• uniquely-ironic said on Aug 22, 2008....

  Was here.  Cannot say that poutine appeals to me from the description, but maybe it's an acquired taste?

• nytquill17 said on Aug 22, 2008....

  When I first heard about it (living in New Brunswick, as a kid) I thought it was gross.  But it's not an acquired taste in the way that coffee is.  You don't have to get used to the taste, you just have to get used to the idea! :D
  
  It's really very good.  It's not that dissimilar from cheese fries, except a slightly different cheese and with gravy.  Cheddar mashed potatoes with gravy would have the same elements, lol!  What I mean is, it seems strange if it's something you've never heard of or been exposed to, but it's actually not that unusual a combination.
  

• MissMimi said on Aug 22, 2008....

  The poutine Italienne you mentioned in the other post sounds really good.  I can't quite get my brain around cheese fries with chicken sauce.  But since it sounds like a totally un healthy thing to eat, I'm sure it's very tasty and I would love it.  ;)

• nytquill17 said on Aug 22, 2008....

  It's not chicken flavored sauce.  It's called hot-chicken sauce here, it's the sauce you put on a hot-chicken sandwich, which is another Quebec dish.  Basically if you used chicken or turkey gravy that would approximate it but it's not exactly the same.  Up here they sell "poutine sauce" in stores next to the gravy and stuff.
  
  It's a heart attack on a plate, but it's soooo delicious!
  

• nytquill17 said on Aug 22, 2008....

  I should throw this out there: if you're ever in Quebec and decide to try poutine, AVOID McPoutine at ALL COSTS.  It's not terribly bad, but it's not really poutine either :p  So it shouldn't be your first impression.
  
  I don't know how they manage it, but it tastes like canned chicken soup.  Not chicken, just chicken soup.  Bleeeh.
  
  Go to...oh, who has good poutine?  La Belle Province I've heard is good.  Mike's is pretty good too, I believe.  AshTon, Superfrite.  But the best are from local places, not chains.  Cantines and diners and stuff :)
  

• CreativeWoman said on Aug 23, 2008....

  It sounds like one of those foods that probably tastes better than it sounds.  But, I don't think I would work up the nerve to try it.  Take off the gravy...and maybe.  I don't think I would like cheese and gravy in the same dish even though I love them separately. 
  
  I take it this is a really popular dish there?
  
  CW
  

• nytquill17 said on Aug 23, 2008....

  It's the "national food" of Quebec, essentially!  I'm trying to think of a good comparison...  Poutine is to Quebec what hot dogs are to baseball games, or what popcorn is to movie theaters.  Practically EVERY restaurant here will have poutine somewhere on its menu, even the nicer ones.  And every fast food place that serves fries has the "change your fries to poutine for 99 cents".
  
  Quebeckers know their local restaurants' poutines the way beer afficionados know their local breweries!  Which ones are good, which are not so good, subtle differences in the fries or the sauce.  People debate who has the best poutine in town, in the region, in the province.
  
  It's a really interesting little bit of the culture here, not one that would jump right out at you if you were just here to visit (except that you would see it's sold everywhere!), but the longer you live here the more it becomes part of the background of your life!
  

• evil_twin said on Aug 23, 2008....

  I like hot dogs and french fries separately, but I'm not sure I could handle this dish! Of course my stomach is way messed up right now, and it's probably from eating too much stuff like this in the first place :-P Can I ask what the heck a fresh cheese curd is though? Is that like cottage cheese?
  
  I think the part that that sounds weirdest to me is the chicken gravy on top. I just don't think of eating gravy with fries or hot dogs. But I can tell you guys must really like this stuff if it's your national food dish!
  
  -evil_twin LA
  

• nytquill17 said on Aug 23, 2008....

  Well, a "regular" poutinei doesn't have the hot dogs in it.  That's an extra topping.  Regular is just fries, cheese, and sauce.  In fact in lots of places you can order what's called "frites sauce" which is just gravy fries.  Eating fries with gravy does seem strange at first, but when you think about it it's not THAT different from mashed potatoes and gravy, is it?
  
  Fresh cheese is cheese that isn't really aged at all.  They just turn the milk into cheese and then right away pack it up and sell it.  Even the cheese you buy in blocks at the store has usually been aged a few months.
  
  "Curd" just refers to the shape that it's in.  It's not been pressed into a block or shaped in any way, but it's in little bite-sized lumps. When milk starts to turn into cheese, the first thing that happens is that the milk gets lumpy, right?  And those lumps are little bits of cheese starting to form.  Well when you want cheese curds, you don't do anything with the lumps that form - just strain them out and package them right like that.  It does resemble the solid bits of cottage cheese, only a lot bigger pieces (like the size of a nickel or a quarter usually).
  
  The best part about this cheese is it squeaks when you chew it!  I've heard someone compare it to the squeak of eating a boiled fresh (not frozen) green beans.  That was a weird experience at first, I thought maybe something was wrong with my food, lol.  But once I realized it was supposed to do that, I kind of got into the fun of making it squeak on purpose.  NOM squeak NOM squeak NOM squeak :D 
  
  All "fresh cheese" squeaks, because it has more moisture in it than aged cheese.In fact one of the most popular brands of fresh cheese sold in stores goes by the name of "Le fromage qui fait Kwik Kwik"!
  
   Fresh cheese is easiest to find in places that do a lot of dairy production.  Outside of those areas it can be a little hard to find and plenty of people have never even heard of it.
  
  Some places, like in New Brunswick, will sell something called "poutine" but it's made with cheddar cheese chunks or even melted cheese like velveeta or something.  DO NOT BE FOOLED!  If it's not fresh cheese curds, it's not authentic poutine - just an approximation!
  

• I'mNotHungry said on Aug 23, 2008....

  Did you say fries, cheese, and gravy,... and throw in hot dogs....????
  Not really appealing to my taste buds ...

  and I should mention, I think my arteries clogged just reading about it :-)
  

• silverwhisper said on Aug 25, 2008....

  i have to say, poutine is sounding increasingly good to me the more i learn about it. :>
  
  ed

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