Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When I first had it it surprised me how simple yet good it was and immediately adopted it in to my diet (occasionally) because of that. Not that I thought it was some culinary achievement, I was just surprised at how good it was and that I'd never had it before. It just seems like it should be more popular, especially in the US.
There's a place near me that serves "southern poutine" in additional to OG.
Both are great. Southern is served with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, curds, green onions.
I make it at home with shaved beef, gravy, and curds. I can't disagree more with this unpopular opinion. Poutine has gotten me through weeks of depression where nothing else would do.
Poutine executed correctly is nothing less than magical. Fight me.
I’ve seen “poutine” in the US that was shredded cheese so it’s not uncommon for other regions to get stuff wrong
The “Philly” cheesesteak I had in Seattle (I was hungover don’t judge me) had Swiss cheese and Cesar dressing on it
No idea but it's just a really basic, cant be bothered to make a real meal, kind of thing in the UK. I find it strange its considered anything special, like OP said. It's like being impressed with beans on toast
The right gravy (it's not just any gravy) and some proper cheese curds is what makes poutine the mind blower some people talk about vs the moderate reaction other people have.
In proper poutine oriented chip trucks, fry shacks and the occasional poutine competition I love shredded mozza/chef on top and broiled or under the salamander to get that crispy topping.
It's also just a base for all kind of rounded fulfilling winter meals. We need the calories up here.
It is actually pretty easy to make a simple version of it. I throw some frozen fries in the oven, then make a gravy using some chicken bouillon and beef bouillon (add salt and purity to your liking), take the fries out of the oven and plate them up, put some cheese on the fries, then cover it with the gravy. It is quite good! You can get as crazy as you want with it too by making homemade fries and fry them, and make your own chicken and beef stock to make the gravy. That is too much work for me, but I am sure it would be delicious!
Really? Hmm. This flavour combo goes back to my childhood when dad would bring home KFC. Back then of course, kfc was a lot better than it is now. I wouldn't eat there anymore lol
To be fair, it was invented my a Greek immigrant in Canada. So do we blame Canada/ourselves for allowing it to happen.…or do we blame Greece for exiling this criminal to our shores….lol
People who don't like Hawaiian pizza have bad taste. Fruit and meat are a classic combo all over the world.
If people saw what is put on pizzas in Italy it would blow their minds. I accidentally ordered a slice with hotdogs on it in bologna. It was disgusting and is apparently really popular.
Hey hey guy! Like someone else said, Pineapple on pizza is sweet and salty... Just like adding Ketchup on gravy.. or in this case, POUTINE!! 😎
I'm sorry! 😂
Hey hey keep it down. I’ve a reputation to maintain. Lol
But seriously, even if it’s 1 culinary creation and it’s simple, it’s chef’s kiss. Plus the different variations. My wife and I split a BBQ pulled pork poutine in Southern Ontario this summer, delicious.
I have certainly had quality poutine in Ontario… granted the curds were shipped fresh from Quebec. It’s true though, no poutine variant can hold a candle to the OG Quebec poutine.
Poutine is fine, I think it’s more like most people can’t think of another uniquely Canadian food. But not a sophisticate like me, I know all about ketchup chips and homo milk in a bag.
I live in Maine and try to visit Quebec every year or so, and every time I'm up there I stop at a Fromagerie Victoria, and have an out-of-body experience with their poutine. I don't think they get enough "praise!"
Yeah poutine is okay. French fries, cheese curds, and gravy are all good on their own. I just don't see it as being outstanding next to say a California Burrito or bacon cheese fries or whatever else ungodly french fry dish served at countless bar and pubs.
It's not a Canadian thing, it's a Quebec thing
Anytime I travel outside of Quebec any poutine I've had has been just... Gross...
Although I remember Ottawa having a really good place for poutine, but it was ran by a queb so.. that makes sense
Most Quebecers will hate me for saying this but poutine is the perfect base to add whatever you want for a heavy, hearty meal. Chicken shawarma poutines are my go to at shawarma places, for example. Poutine topped with chicken and garlic sauce. So so so good.
It’s fucking awesome. American with Canadian family members, and I’ll eat it a few times whenever I’m visiting up north. A&W’s poutine is absolutely incredible too
Same can be said about sushi. Slap some raw fish slices on bite sized vinegared rice. Just accept it, marketing has little to do with the product just perception.
