Northern Soul Christmas poutine

My friend Jennifer from Prescott, Ontario sent in this review. Thanks Jen!

Northern Soul is at it again with its "Holiday Poutine" in time for the Christmas season. We were able to try it out Thanksgiving weekend. 

It is a very generous serving and good from the first bite to the last. I very much enjoyed the added cranberry sauce and turkey to a traditional poutine.  Reminded me of the Madame Benoit recipe for Leftover Turkey Casserole my mom used to make after every holiday meal. Years later my own children, now men, still call it "mush" where all the components of a Christmas dinner become a one pot or casserole meal.  Comfort food at its best.  This is the same.

The picture of the complete poutine is from the Northern Soul ad on Facebook. The second picture is from when we paused a moment to catch our breath and I grabbed a shot before it was completely gone!

If you find yourself out this way, it is worth the trip to enjoy the food at Northern Soul. They have great ribs and a number of different poutine to choose from.  I hope you bring a friend along to share with. You won't be disappointed.

Northern Soul BBQ, 169 Lake St., Mallorytown, ON K0E 1R0
Phone: 613-923-2111

20 of Toronto's over-the-top poutine

Toronto Life just published its "20 of Toronto's most preposterous over-the-top" poutines list. Here's the link: Toronto poutine

Beast Restaurant

A quick poutine review from my niece Sam. This time poutine gnocchi!

My niece Sam dropped me a note and let me know she and her better half went to Beast on Tecumseth in Toronto. She tried their version of poutine: fried gnocchi, chicken and peas, cheese curds, creme fraiche.
When I asked her for a rating out of 5 curds, she gave it a strong 4. Her partner, however, didn't like it. Opposites attract, right?

Beast Restaurant, 96 Tecumseth St., Toronto, ON M6J 2H1 
Phone: 647-352-6000
Website: Beast Restaurant

The Iron Skillet

Review courtesy of Matt, trying a poutine offered as a dessert. Here's what he thought:

Funnel Cake Fry Poutine (Dessert Poutine)

Funnel Cake Fries - Crispy exterior; fluffy, warm interior.

Cream Cheese Curds - Grated frozen cheesecake, melt in your mouth.

Butterscotch "Gravy" - Not too sweet, under fries.

Cinnamon powdered on top - not overpowering, base of flavour.

Raspberry Sauce Garnish - Provides well-needed colour, real raspberries (seeds), nice and sweet.

5/5 curds, left me wanting more.

The Iron Skillet Restaurant & Pub, 20 Balsam Rd. Collingwood, ON
Phone: 705-444-5804
www.theironskillet.ca

Fromagerie St. Albert - Poutine Week

 Yesterday, we headed over to St. Albert, Ontario, to the St. Albert Cheese Factory.

 Several years ago, the factory was destroyed by fire so it was rebuilt and they added a huge restaurant and gift shop.

 It was Poutine Week, so we figured it was a good chance to try a few different pouts!

 We missed the poutine eating contest by only a few hours.

Richard tried the Italian poutine which came with Italian sausage.

 I went for the Montreal smoked meat poutine. The meat was delicious but for me, there was too much added smoked meat spice added on top.

 Richard was shocked but I added a bit of mustard to the pout. That meat was great and it needed the hit.

Our final analysis? The fries were too soggy and not crisp enough. But the gravy was tasty and good and hot. And the curds? Best and freshest ever, natch. We gave them both a 4 out of a possible 5 curds. Extra points for the recyclable cardboard serving box. I guess that boosts them to a 4.5 out of 5.

St. Albert Cheese Co-op, 150 St. Paul St., St. Albert, ON K0A 3C0

Tel: 613-987-2872  Toll free: 1-800-465-1553

Website: fromagestalbert.com

Big Boy Shawarma

 The first poutine of the year? A shawarma poutine at Big Boy Shawarma in Hawkesbury, Ontario.

 My dining partner chose the somewhat healthier fare.

I threw caution to the wind, and tried Big Boy's shawarma poutine which is garlic roasted potatoes, chicken and beef shaved off a hot spit and melted mozzarella.

Okay, so it's not exactly a classic poutine. No fries? No curds? True! But it was darn yummy! I can't rate it like the other poutines on this site, but if you want something sorta, kinda like a poutine, that's very filling (two can share this baby), I'd give it a thumbs up.

Big Boy Sharwarma, 452 County Rd 15, Unit 30, Hawkesbury, ON
Tel: 613-676-4556

Frisco Fries

My friend Betty, a longtime poutine lover, chimes in on her latest tasting...

