Montreal Part 1: Poutine

Who doesn't love a great poutine? We Wisconsinites are more connected to poutine then you would think. One of the major ingredients of a poutine is cheese curds, something that doesn't exist very far outside of Wisconsin,

Truth be told, if you need a demonstration that French chefs aren't the best in the world, the evidence is that Non-French Wisconsinites perfected the fried cheese curd. However Montreal's darling son, the Poutine, is another delectable application for the youngest of cheese.

If you don't know what a Poutine is, I feel bad for you son. It's a plate of French Fries piled high with cheese curds. It's then covered with a ladle of boiling hot brown gravy. It melts the cheese curds and squeezes into all of the nooks and crannies. NOM NOM NOM.

This is the classic, (in French that's la classique) It's your standard poutine, the likes of which have been around for decades. In recent years people have been getting more and more fancy with their poutine. At Au Pied du Cochon you can get it with a big slice of Foie Gras on top.

Unfortunately I didn't have time for that, but we did taste some interesting variations at La Banquise a 24 Hour greasy spoon which is well regarded as the best poutine in all of Montreal.

La Boogaloo

First the name drew me in "Boogaloo, Boogaloo, boogaloo", then the pulled pork made me order it. This was freaking amazing. Basically it's a classique that has been covered in smokey pulled pork, creamy cole slaw and sour cream. The smokey, sweet pulled pork was high quality, and it didn't overpower the cheese curds and brown gravy. All over an amazing poutine!

La Festival

La Festival was great too. It had ground beef, Swiss cheese, hot peppers, and Onion rings... yeah onion rings on top! Such a great dish! Where could you go wrong piling fried food on top of fried food?

Luckily all of the food in Montreal wasn't as heavy as this meal. Mostly it was picnics in the parks and seafood. I really must go back ASAP!

-NOM NOM NOM