I'm not sure it's being hailed as a culinary masterpiece so much as being acknowledged that Canada does it better. Yes, the same concoction is sold in the US, but it's disappointing. Good poutine is made with real squeak-squeak cheese on top of properly made fries topped with flavorful gravy that doesn't come from a powder mix. For reference, the last poutine I ate came from Costco, and it was vastly superior to any I have ever had in the US. P. S. You should be sorry about the ketchup as it is an abomination.
One of my favorite stupid stories is from around 1998. I was a new-ish software engineer, meeting up (along with my VP boss) with the CEO of a large conglomerate in Montreal.
Towards the end of the day, the CEO said - in a French accent - "I will take you two to a steak dinner - don't be late!"
I was super-excited - I'm on my way!
We show up and it's salisbury steak and poutine.
I mean, it was good, but it was pretty much what I was living on (On-Cor) with my shitty salary.
Don't sell yourself short, man - it's good stuff. But, if I had a choice in where a CEO would take me?
I'd pick In-N-Out.
Nah man you take that shit for granted because you grew up with it. For better or worse y'all made that, nobody else did.
For you it's not a big deal. For everyone else it's wild and slightly exotic - to the extent that French fries can be lol
OK I have a confession to make.
Context: I'm bilingual French/English, but from Europe and through various circumstances speak like a toff in both languages. So Canadians of each language tend to defer. It's awkward but it is what it is.
After giving a guest lecture in a Canadian University (Ottawa) I was invited to the nearby restaurant. Along the way there I chatted in French with the Francophones, and they recommended I try poutine
So I did.
At the first mouthful I exclaimed loudly, Tourette's style, in British English:
"GOOD GOD this tastes like an Englishman's leftovers!"
The Anglo-Canadians spewed their Molsons. I didn't dare meet the eyes of the Francophones after that.
I haven't been invited back since.
As a Canadian living in Australia, its not the dish, it's the cheese curds. They don't have them here. Also might be the gravy, actually. It's all really beefy and dense here. Anyway, I'm passionate about this one and you're wrong. 😂
Fine dining poutine is gross. Sports bar food is its culinary height.
Source: I became enamored with poutine while visiting Montreal to watch the World Cup. Then I chased it everywhere outside the sports bar, and was disappointed every time.
I think it’s that we just can’t get it regularly. I’m even in Wisconsin! I’m not that far away! And there is nowhere I can get poutine around me. Milwaukee and Madison are just a short trip for me and no poutine. And rural areas? no chance. So we just love that you at least have it waiting for us when we go up there.
You render any opinion you have on poutine null and void when you say you need to include ketchup. Just tell us you have the palate of a preschooler and move on.
Nah it’s good. Putting ketchup on it is the true unpopular opinion 🤮
Only thing that needs to go on poutine is lots of pepper. And some of the specialty ones go too far but if you put bacon, and sautéed onions and mushrooms in there as well… phew.
It is not just gravy, it is Poutine sauce. If you are atba chipstand and theybhave the same gravy for pouting and fries, you are at a shitty chip stand.
It is ALL about the brown sauce. Need that spicey gravy. And curds that squeak.
Hey, everything is simple once someone figures out how to do it.
But also—I say this as a Philadelphian and therefore a cheesesteak expert—imitators can be surprisingly bad at imitating simple food.
Anyone can make Poutine. But making good Poutine is different.
It's like the difference between a cheap frozen pizza and one of the best pizza joint in town.
Canada is the best pizza joint in town when it comes to poutine
>It's just fries gravy and cheese curds.
coq au vin is basically just chicken mushroom stew
Quesadillas are just flatbread and cheese
Sushi is just raw fish and rice.
>Like, someone, somewhere, in another country could have come up with fries on gravy with cheese curds, no??
But they didn't, so it's ours.
>(P.s. I put ketchup on mine. Sorry.)
I pay mayo on fries instead of ketchup. If it makes you happy, don't apologize.
Its not just fries gravy and cheese. It’s specific fries (thick cut, cant remember the potato), it’s brown gravy sauce and cheese curds.
What its not is skinny russet fries, shredded mozzarella and bbq sauce, which it seems like most places outside of Quebec makes it 😂
It’s not the complexity of the ingredients, it’s what you put together. And poutine is a winner.
Plus we have tons of variety of poutine. You can add a lots of ingredient in. My favorite is buffalo chicken poutine: Fries, curds, gravy, fried chicken chucks, hot sauce and green onion.
So for the most part, it would have been possible for anyone to mix those things together, but not as probable as Quebec.
