Poutini's House of Poutine
1112 Queen St. West 
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I've been waiting a long time for Poutini's House of Poutine to open. When I found out that a new poutine place was opening on West Queen West, I was on the case like cheese curds on gravy.
I followed Poutini's Twitter feed and monitored their website. I avoided eating other poutines in an effort to keep my palate fresh and my arteries open. Like a virgin bride anticipating her wedding night, I spent weeks imaging what it was going to be like, how it would taste, and how I would feel after. For you see, like most poutine lovers, my affection borders on the fanatical, a culinary obsession so deep I easily ascribe magical powers to this simple, three ingredient dish.
Now, there's a real risk to getting too excited about big events. As the ever quotable Oscar Wilde once said, "Niagara Falls is the bride's second great disappointment". By the time Poutini's announced their soft opening last Friday, I'd gotten myself so worked up that I worried they'd play awkward groom to my blushing bride, failing to meet my heightened expectations.
But, mon dieu! this is no ordinary poutine.
With gravy gently coaxed from roasted bones, thickened with buttery roux and evenly distributed throughout a generous pail of fresh, French-fried PEI potatoes, Poutini's main dish is a knockout. While franchise poutines toss curds and gravy atop fries like frantic afterthoughts, Poutini's presentation is delicate, gently ensuring each squeaky curd and spoonful of gravy span the depth of the bucket, and rendering every morsel a fresh delight. Maple Dale Cheese Farm curds provide auditory evidence that this is a serious poutine, squeakily serenading taste buds and French (Canadian)-kissing teeth before joining their brethren in a holy trinity of deliciousness.
I strongly believe that poutine is the quintessential Canadian food, a flavourful link that, deftly served, can unite the solitudes of French and English Canada. And though I admit this may be a stretch for some, Poutini's poutine is at very least a neighbourhood-builder. My friend and I sat on the bench outside--sadly Poutini's has standing-tables only--and quite literally EVERY person who passed mentioned the poutine. Several drivers and motorcyclists stopped to ask about it, too. We met a lot of new people that night, and even though each conversation stole precious moments from me and my poutine, I appreciated the sense of communion and shared interest in a common dish.
Once I'd scraped my bowl clean, I spent a few minutes with friendly manager Katie "Squeaky" Laliberte, who explained that community building through gravy, cheese and potatoes is an intentional goal. A family-operated business, Katie, her husband and his brother all live in the neighbourhood and agreed they would feature local artists in this gallery-turned-poutinerie. They welcome artists to stop by and talk about displaying their work. They're also eco-conscious, scoring bonus points with me for ladling their generous portions into biodegradable containers, and serving them with compostable cutlery.
A simple menu of classic poutine, vegetarian poutine, and baked potato poutine keeps it easy for the Lalibertes to make their dishes super fresh, with curds delivered every second day and all gravy made from scratch. "Squeaky" also informed me that Poutini's delectable gravy is still in development, as the Lalibertes search for a new roux to make the thick sauce a little more transparent, and allow the roasty meat flavours greater play. I'm not sure how they could make this heavenly dish any better, but I applaud their efforts, and look forward to a lifetime of gloriously saucy nights together.
Comments (58)
I stopped there on my way home from work yesterday. Delicious! Much better than Smoke's. The curds were generously portioned and genuinely squeaky (I don't think I ever knew what that meant before) and I liked the gravy much more than Smoke's glutinous stuff. I didn't feel all bloated and gross after finishing, which is always a risk with poutine. Now I just have to resist visiting too often... my waistline can't handle poutine every week!
Good choice with Maple Dale's cheese curds. Probably the best cheese curd for poutine west of Ottawa. That alone suggests they know how real poutine is made.
Now I'm regretting going on a healthy eating kick.
I am so looking forward to this!...Smokes is an embarrasment...so good that this is in the hood, wish I could go for lunch though...
I stopped by on the weekend. The curds were nice though I thought the gravy was a little bland.
Stopped in on Saturday night after some cocktails. Maybe it was because we had dinner at Delux, maybe because we lived in Montreal for a few years, but my group was pretty disappointed. The staff was chipper and in a good mood, which was great. The place looks inviting and the biodegradable bowls and forks are a great feature. The poutine itself was served warm, not hot. The curds were plentiful although a little mushy and the gravy was missing any distinctive taste. They may be working out kinks, and location is top notch as this strip is starting to look like the streets of clubland, but we weren't left wanting more.
But what about the name? Poutini's? As in the Italian tradition of poutine?
Went Saturday and loved it. Awesome fries, squeaky curds and light tasty vegetarian gravy. VEGETARIAN GRAVY!!!
