Poutine – a delicious combo of cheese curds and gravy over french fries – has become a fast favorite in the US, but its roots are undeniably Canadian. When we were in Toronto recently, we thought it would be the perfect chance to try poutine in its homeland (though technically poutine is from Quebec, we’ll let it slide). There are a ton of poutine-specific spots in Toronto, and everyone has a favorite. However, on the recommendation of a friend, we ended up at Poutini’s House of Poutine (1112 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1H9). This is a small cash-only spot, with tables for only 8 or so people, and poutine is the only thing on the menu.
There are several varieties of poutine on offer – including traditional, bacon and sour cream topped, mushrooms, BBQ pulled pork, and smoked meat – each of which comes in regular (all less than $11 Canadian) and “mini” size (less than $8 Canadian). We were also pleased to see they had vegan and vegetarian varieties. Lucky for us, since the friend we visited the restaurant with is a vegetarian, and this was her first poutine! Another nice feature is that you can get vegetarian, beef or gluten free gravy on any variety of poutine.
We sampled the classic, bacon and vegetarian varieties. The mini size wasn’t small and actually was perfect for one person to enjoy for lunch. The poutine was made to order, and each version was a great combo of freshly-cooked, twice-fried skin-on fries, piping hot gravy and squeaky cheese curds. The vegetarian gravy was tomato-based and didn’t sacrifice any of the flavor of the beef gravy. This was the best poutine we ever had! If you ever find yourself in Toronto and want some real-deal poutine, this is the place! Where is your go-to poutinerie?
Québec has a unique food history (
Eating The World 