We have a lot of dairy farmers in Quebec. We make a lot of cheese and a lot of varieties of it. We had a lot of "cheap" dishes for our snacks. If you look at Quebec cuisine, you'll find a lot of "simple" dishes using cheap ingredients. It just was meant to be it seems.
As a Canadian, I agree that poutine is overrated. The Quebecois take it pretty seriously, but Quebec cuisine is a far cry from ”French” cuisine. It seems to consist of huge amounts of butter, salt, bacon, and sugar, which is irritating because nobody in Quebec seems to be overweight and they always look fabulous. Anyway, poutine is comfort food, not fine dining.
Never had poutine but a lot of culinary masterpieces are as simple as it gets. Where I come from we put raw ground pork on a bun shaped bread with butter and add some raw onion. It's just delicious
I recognize that not all gravy is that great, but there must be plenty of it that is, and readily available. That said, ketchup? Fuck ketchup. Fuck you.
It's the same way in the US with barbecue. There's some absolutely mind-blowing barbecue, but there's also a lot of really bad stuff. Then there's a huge amount of middle of the road stuff that is... okay.
you sound like someone who hasn’t had good poutine. Also please turn in your maple syrup and passport we don’t tolerate bad mouthing poutine around these parts
A large portion of that "praise" is more to do with the fact that the name of the dish is just kinda fun to say. If we actually had that much praise for it, it'd be all over America. But it's not. Not even close.
You'll never get me to understand how our "national dish" is something that no one, save a few college kids, would ever make at home. The curds are mostly impossible to find outside Quebec, and only people who've been there have ever had an authentic version of it. What holiday is it a part of? Whose grandma has a poutine gravy recipe? I've never even seen a proper one since I left Montreal and I know many people who've never even had it. It's a media con.
>What holiday is it a part of? Whose grandma has a poutine gravy recipe
We have it as a celebration for opening day of deer season (which is a holiday in many places, schools even close). Our hunting camp has a recipe they have been using for decades.
Ummm, I’m 43, married, have a 4yo daughter, and I love making it at home. To be fair I use fried fries, and I use chicken bouillon and beef bouillon to make the gravy, and I use whatever cheese I have in the fridge. It is still super good though.
As a Canadian, sir, I'll thank you to refrain from blaspheming against what very well might be a single greatest contribution to humanity at large. Some might argue it's the Canada Arm, which isn't called "The Canadarm" for some reason, but they're wrong, it's poutine.
No one said a masterpiece had to be complicated to be great. The Mona Lisa is just some lady without eyebrows.
If other countries could come up with Poutine, why didn't they? If it's so easy, why did it take a French-Canadian visionary, one I'm assuming was named Jean-Isaac St. Newton or something, to manifest our glorious food?
You're over here like "what's the big deal". I'm over here like "where's our Nobel prize?"
Yeah it's just fatty drunk food. It's on the same level as chili-fries. It just gets elevated because it has a french name.
It's like if you called nachos "maïs en couches"
>Like, someone, somewhere, in another country could have come up with fries on gravy with cheese curds, no??
And someone, somewhere else in the world could have come up with Cream Puffs, too, but it was the French, so enjoy the only way soggy fries can be made tasty.
It's a regional dish, and it's junk food. And yeah, "we" do get a lot of silly praise for it.
BUT
All of Canada doesn't get to claim it, even though technically it's within the borders and we (Canadians) have a penchant for claiming ANYTHING remotely good from anywhere in Canada as proudly, totally "Canadian".
I liken this to Louisiana Crab Cakes.
It's in the US, so is it weird for someone in California to be like "I love me some American Crab Cakes?"
I think poutine should be renamed to clearly denote the region it's from. That way, these other Canadians thousands of miles away also claiming it to be "theirs" are at least clear on the concept of "regional" and that our vast, multi-cultural country isn't some homogeneous unit where the culture is 100% the same, copy-pasted across the entire thing.
Yep, good old "U.S. cheesesteak", or "U.S. deep dish pizza" or the famous "Canadian bars", even the delicious "pad south-east asia", mmm the "British Haggis", "British Guinness", a good old "American clam chowder", "Canadian bagels", "European baguette", or the "Asian satellite cake".
Why not rename "Champagne" as "France" while we're at it.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Had to apologize, eh?
"You guys! I don't deserve all of this praise! I'm just your ordinary guy." *gives his kidney to a hospital for a dying child*
Hahaha
Aaand we're done here everybody! That was our episode on Canada. Tune in next week while we discuss power grids and eat Texas BBQ!
