You have heard of the dish known as poutine and may have wondered what all the hubbub is about. The Poutine has become synonymous with Quebec’s culture. If you don’t know or haven’t tried poutine yet, you are in for a treat.
Poutine is simple, yet the masterful combination of French fries mixed with cheese curds all the while being soaked in gravy. Poutine is Quebecois slang for “a mess” which perfectly describes the dish. It might look like a mess, but this dish is just what the doctor ordered to cure any bachelor party hangover.
WHO CREATED THE POUTINE
It is unclear who in Quebec created Poutine and many lay claims to be the first. Such as Fernand Lachance of Warwick, Quebec 1957 who allegedly was the first to combine cheese curds and potatoes. Perhaps it was Jean-Paul Roy in 1964 who claims to be the first to use fries, curds, and gravy. In any case, Poutine is a homegrown classic you must try at least once during your stay, every time you come to Montreal.
WHEN TO EAT IT
We strongly suggest you do not eat a Poutine right before going to the strip clubs or nightclubs. It is a heavy dish and you will feel like being rolled around instead of flirting with chicks. Save it for a late-night bite to eat, you’ll sleep like a champ and your hangover the next day won’t hurt as bad. Otherwise have it for lunch so you’ll have the rest of the day to burn off those extra calories.
Montreal naturally has poutines available everywhere, but the quality will also vary. Don’t be surprised to find poutine in high end restaurants where they apply their twists to this classic Quebecois dish. Some of the best poutines can be found in small restaurants or holes in the wall. Here is a list of some of our favorite spots to have a poutine at all times of the day or night.
LA BANQUISE
La Banquise is open twenty-four hours a day and has become the most popular poutine joint in the city. Not far from Mont-Royal Mountain, La Banquise offers a wide variety of poutines. With over fifteen different versions of Poutine on their menu, you can easily find the right one that suits you best.
If you are feeling carnivorous and need plenty of meat try “Le T-Rex”. This dinosaur sized poutine is served with ground beef, pepperoni, bacon, hot dogs and sausages. You’ll sleep all morning after that big dish.
La Banquise has been open since 1968 and their reputation proceeds them. Expect to wait in a lineup but once inside you’ll be delighted to find you can have more than just a fantastic poutine. They serve breakfast and also have their own in-house microbrewery. La Banquise is the ultimate poutine experience in Montreal.
LA BELLE PROVINCE
This restaurant chain is literally everywhere in the city. In the downtown core of Montreal, they also stay open until 5am. You’ll be happy to see these small deli style restaurants at 4am when you can’t feel your face but still want to eat.
Their poutines may not be the best in the city, but they are certainly the most consistent. Their poutines taste good and you won’t have to wait forever to get one. They pump out poutines like machines and you can also grab a nice burger or couple hotdogs to go along with it. Ask for a hotdog with only ketchup and mayonnaise, you’ll love it!
POUTINEVILLE
With multiple locations throughout Montreal, Poutinville offers you full customization of your Poutines. You can build your poutine, for example, you can decide what kind of potatoes you want and how they are cut. Try the sweet potato fries as your base! You can choose the type of gravy and how much cheese to add. Adding more cheese curds or even adding mozzarella never fails. They also offer a ton of meat and vegetable options to finish off your culinary masterpiece.
The amount of possible combinations is nearly limitless. The only thing that matters is how hungry are you? If you are lazy and don’t want to create your own, they offer plenty of their own specialty Poutines. Unfortunately, Poutineville isn’t open twenty-four hours a day. You’ll have to try it during the day!
