There are well-kept secrets, obligatory stops and those worth the detour. There are above all essentials of all kinds that are good to share. For the pleasure of your palates, The duty therefore imagined an appointment in the form of a gourmet notebook, one theme at a time. On the eve of summer vacation, it was obvious that we had to make a winner for poutine, a symbol of stops and travels. Painful task if any to list only ten, we have chosen to cover as many regions as possible, to play in the tiller of little-known canteens or which are off the beaten track. Wishing you a great gourmet summer, here are 10 delicious poutines to taste.
MONTREAL
My sissy
A less and less kept secret: it is in this Portuguese restaurant that you can taste one of the best poutines in Montreal. The illustrious Quebec dish is paired here with São Jorge cheese, chicken and grilled chorizo. The fries are crispy and the balance with the pieces of cheese and the sauce is perfect. It’s plentiful, yes. What is very fortunate, it is the park La Fontaine a few steps away for the après-poutine! In short, the kind of revisited classic that itself becomes a classic. Please note: patience is golden and the wait is worth it.
969 Rachel Street East
Potato Potato
Whether you prefer it classic or garnished, for breakfast or for a late-night snack, the poutine from the luxury chip shop Patati Patata is always there! And this, since 1996! We go there first for the julienne fries, prepared on site daily, and the fromage frais from the Champêtre cheese dairy. The quintessence of the place is undoubtedly the Patatine, a poutine decorated with mushrooms, red peppers and onions. For something more hearty, the option with tofu or meat is offered. Definitely an address for those who love the comfort of poutine!
4177 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
170 Jean-Talon Street East
GASPESIE
Ste-Flavie canteen
La Cantine Ste-Flavie stands along the 132, a few steps from the beautiful blue, between Rimouski and Matane. Impossible to miss, the line of gourmets that forms there every day is the perfect clue that stopping here is unavoidable. Anyone who has eaten a crab, lobster or shrimp roll remembers this moment of pure flavour. And the poutine version is not left out! A heap of small pink shellfish or very juicy flesh garnishes each plate with fries, sauce and cheese. It’s abundance with a capital A, it’s the sea, it’s the happiness of snacks without flafla that stand out for the freshness and generosity of the ingredients.
479 Sea Road, Sainte-Flavie
QUEBEC
Fries So!
All poutine fans proclaim it: Frite So! is the destination for a poutine in Quebec. Franchisee Benoit Houde, who imported the Montreal concept to the other end of the 20, knew how to master the essential components to take the original poutine up a notch. First, the potatoes are cut and blanched every day, then the grain from the Saint-Guillaume cheese factory is always fresh. Enhanced by a brown sauce made from chicken and beef broth, the various poutines on the menu at Frite Quoi! are ideal for jazzing up Belgian fries cooked, according to custom, in beef oil. Overwhelmed by the scope of the proposals? Know that the echoes are good and numerous for the classic – called here La Volodymyr -, which is a very good sign!
122 Cremazie Street West
1201.3e Avenue
At Gaston’s
Famous snack bar in the Saint-Roch district, Chez Gaston offers a poutine made according to the rules of the art: good brown fries, gravy and fresh cheese curds. It’s warm and comforting, as it should be. Aficionados can set their sights on an Italian version with homemade Bolognese sauce. The intrepid will get their kicks with the Gaston (ground steak, sausage and fried onions), the Sylvie (bacon and fried onions) or the Sylton, which combines all the ingredients for an amalgam of decadence… Note: a second Chez Gaston will open in the former Route 66 snack bar. The architect Étienne Bernier has been busy renovating the space while keeping the spirit of the place. The opening is scheduled for the end of June.
640 Wilfrid-Hamel Blvd.
332 Dorchester Street
PORTNEUF
Old Moulin snack bar
At the Vieux-Moulin snack bar, the star is cheese. With a cup and a half of fresh grains in each poutine, you might as well have cheese with fries! Which is a big argument for getting there, let’s face it! For the owners, Frédéric Bussières and Marie-Pier Boudreault, it has always been essential to offer food of which they are proud. The fries, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, are made from potatoes from Île d’Orléans. The cheese comes from the Beaupré cheese dairy, in Lac-Saint-Jean, and the sauce is the specialty of Frédéric’s father. In addition to all this, there are tables to taste everything on the banks of the Jacques-Cartier River. What more ?
240 Dupont Street, Pont-Rouge
MAURICIA
La Craving Snack
This is a well-kept secret! From the outside, no one could believe all the gold mine that has been cooking there for 31 years. La Fringale is a real roadside snack and a rare species. All the ingredients are homemade by the owner couple, Pierre Tremblay and Céline Courchesne, and their dedicated employee Nicole Courchesne. The fries, peeled, cut and cooked daily, are tender and crispy. The brown and barbecue sauces are tasty and the generous cheese is soft to the bite. The locals are unanimous, this is where we serve one of the best poutines in the region. And even Quebec! We want to prove them right! The Tintin burger with the secret sauce is also worth a stop, as is the vanilla soft serve. Namely: we only take cash.
2510 Lafleche Street, Saint-Paulin
ESTRIE
The Express Fisherman’s Shack
The Express Fisherman’s Shack is the first franchise of the popular restaurants of the same name located in La Prairie and Boucherville. It is above all the project of Patrick Lavallée, a friend of the owner of the original restaurants, who wanted to improve the offer in terms of snacks in Bromont. Attached to La Belle Province restaurant — with which it shares red potato fries — Le Shack du pêcheur express offers fish and seafood dishes, including the unique bang bang poutine with breaded walnut shrimp of coconut and a sweet and sour sauce; the most sold dish every day. A creation that is well worth the detour. Mention to the lobster poutine, which is not to be outdone!
10 Bromont Boulevard, Bromont
MONTEREGIE
Canteen La Fringale
Connoisseurs know: this is where we serve one of the best poutines in Quebec. Everything is made for you to dip your fork in more than once: fries prepared daily from red potatoes and cooked in canola oil, a lightly peppery brown sauce and large chunks of fresh cheese Boiler. And even ? the smoked meat is not pricked with worms, for those who are not close to approval! Enough to create dependency! And what about the fresh radishes offered for a fresh finish; a tradition launched by the former owner, who personalizes the canteen even more!
100 Sir Wilfrid Laurier Boulevard, McMasterville
OUTAOUAIS
The Hull Pataterie
“It’s blocking a corner! is the adage of this Hull institution. And that’s an understatement! Every day, we prepare the fries of the day, from the pocket of potatoes to the canola oil bath, for maximum freshness. During assembly, a generous quantity of fresh grains is added, the whole being bound by brown, barbecue or white sauce – a classic of the region, based on cream. Want a bit of madness? La Pataterie also offers a variety of condiments (grilled or breaded chicken, smoked meat, sausage and bacon) to create your own poutine… and literally clog up a corner of contentment! Favorite for the choice of biodegradable containers.
311 St. Joseph Blvd., Gatineau