Betty needed a poutine fix and happened by Frisco Fries in the Georgetown Marketplace. Betty reports," It was excellent....lots of curds and gravy." She rated it a five out of a possible five curds. Nom, nom, nom! Thanks for the heads up Betty. I'll have to check it out.

Frisco Fries, Georgetown Marketplace, 280 Guelph St., Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 
Tel: 905-873-3119

Vert Forchette

In beautiful downtown Vankleek Hill, Ontario is a charming little bistro called Vert Forchette. They have a great menu, full of all sort of yummy things but the three of us decided to try three of their poutines...

 I tried the Mexican poutine: Chili seasoned chicken, Pico de Gallo, avocado, St-Albert curds (the best!) and sour cream.

 Our Toronto visitor tried the pulled pork poutine. It was terrific. Pulled pork on curds and fries with a little coleslaw on top.

My adventuresome boyfriend tried the Mediterranean poutine. Dry cured sausage, sundried tomatoes, capers, olives, onions, tomatoes and local feta cheese (from Skoditakis farms, just down the road).

We all loved our poutine!! I think my favourite was the pulled pork poutine. It really rocked. But all in all, we loved our fancy poutines!

Vert Forchette, 117 Main St. E., Vankleek Hill, ON K0B 1R0
Phone: 613-678-3984

Family Corner Restaurant

A review from Jen in Prescott. Thanks for this great review Jen! I'll have to give this a try!

Last week hubby and I tried out the butter chicken Poutine at the Family Corner Restaurant in Cornwall. French Canadian comfort food meets Indian comfort food. 

The creamy heat of butter chicken on a bed of warm and crisp fries with cheese to ease the heat rounded out the dish.

It was very hard to tell if real curds were used as they were covered with sauce but they were satisfyingly stringy and the whole thing worked quite well. 

We finished the dish and the large was perfect for two people to share. 

I give it four out of five possible curds as I wished the chicken was real roast chicken and I couldn't be certain if real curds were used. Yup, we would do it again!

You should know however that there is no Indian food served on Mondays. The chef's day off.

The Family Corner Restaurant, 900 Pitt St., Cornwall, ON K6H 6R3

Phone: 613-937-3573

Perogie poutine at Beau's Oktoberfest

Oh yeah baby! There we were in Vankleek Hill at Beau's Oktoberfest and with the myriad of food offerings, we HAD TO try the Barley Mow's perogie poutine.

The perogies could have been hotter but the combo of cheesy perogies, curds and gravy really worked well. Adding caramelized onions and bacon? Fabulous! Hard to rate on my curd scale because it's so exotic and hard to compare with a run-of-the-mill poutine but...we gave it a 4 out of 5 possible curds. Maybe a 4.5 because of the addition of extra-crisp bacon.

Hole-E Burger Bar

This poutine review comes from a faithful follower, Sarah. Thanks for the heads up Sarah!

Steve and I recently tried out Hole-E Burger Bar in our neighbourhood (East York), and added a a side of poutine to our burgers and beers.

The fries were crisp and well-cooked, and there were lots of authentic cheese curds. The gravy was really thick, almost too much so, and had a very intense, heavy beef flavour. I felt like it overpowered the curds and fries. My rating: 3.5 out of a possible 5 curd rating.

On a side note: the burger bar had fun decor, and the manager/owner was extremely friendly. We'll be returning!

Hole-E Burger Bar, 1050 Coxwell Ave, Toronto, ON M4X 3G5

Tel. 647-349-9200

Website: www.holeeburger.com

Bonita's Cantina

 At the Williamstown Fair this weekend we came across Bonita's Cantina...

 ...a Mexican food truck that travels from fair to fair.

 They had a nice menu but we just had to try the Mexican poutine.

 Love the t-shirt!

The poutine was "topped with slow cooked shredded pork, chipotle gravy and caramelized onions." Not for poutine purists but seriously, it was terrific. Best fries I've had in a long time. They had their skins on and were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The gravy had a real bite to it. Great onions. The whole thing was totally delicious. The only place where they might have lost a point was not using curds, but shredded cheese instead. But...they gained a point by using biodegradable bowls (cardboardy type things) instead of styrofoam.

I give them a five out of a possible five curds. Loved this poutine!

Here's a link to their website: bonitascantina.com

Restaurant Elisanne

 The other day we decided to head over to St. Isidore and try Restaurant Elisanne.

Inside it's really nice, bright and clean offering a full menu including pizzas and burgers.

But we were there to try the poutine! We ordered a large one to share.

 It was really very large and hot and dripping with goodness.