Better than Smokes!!!??!!! Get out of town.
My mouth is watering already. Ugh, I can't wait to try it out! And I agree, Poutine is quintessential Canadian food.
:P:
Being from Montreal, I have hard a hard time finding a good poutine here to satisfy my cravings, but this sounds like it might do the trick. Great piece!
Weak.
Went there for lunch today.
Signs up saying that they are only open after 5pm, cuz they'd rather cater to the late night NXNE crowd than the people standing around looking cheated at lunch time.
There were a good handful of people too.
Poutini, the 416 wants to give you business. Stop saving it all for when the 905 rolls into town.
"Better than Smokes!!!??!!! Get out of town."
uh, yeah...smokes is TERRIBLE!...this has to be better...and btw, Caplansky's is far better than Smoke's even, so this better be the poutine I have been waiting for in TO.
I just contacted the restaurant and I happy to report that they are working on a gluten-free gravy for us Celiacs! Finally I can actually try poutine (I'm new to Canada and have been hearing all sorts of good stuff about it)!
@disappointed - do you make every issue in life about 416 vs 905? I think they are opening for late night as the street traffice is 3 - 10 times as much.
No, I don't make any issues in life about 416 v 905. I spend very little time on the Queen West stretch, but I understand it's a fun topic to really grind people's gears with, so I decided to test the water.
Thanks for being the one to play (and win!) the game.
Seriously though, 3-10 times? That is a huge range! I would like to see the raw data compiled for that study to garner such a hugely variable answer. ;)
I for one am excited to have VEGETARIAN GRAVY!!! because I've been poutine-less since I went vegetarian in 1999.. I think the sky opened up and hit my smiling face with a beam of light when I read that my dark ages of snacking are truly over...
So, I take it you've never really put any effort into finding poutine in this city. There is a lot of veggie stuff out there.. Hell even Smokes, the local 'hot spot' has veggie gravy and a handful of veggie options for other toppings
Even A&W, Harveys, and New York Fries have better poutines than Smoke's, which has the be the city's most overrated eatery.
I'll not go out of my way to get this. I did exactly that for Smoke's and all I got was one of the worst tasting poutine's I've ever had. I can't believe people have dared to compare it to Quebec Poutines.
Jenny, you've seriously been missing out for nothing. There's some good veggie poutine out there. A couple of my favorites are the Gladstone Hotel, Disgraceland at 965 Bloor, and the Stampede Bison Grill on Brock near Queen. I'm sure there's others too.
more veg poutine?? must add to my list. i did a review of veg poutine awhile back:
looking up disgraceland, it's a vegan poutine? do they have a veg-but-non-vegan one (with cheese, not tofu)?
Great thread over there, Helen. I'll have to check out some of those places too. On the menu it's vegan, but you can ask for curds and the veggie gravy no problem. I know it's not traditional in any sense but I was there for a birthday once and they made a veggie poutine with tater tots. Now that was an indulgent treat!
I'm actually excited about the baked potato option - I can justify eating gravy + curds more often if the spuds aren't always deep-fried.
I don't visit Smokes as much as my cravings for poutine come come around because i think they can use a bit more subtlety instead of overpowering the fries with their toppings. Unfortunately i dont think i'll be revisiting Poutini's much either for quite the opposite reason. I found it to be kind of generic in taste, no better than what you might order from say Burger King. Sure the curds are better, but seeing as how i was the only customer when i went in i figure it'd be possible to serve it to me hot enough for them to be a bit...melty. Kinda looked like some banana flavoured Starburst squares just sitting there. Would have been nice to have some optional toppings to throw on or some variations like at the Burger Shoppe.
Very friendly staff and the biodegradable bowls as mentioned above are a plus though.
Not good poutine. Maybe a bit better than Smoke's, but lacking in flavour and very skimpy on the gravy. Expensive as well. Don't waste your money, just make it at home instead. St Hubert Poutine gravy is much better that Poutini gravy.
Having read the blog - I was SOOOO excited to try Poutini's. She captured the true essence of what a good poutine experience is all about. I grew up in Ottawa, so visiting a chip stand for some salty, gravy-filled goodness was always available. Having moved here, I've been on the hunt for a good poutine...
This place is NOT it! A good poutine is all about the cheese and the gravy. Sure they use good cheese curds, but the gravy is not hot enough for the chees to melt and become gooey. The gravy also lacks flavour. And finally, a good poutine needs to be built in layers. I was pretty turned off that they measure their cheese curds and place them on top of the cup of fries.... By the time you get half way through the poutine, you're left with try french fries.........BOO! I kind of feel sorry for the blogger, because if this was the best poutine you've ever had - you are definitely missing out in one of Canada's best culinary masterpieces. You need to take a trip to Quebec!
