Comparing local poutines

By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist

It’s the 150th anniversary of confederation and a lot of Canadians will be looking to celebrate by eating Canadian specific food.

One popular and famous Canadian food is Quebec’s poutine! The dish is made of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. It was so popular that it expanded to the rest of the country, including the Lower Mainland. While the ingredients are the same, various places make them very differently, so I set out to find the best poutine in the Lower Mainland!

McDonald’s

One of the places that started to offer poutine only recently is Mcdonald’s. It took a long time for their famous fries to be put together with cheese curds and gravy. It tastes like just that—fries with cheese curds and gravy. Although it tastes great, it is not the best poutine I’ve ever had, so my search continued.

Triple-O’s

The poutine available in the Triple-O’s in the cafeteria of the New Westminster Douglas College campus is one of the most popular items on the menu. It is made with local ingredients, including Kennebec potatoes. The french fries have a lot of flavour, and the cheese curds and the gravy are both very good. The cheese curds stretch a lot when melted, so that you have to pull it with your mouth to eat it. It makes it very fun and satisfying.

Spud Shack Potato Co.

The poutine place located a few blocks away from the New Westminster campus—in the SkyTrain station complex—is a place that a lot of students go to, especially during Half-Price Monday. The french fries in their poutine are cooked twice to make sure that they have the right amount of crunch. The cheese curds are not melted a lot, so they’re easy to eat. The gravy is not strong and it tastes great. They have a variety of poutine types, including my favourite: the pulled pork poutine, as well as some vegetarian and vegan options.

Smoke’s Poutinerie

Originally thought to only be available in Ontario, there is a Smoke’s Poutinerie on Granville Street. According to their slogan, they have been “clogging arteries since 2008,” and they tried to recreate the authentic poutine of Quebec. The french fries in their poutine taste and look like the fries from New York Fries. Also, their poutine has pepper, which adds a nice spice to it.

Fritz

Fritz is a few blocks away from Smoke’s Poutinerie, on Davie Street. They offer European style fries and poutine. Their poutine is similar to  the poutine in Smoke’s Poutinerie, except that it has more spice to it from extra pepper. The french fries in their poutine are crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the inside. The cheese curds are very stretchy and the gravy is very rich. You can also put various toppings of your choice in your poutine.

In my opinion, our own Triple-O’s has the best poutine—but don’t be afraid to try them all!