We split the large platter and it was plenty of food for lunch. The fries were very well done, just the way I like them. Real curds. Very hot, tasty gravy. Overall, very good poutine. Four and a half curds out of a possible five. Yummy!

Restaurant Elisanne, 4530 Ste Catherine, St. Isidore, ON K0C 2B0
Phone: 613-524-1113

La Patate du Coin

 It was the first really warm day of spring and we decided to celebrate...

 ...time to have our first poutine of the year, eaten in the great outdoors.

 We stopped in on our way to a sculpture show...and were surprised to see brochures advertising our destination...with all the condiments!

 We decided to share a medium poutine. It was absolutely fabulous!

 Hot gravy, not too salty. Squeeky, fresh curds. Well cooked and yummy fries. A definite 5 out of 5 curds. Just a delightful poutine!

They had a wonderful spot to eat with several clean picnic tables and even a grackle or two looking for a handout. Well done La Patate du Coin!

La Patate du Coin, 1299 Labrosse, St-Eugene, Ontario K0B 1P0
Phone: 613-674-1616

Willy's Wagon

Thanks to ace reporter Scott for his review from Almonte, Ontario.

Tucked away, just off the corner of Ottawa and Martin streets, you’ll enjoy tucking in to a serving of their poutine – a mound of golden brown fries, lathered in delicious gravy, and complemented by a generous sprinkling of curd – of course – throughout.

   It’s definitely deserving of a five-curd rating (no, I’m not being too laudatory, trust me).

   And if you don’t believe me, check out the look on the face of Rhea, seen here with Scott as they sample a family-sized order.

   Rhea’s mom, and Scott’s girlfriend, Sherly, who snapped this pic and whose idea it was to visit Willy’s during a Victoria Day excursion to Almonte, is absent from the image but, according to Scott, deserves a five-curd rating of her own for suggesting the lunch-time stopover. Rhea was very impressed with the poutine, particularly its mouth-watering gravy – nary a drop of which remained once the towels, or serviettes, were thrown in – which she eagerly scooped out with her fingers as the fries and curd quickly disappeared.

Willy's Wagon, 23 Martin St. N., Almonte, ON K0A 1A0

Phone: 613-253-6830

Grandma's Kitchen

A friend and I went out to try Grandma's Kitchen which opened recently in Alexandria, Ontario. She ordered a side of poutine and it was pretty darn good. Hot gravy, crispy fries and nice, fresh curds. Rating? Likely a 4 out of 5. Nicely done, Grandma!

Grandma's Kitchen 79 Main St. N., Alexandria, ON
Tel: 613-525-4949

OddSeoul

Thanks to Sarah for a review of our first ever SQUASH poutine!

OddSeoul is a hole in the wall in downtown Toronto. We'd walked past is many times without noticing it. Great post-bar eats, all of its dishes are in snack portions, great for sharing. Seems to have a Korean/Asian influence, as per the name.
The poutine was very fresh tasting, surprisingly! The gravy was light and it was topped with green onions, tomatoes, cilantro and ginger, I believe. So it was a sort of Spanish take on poutine. Very unusual. Most unusual? Instead of fries they used squash which was cut into bite-sized pieces and was soft and flavourful. Loved it!!

OddSeoul, 90 Ossington, Toronto, ON M6J 2Y7

No website but click HERE for a review in Toronto Life.

Best Folk Art in Town! Poutine? Not so much...

 On a recent trip to Muskoka, ON, we decided to stop at a chip truck in Huntsville
and try their poutine.

 The big temptation was the folk art. 

 All her own paintings of the food she was cooking up in her little hut.

How could we resist  this? With real curd!

 Unfortunately, the poutine was just not as good as the painting. No curds but shredded cheese instead. Crispy fries. Okay gravy. Extra point for using recyclable container but not a huge winner taste wise. About a two out of a possible five curds.
But...I LOVED the folk art!

Farmhouse Tavern

 We went for brunch at the Farmhouse Tavern in Toronto and we sat outside on the patio.

 Inside there are tractor seats at the counter. Authentic farm stuff everywhere.

 Outside it was a busy, sunny, brunchy spot. I HAD to try the Hangover Poutine.

What can I say? A real knock out! It was a ragout with potato chunks vs. fries and topped with a seared foie gras. Really over the top and almost impossible to rate on my regular curd scale. Totally amazing and in a class all its own.
How about a 5 on the "high-end" curd scale? 

Yah! That's it.

Farmhouse Tavern, 1627 Dupont St., Toronto, ON
Text reservations: 416-561-9114 or email dupontfarmhouse@gmail.com

www.farmhousetavern.tumblr.com