What exactly is poutine you might ask… besides ridiculously good and wrong on so many levels, poutine is a Canadian dish consisting of 3 ingredients: french fries topped with cheese curds & smothered in gravy. The tell tale sign of good cheese curds: they squeak when you bite them and squeak these did! You can imagine my skepticism, being a Midwesterner (and half Canadian) of finding good cheese curds in Brooklyn of all places. As those of you familiar with it know, the East coast isn’t exactly “poutine” country. I was happily surprised… let the gluttony commence.
What may be a new discovery for some, the rest of us have known for awhile. Poutine is delicious, but here’s the thing… you shouldn’t exactly make it a habit, unless of course a diet of cholesterol & high-blood pressure medications are what you are aiming for.
I know that not everyone’s world revolves around food like mine does, but I know that I am not alone in certain memories being linked to food. I remember the first time I ever had french fries with gravy on them. I was in Newfoundland with my younger cousin (Nancy) and we were sitting in a red vinyl- covered booth in a little diner in the mall. I remember thinking “this is FANTASTIC, why don’t we ALWAYS put gravy on fries?” (I have ever since…) Now, add fresh cheese curds to that & we are in business!
Last weekend, I happened to be perusing one of my food magazines and there it was: a mention for a restaurant in Brooklyn serving poutine. You can imagine my next thought (go there immediately), so I did. The smell of french fries lingered in the air, beckoning me over the threshold into full-on bliss. I was hoping I wouldn’t be disappointed and I wasn’t. The poutine delivered, in a big way. It was delicious.
While sitting there eating my curds and fries I stopped and just started to laugh. I looked at where I was sitting and thought “Deja Vu”. I was sitting in a red vinyl booth…
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