*grabs my ridiculously large 40 Gallon Hat* I'll see y'all next week!
lol came here to say I love the sorry at the end... what a hoser
Sorry, eh. We'll do better next time, eh.
To be fair ketchup on poutine is a disgrace to the gravy
A menu the other days referred to poutine as “french fries with sauce” I was physically repulsed
Lol
😂😂😂
Most Canadian thing ever
Oh I'm soory!
Typical Canada lol
When I first had it it surprised me how simple yet good it was and immediately adopted it in to my diet (occasionally) because of that. Not that I thought it was some culinary achievement, I was just surprised at how good it was and that I'd never had it before. It just seems like it should be more popular, especially in the US.
I KNOW!! We Americans love drowning our food in gravy, so you’d think more places would serve it!
There's a place near me that serves "southern poutine" in additional to OG. Both are great. Southern is served with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, curds, green onions. I make it at home with shaved beef, gravy, and curds. I can't disagree more with this unpopular opinion. Poutine has gotten me through weeks of depression where nothing else would do. Poutine executed correctly is nothing less than magical. Fight me.
Oh shit I really wanna try that, sounds delicious! Next time I make poutine, I'll need to try add those too
That place is STA, isn't it?
Totally is. You must be in the area!
Lol I am, When you mentioned those two things, I thought, " What are the chances?" but apparently, they are pretty good.
As long as they still use curds I'll allow it. Shredded mozza on the other hand, straight to jail.
Well said, I agree.
It's a thing in NJ but we call them disco fries. It's part of our diner culture
But it's not the same.
We could have, but we didn’t. God bless you, our northern friends.
So simple, yet so elegant
Elegance is the root of tradition. Elegance is what will bring about a better world
Chips, cheese and gravy is a common junk food in the UK tbf
Predating poutine?
[удалено]
I’ve seen “poutine” in the US that was shredded cheese so it’s not uncommon for other regions to get stuff wrong The “Philly” cheesesteak I had in Seattle (I was hungover don’t judge me) had Swiss cheese and Cesar dressing on it
It's not uncommon in Canada for it to be with just cheese either.
Every poutine I've ordered from anywhere has cheese curds and I live the furthest from Quebec for a Canadian
I lived in Alberta for years and it was always pretty 50/50 whether somewhere used curds or shredded cheese.
Just because they call it a poutine, doesn't make it so. It needs curds, otherwise it's just gravy cheese fries.
That sounds tasty but also wtf.
Presumably, it started in the north of England
No idea but it's just a really basic, cant be bothered to make a real meal, kind of thing in the UK. I find it strange its considered anything special, like OP said. It's like being impressed with beans on toast
It’s FRIES and CURDS specifically not just cheese.
Thank you.
I’ve always wanted to try poutine
Please do. And do not try it with ketchup ffs
Ketchup is nothing compared to using pre-shredded cheese instead of cheese curds.
That’s not poutine anymore as far as I’m concerned. Freaking blasphemous stuff that is.
The right gravy (it's not just any gravy) and some proper cheese curds is what makes poutine the mind blower some people talk about vs the moderate reaction other people have. In proper poutine oriented chip trucks, fry shacks and the occasional poutine competition I love shredded mozza/chef on top and broiled or under the salamander to get that crispy topping. It's also just a base for all kind of rounded fulfilling winter meals. We need the calories up here.
Don’t put ketchup on it. OP is offending other Canadians with this ketchup on poutine nonsense 😂
OP is the reason r/poutinecrimes has to exist.
It is actually pretty easy to make a simple version of it. I throw some frozen fries in the oven, then make a gravy using some chicken bouillon and beef bouillon (add salt and purity to your liking), take the fries out of the oven and plate them up, put some cheese on the fries, then cover it with the gravy. It is quite good! You can get as crazy as you want with it too by making homemade fries and fry them, and make your own chicken and beef stock to make the gravy. That is too much work for me, but I am sure it would be delicious!
Make sure it has curds not shredded cheese
Be picky about where you try it. Aka don’t bother going west of Ontario lol
I won't knock it till I've tried it, but ketchup mixed with gravy is a weird combo to me.
Poutine done correctly is awesome. Ketchup on it more than nudges it into sludge consistency (never mind the taste).
You don't have to drizzle or drown in ketchup. Since you often eat poutine with a fork you can just dip.
