The Small Fry

I wasn’t going to get poutine today but after having some beer (don’t you love the British influence in Canada? People drink during working hours. Love it), I needed to get something so I almost compulsively got a large poutine.

The Small Fry is a chip wagon parked in front of JDUC building on Queen’s campus. I noticed that one of the menus says “Jimmy’s” and the prices of the poutines are identical to those of Jimmy’s that I already wrote about. Later confirmed by one of my colleagues that The Small Fry and Jimmy’s are indeed related.

Small: $3.25
Large: $4.00 (shown above)

Weekdays from around 9:30 to 3:30

Overall, this is my favorite so far because of the flavorful gravy and good cheese—and a lot of it. The only negative is how the fries were cooked but if I had been there during the busy lunch hours, I am sure the fries would have been better (although I don’t know if I would have gotten less gravy/cheese).

Fries: Some of the fries seemed to have been overcooked. Perhaps it was because I was there at soon-to-be closing time.

Gravy: A LOT! Small chunks of ground beef in traditional dark beef gravy, just like Jimmy’s. I didn’t notice this with the gravy at Jimmy’s (maybe because I didn’t get a lot of gravy there) but I tasted a hint of curry or some curry-esque flavor. Salty too… loved it

Cheese: Squishy and a lot of it. Again, just like Jimmy’s they were about 1 to 1.5cm3.


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Beaver Choice (aka Swedish Truck)

This is the truck with the beaver picture on its side, usually parked on Union street across from Division Street. It's very popular and always crowded with many students and staff members. You can find their website here.

Poutine here is more like an à la carte style as poutine is not listed on their menu. There are 3 sizes of fries (small $2.00 , medium $2.75 and large $3.50), gravy is $0.50 Cheese curd is $1.25 extra to the fries. But, you can simple place an order saying “large poutine.” I was hungry enough to order a large, and it was $5.25 ($3.50 + $0.50 + $1.25)

Overall it was a satisfying lunch but perhaps slightly overpriced.

Weekdays: 10am to 6pm (although they often close before 6pm)

Fries: Long and reasonably crunchy. They seem not salted. Although the poutine overall is seasoned pleasantly, it would be nice to have some extra kick of salt with the fries.

Gravy: Dark beef gravy. A LOT OF IT. This gravy has a hint of consommé-esque flavor.

Cheese: Very melty (as opposed to squishy) cheese on top of the fries. An unmelted piece I found was about 1 cm3. Although this is completely a personal preference, I think I prefer the squishy kind. The cheese here has the texture more like that of mozzarella’s.


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Jimmy's Truck (Presumably)

One of the menus says “Jimmy’s”, so I presume that’s the owner’s name. The guy (presumably Jimmy) was very pleasant and he told me that you can call him and place an order beforehand. Unlike other trucks that drive away each night, this “truck” appears to be parked permanently as the bottom of the vehicle is surrounded by lattice.

Overall, it was a satisfactory lunch/snack.

Weekdays: 9:15 am to 3pm (depending on the weather. They may close later when the weather is nice)

Location: On Stuart St, across from George St.

Small: $ 3.25 (shown above)
Large: $ 4.00

Fries: Reasonably crunchy and a bit on the salty side. They were fried well, and not greasy at all.

Gravy: It has some small chunks of ground beef and onions in it with pleasant hint of black pepper. I personally would have preferred a bit more gravy.

Cheese: Squishy curds about 1 – 1.5 cm3. Plenty of it on top of the fries.


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Fries and Prejudice

After spending 10 plus years in the States, my sorry Japanese ass was moved up to the Great White North (note: my immigration status in the US was legit. I wasn't deported, mind you). The only thing I knew about Canada and its people was that they speak funny, eh (and they make fun of my NY accent). But shortly after I moved up here to Kingston Ontario, I discovered the greatest Canadian creation of all time, Poutine.

Who would think about pouring gravy on top of french fries with cheese? If McDonald's is unhealthy, poutine is life-threatening. If these max security prisons in Kingston don't shorten inmates' lifespan, poutine surely can. There has to be a strong negative correlation between the amount of poutine one consumes and his/her lifespan. But this shit tastes good, man.

It's everywhere. The trucks that Canucks call "chip wagons" are selling poutine at every corner of Queen's University campus (ok that's a bit exaggerated) and now I need to taste them all. With all this choice, an outsider can be easily overwhelmed. This is where I come in. In this blog, I will get poutine from various places and evaluate them. Over time, I hope this will provide the definitive guide to poutine in (and possibly around) Kingston. While I will try to be as objective and scientific as possible, it's still just my own opinion.

To those who have some intractable opinion about poutine from certain places (i.e., strong preferences) it's my own preference, damn it. Get over it you hoser.