La Banquise (Montréal)

Ever since I started this blog, some people have voiced their concern... "What does a Japanese guy know about poutine if he hasn't had a real Montreal poutine?" I consider the argument to be illogical. (i.e., to be a good Sushi critique, does s/he have to be from Japan? I don't hold anything against non-Japanese sushi critiques). Good food is good food and my reviews are simply part of a quest to find a poutine I like. However, it is good to establish some level of authenticity of "real" poutine. So here it is, damn it. I reviewed a REAL montreal poutine IN MONTREAL

La Banquise

This is one of the most popular and famous restaurants for poutine. Before visiting Montreal, I checked a few travel guidebooks and almost all of them mentioned this restaurant. Also, many of my (encouraging, a.k.a. pushy) colleagues have had poutine there and told me it is really good.

Location:
994 Rue Rachel Est
Montréal, QC H2J2J3
(514) 525-2415
http://www.restolabanquise.com

They have a huge list of poutine... from Poutine Classique to Poutine Kamikaze!!
As a puritan, I had to try their Poutine Classique

Regular: $5.80
Large: $9.45 (shown here)

It was around the lunch time on saturday, so the restaurant was packed. There were many "noticeable tourists" because they were all eating poutines and taking pictures of it (I hope they aren't professional poutine journalists). Despite the crowd, the ambiance of the restaurant was very relaxing with jazzy music playing in the background and a faux orange tree ornament in the middle of the dining area. The servers were very friendly and didn't mind me speaking in English (and they had a cute French accent).

After I ordered a large poutine, I noticed the amount of food they serve for the regular size. It is ginormous! So I was getting a bit nervous how large the large poutine was going to be.

Overall: The large poutine was large. but surprisingly it did not make me feel sick or gross after finishing the plate. Why? It is the fries. And YES, this is by far, the best poutine I have ever had.

Fries: For poutine to be poutine, you have to have the fries. Of course, gravy and cheese curds are important ingredients, however, you have to have a good "foundation." These fries were phenomenal. The thickness was about 1 cm and the length was probably 3-4 inches max. They were cut with the skin. So far, nothing special, I know. However, the way they were prepared was special. They were fried crispy with deep brown edges all around, which give a very rich smoky flavor. This is achieved by a combination of cooking temperature and cooking time. But often, you come across the fries with brown edges but not cooked well inside (too high temperature, too short cooking time), or pale and tasteless (low temperature) or even worse, pale and spongy fries (low temperature, too long cooking time). The fries at this restaurant were cooked PERFECTLY. They were so flavorful yet very light and not greasy at all. I had not tasted fries this good in my entire life. This was truly magical.

Gravy: Not too thick or thin, and a lot of it. This has a consomme-esque flavor. This gravy was not overpowering but instead added a richness to the smoky fries. It was not particularly salty unlike many poutines I tasted in Kingston.

Cheese curds: there were various sizes. Some were very big and quite a mouthful, others were small. They did not squeak but I could taste the freshness. What was so good with this cheese was, even though the flavor was mild, it had a sour and tangy taste, which cut through the richness of the fries and gravy.

The combination of these three ingredients was so pleasant. OK, I have to admit, poutines in Kingston are not in the same league, except for Bubba's. But even Bubba's poutine would lose its reputation quickly if La Banquise was to come to Kingston. If you are going to Montreal, you HAVE TO try this poutine. Oh by the way, beer was really tasty with this poutine as well.



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Update

While I haven't updated this blog for a long time, I have still been testing poutine in Kingston. Particularly the top ranked poutine for quality consistency. And I have a few updates based on my observations

Small Fries:
This is one of my favorite poutine in Kingston, because of its generous serving size and unique hamburger meat gravy. This chip wagon prepares sandwiches and hotdogs and conveniently located right on the Queen's University campus. For that, many students and staff rush to this small truck for their lunch. However, when orders start to overwhelm the small kitchen in the truck, the quality of the fries significantly goes down. This is due to 1) the lowered oil temperature and 2) inconsistent cooking time -- sometimes, the fries are over fried, sometimes undercooked. So, my colleagues and I now avoid the lunch time rush when we get a poutine from this truck. Because the quality of fries can be inconsistent, I've had to reconsider my rankings.