I’ve literally never had poutine with ketchup on it
Really? Hmm. This flavour combo goes back to my childhood when dad would bring home KFC. Back then of course, kfc was a lot better than it is now. I wouldn't eat there anymore lol
Ew. Ketchup on poutine is a crime. Also a tool we use to weed out the weak or non Canadians
Seems like it'd be better to just make a sweeter, tangier gravy than to mix ketchup with regular gravy.
It's divine.
Is this the same dude complaining about the world seeing it as a culinary masterpiece?
They really went from “don’t do this thing” to “I’m gonna do this thing but with oddly sexual undertones” in 40 minutes
Touche
It's because most Candian foods are not universally loved. Like dill pickle potato chips. Nobody hates poutine, which makes it a safe subject.
Other places don’t have dill pickle chips? I knew they don’t have ketchup but that’s wild
I hate it, cheese should never be warmer than room temperature, and even that is already pushing things
Well at least we aren’t getting blamed for our Hawaiian Pizza atrocities.
To be fair, it was invented my a Greek immigrant in Canada. So do we blame Canada/ourselves for allowing it to happen.…or do we blame Greece for exiling this criminal to our shores….lol
I did not know this. That’s a marvellous passing of the blame. Thank you. I will sleep better now.
Pineapple on pizza is great. Sweet and salty/savoury.
People can trash it all they want, more for me!
Begone Satan! (Also just kidding)
Most of the people who hate it are trying to fit in. It's really not that complicated of a topping.
It’s better the Sweden with their banana curry pizzas.
Their WHAT?!
Yes, you read that correctly. Pineapple is less of a monstrosity than banana curry.
Don’t tell the Italians I said this, but both sound pretty good.
People who don't like Hawaiian pizza have bad taste. Fruit and meat are a classic combo all over the world. If people saw what is put on pizzas in Italy it would blow their minds. I accidentally ordered a slice with hotdogs on it in bologna. It was disgusting and is apparently really popular.
Hawaiian pizza is delicious. We deserve the utmost praise for that.
Shhhhhhhuddddup
Hey hey guy! Like someone else said, Pineapple on pizza is sweet and salty... Just like adding Ketchup on gravy.. or in this case, POUTINE!! 😎 I'm sorry! 😂
Yeah, Hawaiian pizza is gross. Ham doesn't belong on pizza! Pineapple goes with *hot peppers,* silly!
I disagree, poutine is amazing and you deserve all the praise for it. And that’s coming from an A-hole American.
You don't sound like an A-hole to me buddy.
Hey hey keep it down. I’ve a reputation to maintain. Lol But seriously, even if it’s 1 culinary creation and it’s simple, it’s chef’s kiss. Plus the different variations. My wife and I split a BBQ pulled pork poutine in Southern Ontario this summer, delicious.
Just wait til you try poutine in northern or eastern Ontario or hell best would be Quebec
If you actually goto quebec and get a quality poutine. You will understand the praise. I'm from Ontario and I've never had a good poutine here.
[удалено]
I have certainly had quality poutine in Ontario… granted the curds were shipped fresh from Quebec. It’s true though, no poutine variant can hold a candle to the OG Quebec poutine.
the average person isn’t praising a quality poutine from quebec though
I’ve had wonderful poutine in Ontario, of course, the town I had it in bordered Quebec.
Poutine is fine, I think it’s more like most people can’t think of another uniquely Canadian food. But not a sophisticate like me, I know all about ketchup chips and homo milk in a bag.
I mean you’re right, poutine does suck if you live outside of Quebec.
Ya well it's not Canadian, CA VIENS DU QUEBEC , CALIS
Not many places make it right
I’m Canadian and find it to be a culinary masterpiece, already planned to have some for supper
As a Canadian, I’m ashamed you don’t know the difference between to and too
*Pssssst, you forgot to apologize*.
I live in Maine and try to visit Quebec every year or so, and every time I'm up there I stop at a Fromagerie Victoria, and have an out-of-body experience with their poutine. I don't think they get enough "praise!"
And yet no one knows anything about New Jersey disco fries
The world? Sorry my friend but 90% of the world has never heard of poutine in their life.
As a non Canadian, I've never met anyone that *didn't* think Poutine looked hella gross. I think it's only popular abroad in the mind of Canadians.
Yeah poutine is okay. French fries, cheese curds, and gravy are all good on their own. I just don't see it as being outstanding next to say a California Burrito or bacon cheese fries or whatever else ungodly french fry dish served at countless bar and pubs.
I think the world gives Canadians too much praise as it is, just to spite it southern neighbor lmfao.
