Thursday, December 4, 2008

Ben's Pub

Poutine at Ben's PubNovember was a productive month for the Poutine Puritan and I reviewed a lot of places. December, on the other hand, will be a slow month since I will be visiting Japan -- a country not known for poutine. So this review is (most likely) the last review before my departure. Today, the lab had a holiday party at a cute homey pub called Ben's. Of course, before I realized that they had poutine on their menu, my colleagues were telling me that I would have to get a poutine. Yeah, sure...

Location: 105 Clergy Street East

Poutine: $4...something... (I totally forgot to remember the price)

Overall: The volume is on the modest side compared to other places that charge around the same price range ($4-something). The dish was seasoned well and the taste was satisfying. Yet, texture wise, it can be improved (both fries and cheese).

Fries: They had the semi-crunchy edges but I think they could have been fried at a slightly higher temperature, for a bit shorter time. They didn't seem to be seasoned but it was ok.

Gravy: Not a traditional dark beef gravy. One of my colleagues had a poutine too and she told me it's chicken gravy. It had a light flavor compared to dark beef kind. and it was a lot of it. It was a bit on the salty side but since the fries weren't seasoned, it was not overpowering.

Cheese: Very melty cheese, mozzarella or possibly other kind. It was so melty I couldn't tell what kind it was. The amount was on the "modest" side. Just a bit more would be nice, but again, I prefer squeaky fresh curds.

**** digg it! ****


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1 comment:

MrPaul said...

I didn't expect much ordering this poutine; The Menu at Ben's Pub does a good job at providing variety, but I have never found anything I ordered particularly good or bad.

Fries: Unseasoned but fully cooked.

Gravy: A flavourful chicken gravy. (Thankfully, Not nearly as thick and fatty as KFC's variety.)

Cheese: Flavourful shredded cheese, but the quantity was pretty poor.

While this poutine is definitely something that I would enjoy along side many alcoholic beverages, it isn’t something I would go out of my way to acquire. The gravy is nice, but nothing else stands out, leaving this poutine decidingly average.