Bubba's (downtown):
Although their gravy tends to be on the salty side, the fries are always good. I have had this poutine on several occasions and each and every time they have been good.

So, as Bubba's poutine has been consistently good I have to rank them above Small Fries. Bubba's poutine is my #1 favorite pouting in Kingston.

Congrats Bubba's!

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Olivea

I have not updated this blog for a long time. But my “encouraging” colleagues reminded me that I should keep reviewing poutine in Kingston so that I can maintain this important “community service.” I wasn’t sure where to go next but a few people commented about this fancy restaurant Olivea, so I decided to give it a try.

Olivea is a restaurant with comtemporary décor that gives you nice mellow and jazzy feel. The service was pretty friendly and the overall experience was pleasant.

Their poutine is described as “Frites with rich veal cheek ragout and local cheese curds,” and they have two sizes.

Large: $15
Small: $10 (shown here)

Overall: This was a very different poutine than the traditional Montreal style. It had a lot of great flavors and textures. The presentation was very nice with some fresh parsley. Even though I had a small poutine, the serving size was larger than I thought. However, the overall “richness” can quickly become overwhelming. I liked it but I’d rather have the veal gravy with mashed potatoes, as a savory main dish.

Fries: Very thin fries. While similar in size to those at MacDonald’s, the quality of the fries is much better. The fries were fried very well. They were all deep brown with a delicious flavor. However, because they were thin and well cooked, they were on the oily side.

Gravy: “rich veal cheek ragout” was indeed really rich and VERY meaty. The veal was cut into small pieces and stewed resulting in meat that is very tender and almost melts in your mouth. This was not a typical “gravy” by any measurement. While the texture is very thin, it has an awesome flavor of red wine and veal fat. The amount was just enough to cover the fries. However, some may prefer a thicker gravy that better coats the fries than this more juicy sauce. Unfortunately, because both the gravy and the fries are so rich, it can be overpowering.

Cheese: very melty. It seems that the cheese was all in the middle layer. It did not have chewiness or squeaky feels to it but at least it was fresh local cheese. The amount was good enough. Once again, this dish was already rich, thus, if it had had more cheese, it would have been just too much to enjoy.


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Merchant Tap House

A friend of mine and I were walking around downtown, and decided to have some beer. Merchant tap house (or simply known as Merchant) is a large pub restaurant with 25 beer on tap. They often have live music going on, and it gets really crowded on the weekends. The first thing I checked on their menu was poutine, of course.

Location: 6 Princess St.

Price: $7 (ish)

Overall: This poutine was presented very well. With scallions, pale yellow and orange melty cheese, and some bacon pieces, it just looked so irresistibly appetizing. Overall it was well balanced and satisfying. This may not be a classic poutine but it was nicely done. Although this is a pricier poutine, you should probably check this one out.

Fries: Typical size (thickness wise) and fried well, leaving flavorful crunch yet nice and fluffy inside. Seasoned lightly or possibly not seasoned.

Gravy: Dark beef gravy and a good amount was poured evenly over the fries. Pleasantly salty and it really went well with my Guinness.

Cheese: Shredded cheddar or something similar. Pale yellow and orange were mixed, so it could have been shredded "marble" cheese. Of course, I would have preferred real cheese curds. However, it added a good visual effect along with the chopped scallions and bacon pieces (about 1 inch square) sprinkled all over the poutine.


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Iron Duke

My colleague's wife defended her Ph.D. thesis last week, and we all went out to celebrate the occasion. Iron Duke is a very nice bar with mellow decor and is a lot cleaner when compared to other bars. Their food, I hear, is reasonably good... EXCEPT for their poutine. I have heard about their notorious poutine from time to time and I needed to try it to see how bad it is.

Location: 207 Wellington Street

Price: Poutine was not in the menu. I had to ask them if they had it. The waitress replied, "sure, we can do it for you"... According to the receipt, it was an a la carte.

Fries: 3.00
Gravy: 1.50
Cheddar cheese: 0.63

Adding up 5.13 (before tax)

Overall: This poutine, you can definitely skip. The fries were good but nothing else really stood out to mention. The amount was just OK but I found it it was a bit disappointing. With Bubba's poutine within a few blocks away, there is no earthly reason why you have to try this poutine. SKIP IT.