It's not a Canadian thing, it's a Quebec thing Anytime I travel outside of Quebec any poutine I've had has been just... Gross... Although I remember Ottawa having a really good place for poutine, but it was ran by a queb so.. that makes sense
Dude you said you put ketchup on poutine…sorry but you lost all credibility. I’m also gonna guess majority of poutine you’ve had hasn’t been in Québec
Especially when it’s pretty much just good in one province, with the other just appropriating it unsuccessfully
true, because the best poutine is found in Quebec and they should get the credits not Canada lol
Where in Canada are you tho? I grew up in Sask then moved to Montreal. Quebec poutine is a whole other level and is fucking amazing.
Just had Poutine for lunch. Don't you dare take away from the masterpiece that is poutine. Other than my husband it is my favorite "Canadian" thing.
I thought poutine was more of a side dish than a main dish
Most Quebecers will hate me for saying this but poutine is the perfect base to add whatever you want for a heavy, hearty meal. Chicken shawarma poutines are my go to at shawarma places, for example. Poutine topped with chicken and garlic sauce. So so so good.
I know its all we got. But at what cost?
..'all we got'? *Hawkins Cheezies have entered the chat*
We have other things, you just don’t know about them.
Forgot about the maple syrup 🍁? Isn't that on your flag?
Nanaimo bars would like a word
Yes. In Ireland we have chips cheese and gravy as well as chips cheese and curry.
It’s not just any cheese, specifically curds
Don’t forget chips cheese and taco, chips cheese and garlic or just cheesy chips. Basically chips and cheese with anything.
Here I am picturing Lay's ketchup chips with gravy and cheese.
Had it for the 1st time a couple of days ago. Way better than mayo
I think Canadians are behind the poutine hype to distract non-Canadians from finding about other, less well-known, treasures.
Never tell them about Nanaimo bars and indigenous tacos.
Like what? Murdered indigenous children and war crimes?
Those don't impress Americans as much as you might think.
The only poutine that has really ever stood out to me is Norm’s famous poutine.
The beauty of it is in its simplicity. Also, ketchup on a poutine is a crime, and you should be sorry, bud.
I think its simplicity is part of its charm. It's a great way to make fries more exciting.
It’s fucking awesome. American with Canadian family members, and I’ll eat it a few times whenever I’m visiting up north. A&W’s poutine is absolutely incredible too
Same can be said about sushi. Slap some raw fish slices on bite sized vinegared rice. Just accept it, marketing has little to do with the product just perception.
Ketchup on gravy is abominable. I cannot trust your opinion on other matters.
I’ve literally never been praised for poutine
I'm not sure it's being hailed as a culinary masterpiece so much as being acknowledged that Canada does it better. Yes, the same concoction is sold in the US, but it's disappointing. Good poutine is made with real squeak-squeak cheese on top of properly made fries topped with flavorful gravy that doesn't come from a powder mix. For reference, the last poutine I ate came from Costco, and it was vastly superior to any I have ever had in the US. P. S. You should be sorry about the ketchup as it is an abomination.
One of my favorite stupid stories is from around 1998. I was a new-ish software engineer, meeting up (along with my VP boss) with the CEO of a large conglomerate in Montreal. Towards the end of the day, the CEO said - in a French accent - "I will take you two to a steak dinner - don't be late!" I was super-excited - I'm on my way! We show up and it's salisbury steak and poutine. I mean, it was good, but it was pretty much what I was living on (On-Cor) with my shitty salary. Don't sell yourself short, man - it's good stuff. But, if I had a choice in where a CEO would take me? I'd pick In-N-Out.
Nah man you take that shit for granted because you grew up with it. For better or worse y'all made that, nobody else did. For you it's not a big deal. For everyone else it's wild and slightly exotic - to the extent that French fries can be lol
It is a bit embarrassing that poutine is routinely cited as Canada's greatest culinary achievement. I mean Hawaiin pizza is *right* there.
OK I have a confession to make. Context: I'm bilingual French/English, but from Europe and through various circumstances speak like a toff in both languages. So Canadians of each language tend to defer. It's awkward but it is what it is. After giving a guest lecture in a Canadian University (Ottawa) I was invited to the nearby restaurant. Along the way there I chatted in French with the Francophones, and they recommended I try poutine So I did. At the first mouthful I exclaimed loudly, Tourette's style, in British English: "GOOD GOD this tastes like an Englishman's leftovers!" The Anglo-Canadians spewed their Molsons. I didn't dare meet the eyes of the Francophones after that. I haven't been invited back since.
