
• Cover this layer with fries
• Cover the layer of fries with additional curds
• Spoon the sauce over the mixture of fries and curds
• Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro
• Bon Appétit!
  

Places Mentioned in the Article :

Drummondville

Le Roy Jucep
1050 Boulevard St-Joseph
Drummondville QC J2C 2C6
tel : 514.478.4848
http://www.jucep.com

Festival de la Poutine
http://www.festivaldelapoutine.com
n.b. : website in French only
in 2009 : scheduled for the entire month of August


Warwick

Festival des Fromages de Warwick
http://www.festivaldesfromages.qc.ca
n.b. : website in French only
2009 dates : Thursday-Sunday 18-21 June


Montréal

La Banquise
994 rue Rachel Est
Montréal QC H2J 2J3
tel : 514.525.2415
http://www.restolabanquise.com

Restaurant au Pied de Cochon
536 Avenue Duluth Est
Montréal QC H2L 1A9
tel : 514.281.1114
http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca


Chicago

Gage Restaurant & Tavern
24 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago IL 60603
tel : 312.3724243
http://www.thegagechicago.com

Pizzeria Aroma
1125 W. Berwyn Avenue
Chicago IL 60640
tel : 773.769.4900
http://www.pizzeriaaroma.com


New York

Pommes Frites
123 2nd Avenue
New York NY 10003
tel : 212.674.1234
http://www.pommesfrites.ws

McSorley's Old Ale House
15 E. 7th Street
New York NY 10003
tel : 212.474.9148
http://www.mcsorleysnewyork.com/home.html#

Travel tip : you can reach both Pommes Frites and McSorley's from Midtown by subway —either by Line 6 to Astor Place or Lines N or R to Eighth Street.

Sheep Station
149 4th Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11217
tel : 718.857.4337
http://www.sheepstation.net


Los Angeles

Soleil Westwood
1386 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90024
tel: 310.441.5384
http://www.soleilwestwood.com/

Dusty's French-American Bistro
3200 W Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90026
tel : 323.906.1018
http://www.dustysbistro.com


San Francisco

Salt House
2 Shaw Alley
San Francisco CA 94105
tel : 415.543.8900
http://www.salthousesf.com/


Seattle

Steelhead Diner
95 Pine Street
Seattle WA 98101
tel: 206.625.0129
http://www.steelheaddiner.com/