By Iron Chef Leftovers

I admit it, I love poutine ever since a fateful drunken late night in Montreal a number of years ago. If you want great poutine, Montreal is the place. For some reason, the Quebecois seem to all be able to make it well. In the U.S., not so much; heck, I can’t think of any great poutine I have had in non-Quebec Canada for that matter (there have been a few good ones, but none I would consider great).

Henry Goldman at Buzzfeed Food addresses the poutine issue in a rather fun read.

This may be the best description of poutine I have ever read:

When poutine is made properly, the gravy should be hot enough to melt the cheese curds and make the fries soggy. What you’re left with is an awesomely goopy, gravy-licous, hot potato mess. For people who enjoy a night of drinking, poutine works perfectly as a calorie-rich after-bar snack — or the most ideal hangover food in human history. You don’t have to be a drunk to enjoy it. You do, however, have to be unconcerned with eating more than 1500 calories in a single, carb-heavy cholesterol-soaked meal. And if you’re a real American, you shouldn’t be.

It is the ultimate drunk food, the ultimate hangover food and the ultimate potato dish. In Seattle, there is a pretty passible poutine at the Jolly Roger in Ballard and, despite Goldman’s comments, the one at Skillet is pretty good (but he is right, it is not poutine), but beyond that, I can’t think of any others that I would even remotely recommend – and I usually order it when it is on the menu.

Oh yeah, I agree with him also – the poutine at Au Pied de Cochon is probably the best I have ever had. I guess the foie gras doesn’t really hurt the dish too much.