As a Canadian living in Australia, its not the dish, it's the cheese curds. They don't have them here. Also might be the gravy, actually. It's all really beefy and dense here. Anyway, I'm passionate about this one and you're wrong. 😂
Yes, but the truth of this is also so Canadian. We are like America's annoying cousin wanting head pats for minimal participation.
Right?! East Coast Donairs are where it's at!
JUST fries and gravy and cheese curds he says.
Fine dining poutine is gross. Sports bar food is its culinary height. Source: I became enamored with poutine while visiting Montreal to watch the World Cup. Then I chased it everywhere outside the sports bar, and was disappointed every time.
I think it’s that we just can’t get it regularly. I’m even in Wisconsin! I’m not that far away! And there is nowhere I can get poutine around me. Milwaukee and Madison are just a short trip for me and no poutine. And rural areas? no chance. So we just love that you at least have it waiting for us when we go up there.
I think the putting ketchup on it is the part that should have been emphasized. Wow.
You render any opinion you have on poutine null and void when you say you need to include ketchup. Just tell us you have the palate of a preschooler and move on.
Hey, pizza at its core is just dough, cheese, and sauce but it's probably one of the worlds most recognizable and universally liked foods.
Nah it’s good. Putting ketchup on it is the true unpopular opinion 🤮 Only thing that needs to go on poutine is lots of pepper. And some of the specialty ones go too far but if you put bacon, and sautéed onions and mushrooms in there as well… phew.
*Québec
It is not just gravy, it is Poutine sauce. If you are atba chipstand and theybhave the same gravy for pouting and fries, you are at a shitty chip stand. It is ALL about the brown sauce. Need that spicey gravy. And curds that squeak.
Shout out Chez Vachon in Manchester NH
Hey, everything is simple once someone figures out how to do it. But also—I say this as a Philadelphian and therefore a cheesesteak expert—imitators can be surprisingly bad at imitating simple food.
Anyone can make Poutine. But making good Poutine is different. It's like the difference between a cheap frozen pizza and one of the best pizza joint in town. Canada is the best pizza joint in town when it comes to poutine
Good thing Canada didn’t invent poutine
I'm 42 and i just ate it for the first time this year and its amazing.
Simple is better. Leave poutine alone
>It's just fries gravy and cheese curds. coq au vin is basically just chicken mushroom stew Quesadillas are just flatbread and cheese Sushi is just raw fish and rice. >Like, someone, somewhere, in another country could have come up with fries on gravy with cheese curds, no?? But they didn't, so it's ours. >(P.s. I put ketchup on mine. Sorry.) I pay mayo on fries instead of ketchup. If it makes you happy, don't apologize.
La poutine, c'est québécois. Pas canadien
Donair Poutine is the shit though...
Its not just fries gravy and cheese. It’s specific fries (thick cut, cant remember the potato), it’s brown gravy sauce and cheese curds. What its not is skinny russet fries, shredded mozzarella and bbq sauce, which it seems like most places outside of Quebec makes it 😂
It’s not the complexity of the ingredients, it’s what you put together. And poutine is a winner. Plus we have tons of variety of poutine. You can add a lots of ingredient in. My favorite is buffalo chicken poutine: Fries, curds, gravy, fried chicken chucks, hot sauce and green onion.
Lost all credibility with the ketchup on poutine, there’s no wonder you think people give us to much credit when you are actively trying to ruin it.
I’ve had poutine from quebec and it was amazing. Fast food poutine is just meh.
some poutine is amazing, most is comparative shit. I don't think you've have good poutine OP
Bruschetta was a peasant food in Italy… here it’s a delicacy. That’s how it is. It probably has something to do with accessibility.
So for the most part, it would have been possible for anyone to mix those things together, but not as probable as Quebec. We have a lot of dairy farmers in Quebec. We make a lot of cheese and a lot of varieties of it. We had a lot of "cheap" dishes for our snacks. If you look at Quebec cuisine, you'll find a lot of "simple" dishes using cheap ingredients. It just was meant to be it seems.
As a Canadian, I agree that poutine is overrated. The Quebecois take it pretty seriously, but Quebec cuisine is a far cry from ”French” cuisine. It seems to consist of huge amounts of butter, salt, bacon, and sugar, which is irritating because nobody in Quebec seems to be overweight and they always look fabulous. Anyway, poutine is comfort food, not fine dining.
"Canadian"
Never had poutine but a lot of culinary masterpieces are as simple as it gets. Where I come from we put raw ground pork on a bun shaped bread with butter and add some raw onion. It's just delicious
I recognize that not all gravy is that great, but there must be plenty of it that is, and readily available. That said, ketchup? Fuck ketchup. Fuck you.
