Sunday 29 July 2012

Cheesy Stories


The other day I met a good friend for a drink.  We had not seen each other for a few months and immediately following "Hello," he asked me, "Are you gaining weight?"  

Well.

:(

Given that I still want to continue writing Poutine Guy and that I do not want to start a Weight Loss Guy blog, I may have to tone down the frequency of reviews and focus on some poutine chatter for the remainder of the summer or (God forbid!) even the remainder of 2012. 

First up, Delta Beausejour Hotel in Moncton deserves a big thumbs-up for its effort to increase poutine awareness. During the Hot Rod festivities known as the Atlantic Nationals on July 13, the hotel let its Facebook followers know that poutine was on the menu! 

While I was unable to personally attend, a HT goes out to a Facebook friend who posted it on my wall and another nod to a friend who emailed me about it. If by chance you were able to participate and partake, let me know how it went. Poutine Guy is fast becoming the send-to for all poutine news – which is alright by me.

Secondly, folks are sending me stories about their fav poutine stops and even their quests. One in particular worked for the Sea Dogs and made it a point to try poutine in every QMJHL hockey arena he visited. That is a worthwhile quest. I salut you. I must add there is something special about arena poutine. The smell of the steam shooting straight up into your face as you gobble down poutine bite after poutine bite is intoxicating. Mmmmm....

A couple of colleagues of mine with ties to Quebec have their must-eat-at-spots whenever they visit La Belle Province. I know if I'm ever driving up the Gaspe, I'll have plenty of places to stop at for some cheesy French fry goodness. While in Campbellton recently I tried to convince my driving companions to stop at a Casse-croute across the Van Horne. Unfortunately, my pleas and pleases were not good enough. 

One more note: following my interview on CBC radio two weeks ago, visits to Poutine Guy soared. In fact, almost a third of all visits to the blog can be attributed to that interview. So, a big THANKS to Mother Corp for the traffic. 

My next blog will have a review. Between starting this posting and actually posting it, I managed to go to Costco and, well... I couldn't help myself. I'm an addict.

May your curds stay squeaky!

Thursday 12 July 2012

Recognition

Poutine Guy received some recognition today. I was on CBC Information Morning - Moncton to talk about the Poutine Guy blog and poutines in general. It was certainly a great deal of fun, in no small part due to the efforts of the producer and host. Thanks a bunch for invitation and a special thanks to Karen Rawlines for letting the powers that be know about Poutine Guy’s exploits.

You can catch the interview here!

As always,

May your curds stay squeaky.

Monday 9 July 2012

Guinea Boar

I was recently reminded of one of the worst poutines I had ever eaten. It was my own fault really. Many years ago, I travelled to Edmundston where I mistakenly assumed that proximity to the Quebec border would guarantee me a good poutine. It does not.
While the restaurant had the gravy right, nothing else positive can be said about this melted mozzarella - frozen French fry fiasco.
My most recent return trip from Edmundston had me in Grand Falls at lunch. My traveling companions indulged my poutine fetish and off we went in search of a local non-chain Mom-and-Pop restaurant where, having learned from many of a bad moza experience in the past, I inquired about the cheese they used before actually ordering. 
"Mozarella," was the answer. 
Well. I took a pass. I'm glad I did because the fries I eventually did get with my lunch were crinkle cut frozen fries. You know, the kind that actually tastes as though they were frozen.
And so my travels to northern New Brunswick once again proved to be a bust on the poutine front. 
On Canada Day, while with my family in Downtown Moncton, I took advantage of being near the Tide & Boar restaurant. Its poutine has been widely recommended to me, especially the boar meat variety. That's right. Poutine with a topping of boar meat. How can anyone not give this a try?
The $16 price tag should give many folks second thoughts. It is a pricier restaurant, and if it were not for the recommendations of others, I would not have ordered this dish. So, I blame my friends. 
For that kind of money, I would have expected more curds, more fries, more meat, and essentially more everything. Even the non-boar variety was $11, which still makes for a pricey regular poutine. 
That being said, the fries were awesome. Also, the gravy came in its own little gravy boat on the side allowing you to dip or spread out as much gravy as you choose. Plus, it was good, but not good enough to make it outstanding in terms of my grading system. It scores a .69/1 and the saving grace was the tender topping of boar meat. My wife, however, had the halibut taco which she claims may be the best taco in Moncton. So, it was not a total loss.
My poutine tasting did not stop in Moncton.
As part of my travels for work, I had the chance to be in Saint John. I took advantage of this by visiting Lanie's Place in Market Square in Uptown Saint John. This establishment was recommended to me in my first blog, by good friend Nathan White. I should extend a special thanks to Nathan for recommending this, as I would have otherwise walked by it. 
Lanie's poutine's only deficiency is the gravy. It was far too soupy and thin. But otherwise the rest was great; ultimately scoring a .78/1 on my scoring system. It is certainly worthy of a Poutine Guy recommendation. 
So, keep the suggestions coming. I’ll do my best to guinea-pig (or boar) any idea.
Until next time, may your curds stay squeaky!