Fries: Good thick fries with skin on them. This was the only good thing about this poutine. They were fried nicely and the flavor was good enough to stimulate your appetite.

Gravy: Semi-dark, and it was a bit on the runny (thin) side, which is ok. However, the amount was on the skimpy side. It was not quite enough to coat all the fries. This had an intense consommé flavor. I didn't mind it but I think a lot of people might find it a bit too overpowering.

Cheese: As the receipt said, it was cheddar (pale, not the yellow kind). Again, there was not enough of it. When I started eating it, I thought the had forgotten to put cheese on my poutine. VERY disappointing.


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A&W @ YVR

I was in Portland Oregon for a conference (You should visit. It’s a clean and neat city) and was telling my friend Mr. S all about poutine while I was there. After a week in the States, something I had never expected happened, I had a huge craving for poutine. After being tormented at the Canadian immigration at Vancouver airport, my craving was just about to burst, and I was going through a dangerous withdrawal (With the withdrawal and jetlag, I was acting like a junkie… no wonder the immigration gave me a hard time). Luckily, I found an A&W at the airport food court. I ordered a meal and replaced the fries with a small poutine in order to ease my pain.

Location: Vancouver International Airport, Domestic Terminal, Departure level 3

Price: I don’t know how much I paid to “upgrade” the meal. Addicts don’t care how much they have to pay. We pay whatever to get what we want.

Overall: This is the second “fast food” poutine I had (BK is the other one). I definitely prefer this poutine to BK’s poutine. It was satisfying and everything was well-balanced. This might have been because I was going through a poutine withdrawal so it could have skewed my evaluation positively. By the way, I had to have their root beer (which I always thought tastes like toothpaste).

Fries: Typical fast food fries - very long and thin. However, they were cooked nicely. Crunchy edges and its texture were very appetizing. They were seasoned lightly with good flavor. But again, I prefer thick-cut fries to thin long ones.

Gravy: Light chicken type of gravy. It was very thick. The taste was satisfying with the strong consommé type flavor (if I remember correctly). Reasonably salty which was also satisfying. The combination of the gravy with the fries was just so good. The amount of gravy was a bit on the skimpy side.

Cheese: Semi-squeeky curds. The amount was good but I am sure it was pre-packaged for each serving. The biggest piece was about 1 cm3, so they weren’t terribly big. Nothing stood out to mention.


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Burger King

The “encouraging” colleagues convinced me to try Burger King as the chain had started a star trek campaign, selling some apparently irresistible glasses. Not knowing their real motive, I thought they were genuinely encouraging me to try BK poutine. I should have known better, but at least I got a blog entry out of it.

Location: 400 Princess St
**the burner of the restaurant was temporarily out of order ,so they could only make deep-fried items. I got a deep-fried tender crisp sandwich, but later another colleague mentioned it could have been one of those “no more whopper” pranks. I didn't make a fuss**

Price: I “upgraded” my value meal, so I have no idea how much a poutine is.

Overall: The fries are just typical burger chain fries but the amount was reasonable. Cheese curds seem like a squeaky kind. The uniqueness of this poutine was the gravy. Overall, I would skip this poutine. Although it is satisfying and the unique gravy is really interesting, if I want good poutine, I would go somewhere else. According to the nutrition chart, this poutine has 740 kCal (with 41 grams of fat)… Holy Sh--moke (cf.,the Tender Crisp Sandwich was 640kCal with 36 grams of fat). Poutine is really lethal.

Fries: Typical burger chain fries. Slim and not satisfying compared to thicker fries. However, being fried in a large frier means the cooking temperature is well controlled and gives a consistent good flavor. Nice crunchy edges, etc. They seemed to be seasoned.

Gravy: Light and very “spicy”. I thought this was the chicken kind but according to the BK nutrition chart, this is vegetable gravy. The spicy punch is probably due to some kind of Worcestershire sauce or something similar to it. Satisfyingly salty. With the seasoned fries, it makes the poutine a bit on the salty side but not sickening.

Cheese: approximately 1.5cm3 good squeaky kind, although they do melt. I felt the squeakiness when I bit into them. This was probably what I liked the most about this poutine. The amount of it is standardized since each serving is prepackaged in a plastic bag.


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