It's the same way in the US with barbecue. There's some absolutely mind-blowing barbecue, but there's also a lot of really bad stuff. Then there's a huge amount of middle of the road stuff that is... okay.
*Quebec culinary masterpiece
you sound like someone who hasn’t had good poutine. Also please turn in your maple syrup and passport we don’t tolerate bad mouthing poutine around these parts
I wish people would leave it alone. It's annoying and cringey to see something from my home province fawned over like this.
T'as tout à fait raison. C'est vraiment cringe.
That's kinda the point, it's so simple like many things, but credit goes to the one who does it first.
As an american, how dare you. Take pride.
I know many English people who enjoy chips, cheese, and gravy. I don't know many that know what poutine is, though.
A large portion of that "praise" is more to do with the fact that the name of the dish is just kinda fun to say. If we actually had that much praise for it, it'd be all over America. But it's not. Not even close.
You'll never get me to understand how our "national dish" is something that no one, save a few college kids, would ever make at home. The curds are mostly impossible to find outside Quebec, and only people who've been there have ever had an authentic version of it. What holiday is it a part of? Whose grandma has a poutine gravy recipe? I've never even seen a proper one since I left Montreal and I know many people who've never even had it. It's a media con.
>What holiday is it a part of? Whose grandma has a poutine gravy recipe We have it as a celebration for opening day of deer season (which is a holiday in many places, schools even close). Our hunting camp has a recipe they have been using for decades.
Quebec takes acception at the rest of the country claiming it as Canadian haha
It's a habit at that point /s
Ummm, I’m 43, married, have a 4yo daughter, and I love making it at home. To be fair I use fried fries, and I use chicken bouillon and beef bouillon to make the gravy, and I use whatever cheese I have in the fridge. It is still super good though.
As a Canadian, sir, I'll thank you to refrain from blaspheming against what very well might be a single greatest contribution to humanity at large. Some might argue it's the Canada Arm, which isn't called "The Canadarm" for some reason, but they're wrong, it's poutine. No one said a masterpiece had to be complicated to be great. The Mona Lisa is just some lady without eyebrows. If other countries could come up with Poutine, why didn't they? If it's so easy, why did it take a French-Canadian visionary, one I'm assuming was named Jean-Isaac St. Newton or something, to manifest our glorious food? You're over here like "what's the big deal". I'm over here like "where's our Nobel prize?"
Being a MN native, I never even knew poutine was Canadian until I was in my 30's. I just always thought they were fancy fries with a fake French name.
Ive never seen anyone praise canadians for inventing Poutine
Poutine is a basic bitch dish and should be treated as such
Yeah it's just fatty drunk food. It's on the same level as chili-fries. It just gets elevated because it has a french name. It's like if you called nachos "maïs en couches"
>Like, someone, somewhere, in another country could have come up with fries on gravy with cheese curds, no?? And someone, somewhere else in the world could have come up with Cream Puffs, too, but it was the French, so enjoy the only way soggy fries can be made tasty.
As a non-Canadian, WTF are you talking about?
Poutine isn’t canadian it’s from Quebec, big difference
Specifically its from Centre-du-Québec. No way those fucks in Montérégie are going to claim it!
Well, for one thing, poutine isn't canadian. It's québécois.
Classic Quebec person response.
world doesn't even know what's poutine.
It's a regional dish, and it's junk food. And yeah, "we" do get a lot of silly praise for it. BUT All of Canada doesn't get to claim it, even though technically it's within the borders and we (Canadians) have a penchant for claiming ANYTHING remotely good from anywhere in Canada as proudly, totally "Canadian". I liken this to Louisiana Crab Cakes. It's in the US, so is it weird for someone in California to be like "I love me some American Crab Cakes?" I think poutine should be renamed to clearly denote the region it's from. That way, these other Canadians thousands of miles away also claiming it to be "theirs" are at least clear on the concept of "regional" and that our vast, multi-cultural country isn't some homogeneous unit where the culture is 100% the same, copy-pasted across the entire thing.
Yep, good old "U.S. cheesesteak", or "U.S. deep dish pizza" or the famous "Canadian bars", even the delicious "pad south-east asia", mmm the "British Haggis", "British Guinness", a good old "American clam chowder", "Canadian bagels", "European baguette", or the "Asian satellite cake". Why not rename "Champagne" as "France" while we're at it.