I have to agree, Baby Brar. My vegetarian poutine was lacking in flavour and melty goodness. I think if they alter their gravy (add more salt) and layer the poutine, it would be a huge improvement. I think this place is new so hopefully they will take these opinion to heart and make some tweeks.
got a chance to try the veg version last night and was disappointed.
the fries were okay (though one too many bits of too crispy/dried out fries), but the gravy was very bland and lacking in flavour. it was a good consistency though so they just need to keep working on making the gravy much more flavourful.
the cheese curds were decent - squeaky, but almost too firm (it was almost like eating uncooked halloumi) and did not melt pretty much at all. i like when the cheese still holds some of its shape but is slightly melted and soft.
they skimped too much on the gravy and importantly, did not layer.
seems like some of these issues are easy to fix:
layer the curds and gravy throughout the poutine, and don't skimp on the gravy. if they are indeed looking to improve the gravy, investigate how to make it more flavourful cuz it's really bland right now.
oh, and one last thing: i found something a bit too salty in there.. not sure if it was the gravy or seasoning (if any) on the fries..
p.s. it's not that i think blandness = need to add more salt, but i'm talking about actual flavour.. something entirely different. the gravy tastes like very little except salt.
(sorry, that p.s. up there was meant to come after this comment below.. but for some reason, i posted incorrectly and this one didn't post..?
anyway..
got a chance to try the veg version from poutini's last night and was disappointed. the fries were okay (though one too many bits of too crispy/dried out fries), but the gravy was very bland and lacking in flavour. it was a good consistency though so they just need to keep working on making the gravy much more flavourful (i heard they are still trying to perfect the gravy). the cheese curds were decent - squeaky, but almost too firm (it was almost like eating uncooked halloumi) and did not melt pretty much at all. i like when the cheese still holds some of its shape but is somewhat melted and soft. they skimped too much on the gravy and importantly, did not layer.
seems like some of these issues are easy to fix: layer the curds and gravy throughout the poutine, and don't skimp on the gravy. if they are indeed looking to improve the gravy, investigate how to make it more flavourful cuz it's really bland right now. oh, and one last thing: i found something a bit too salty in there.. not sure if it was the gravy or seasoning (if any) on the fries..
oops! sorry about the double posting!
here's a picture of a good poutine from rapido in montreal. i had this a few weekends ago. notice the extreme amounts of gravy and curds, and how the curds are somewhat melted but still hold their shape. my only complaint about this was that it was slightly too salty for my taste, but overall, damn good!
Just went last night. Why can't anyone in Toronto make a good Poutine? It was a very good try, but the sauce has almost no taste to it. Thankfully the cheese was good. At least they didn't make the classic Toronto mistake of throwing stuff on top of it, like pulled pork or something. If they can work on their sauce, they may have a good thing going.
The Rapido Poutine is in my Top 5 in Montreal. Very good indeed. It was strange when they "classed the place up" though. Same food, same waitresses, but all "cool" looking decor.
Hmmm, the quality of the individual ingredients were well up there, but sadly the gravy was off the mark. It amazes me Toronto restaurants can't seem to nail the gravy; even McDonald's Poutine "gets" it. Perhaps you can chalk off the discrepancy to regional differences, which I can respect, but it just gives me another reason to crave heading back to Montreal.
people who say that this is the best poutine clearly have no concept of good food.
i tried this last night for the first time, and the gravy tasted like kfc gravy that they would use on poutine in montreal. extremely bland and no taste.
as far as poutine is concerned in toronto, smoke's is way better.
St Hubert canned Poutine Sauce IS better than the Poutini gravy. Poutini gravy has no flavour. St Hubert does.
Went by last weekend and it confirmed for me that Torontonians cannot make Poutine. Beef gravy?...But nice curds.
not worth 7$
the veggie and normal gravy had no taste at all .. very bland.
not enough gravy or cheese
fries were undercooked
will not be returning here unless they decide to start giving refunds.
oh non... this is not good poutine. Besides the fact that the entire block now smells like a carnival- I was willing to give it a try... walking by a carnival everyday on my way to and from work, will inevitably make you want to take a turn on the ferris wheel. The gravy tastes like, well, not much, but what makes the entire gravy experience worse, is the the mushy yet under cooked fries that lay below. The cheap amount of cheese kinda sucked, and the lack of meltage on behalf of those same curds irritated me even more- the squeaky-ness was in good form, but could not stand alone. I'm not so sure it's all that important for the Poutini peeps to visit Quebec for a Poutine-gravy 101, so much as they need to visit a cabana a sucre. Good poutine comes from good gravy, good gravy comes from old school habitant recipes and traditions, those traditions still live in the country. Take a trip to the Eastern townships, St-Eustache or beyond... you'll be back with a killer gravy no expat could frown at.
I have never had poutine that can even compete with Quebec's Ashton and daily fresh squicky fromaaaaage. But I would love to try this place and see what Ontario has to offer. More like 418 vs 416 for me. ha!
OK. So I've been working at Poutini's for like 3 weeks now and I have also been trying different poutine's around the city. Our gravy/veggie gravy and squeaky cheese curds....amazing. If you feel like bacon and pulled pork for an addition to your Poutine, maybe even Broccoli. Than Smoke's is where you should go. But $14 for the "LTO" was a RIP off.
I'm originally from Belleville and I say Duffer's Chip Wagon makes the best Poutine in Ontario...they use the same curd as Poutini's too. Maple Dale Cheese (Tweed ON)
i can not now or ever see reason why an Oscar Wilde quotation or descriptions like "delicate" and "gently coaxed" should be used to describe disco fries.
go back to the library nerd!
Being a dedicated "poutinerie", I had definitely expected a better experience from this joint. Following most of the other negative comments here, the cheese and gravy, regardless of flavour, simply did not achieve the right consistency. For all it's seeming simplicity, getting the textures of melted cheese, hot gravy, and crisp fries is apparently no cakewalk.
While anathema to most BlogTO readers, I have to say the best (albeit with no veggie option - though if we're talking authenticity, that's hardly a consideration) poutine in the "city" can be found at The Real McCoy in *gasp* Scarborough. The ownership there is aging - I'd hit it up soon lest a changing of the guard ruin the place. And at $4.50, the difference can go towards your TTC fare.
Almost forgot the address: 1033 Markham Rd.
http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/listing/129761
A solid contender for all your greasy spoon needs.
I went to Poutini's last week. I have to say that generally, the quality of the product is very good. Delicious hand-cut fries. (I didn't have the problem of tiny, left over bits of fries, luckily) I enjoyed the rich gravy (I actually like it better than both Smokes and Craft.) The cheese curds are what makes this poutine outstanding. They are large, chewy white curds, that definitely squeak in your teeth.
I have a bit of a problem with the presentation though. The cheese curds are just plopped on top of the fries and then the gravy is ladled over. I personally think that the cheese should be distributed throughout the fries. And, since the cheese is sitting on top, it doesn't get an opportunity to hang out long enough with the gravy to get all soft and melt-y, the way it does at Smokes and Craft. I also think that they should definitely add an extra half ladle of gravy... imho.
Nice review, Devon, as usual, but I don't agree.
I live right around the corner from this place, love poutine and was eager to try Poutini's. When I did, I was pretty disappointed. The product is expensive and doesn't get some of the basics right. First, the fries were soggy. Poutine fries should not be soggy. They should have a bit of a bite and should stand up to the gravy. Second, the poutine was not layered, which meant that for $7 bucks, I got a few curds at the top and a bowl full of soggy fries. After I ate off the top layer, my treat got pretty boring and I felt like a chump for paying $7 for a bowl of soggy fries. Third, the gravy was just not that flavourful.
Poutine isn't risotto or souffle, which is to say it's not that complicated. A place that only makes poutine should be able to figure it out.
Love love Poutinis, the REAL squeaky cheese does it for me, but I would suggest to add extra cheese, as the bowls are quite large and you'll need more cheese, if you can afford the extra fat that comes with it!
My favorite in Toronto, smoke's is gross
I never really understood why people liked poutine untill I lived in Quebec. Truth is Ontario food joints have been making poutine at a sub-standard level for years and these new quasi-classy dedicated poutine joints designed to capitalize on ignorant drunks have not bothered to raise the standard.
The poorly cooked fries, the insufficient amount of gravy, the disposable bowl and forks, the luke warm temprature, the cheese curds that don't squeak might all be easier to over-look if they just used the right kind of gravy. Beef gravy is absolutely NOT traditional. If it is not made with hot chicken fat it is just not the same and in my opinion not even worth tasting.
Both Poutini & Smokes (especially the latter) are way below par when it comes to poutine. The reason, I gather, would be because neither ownership group has the slightest idea how to cook?
Cooking can be an integral part of running a successful food & bev operation.
That being said, the lesser of the two (smokes) has opened 3 locations and a fry truck in one year so it doesnt say much for this cities palette.
Don't fret everyone, i will be opening a poutine shop that will provide us all with the quality, service and FLAVOUR that this city so desperately needs.
Stay Tuned!
Really. I am going to do this.
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