NYC Tour De Poutine
It was during a visit to Montreal some eight years ago that I first discovered the glory that is poutine. This French Canadian specialty is a heart-stopping, gut-busting treat that somehow manages to out-America American food, topping crispy French fries with mounds of fresh cheese curds and thick brown gravy. Delicious. Frightening. Genius.
The dish is so popular Up North that it’s even served at McDonald’s in Montreal. Now it’s quickly proliferating New York restaurant menus and appears set to become the next Bahn Mi/Fried Chicken/obsessive over-the-top comfort food trend. So I set out to explore every New York restaurant currently serving poutine. With a little (OK, a lot) of help from some friends, I’m delighted to share this exhaustive report, along with the news that my internal organs appear to still be intact…for now.
Drunken Poutine: T Poutine
The first NYC shop to make poutine the focus of their menu, this Lower East Side newcomer sees Canada’s challenge and raises it, offering artery-clogging options like the steakhouse poutine (topped with caramelized onions, blue cheese and thinly sliced steak) and the morning glory poutine (applewood smoked bacon and sunnyside up egg). The gravy (which also comes in a veggie version) is nothing to write home about, but this party-area spot, which is BYOB and open til 5am on weekends, is more about the alcohol-soaking extras. You can ramp your poutines up even further with add-ons like Essex pickles and panko fried cheese curds. 168 Ludlow Street, $7.25 – $9.50
Update: T Poutine has sadly closed
Everything Poutine: Corner Burger
After returning from an eye-opening holiday trip to Montreal, the owners of this Park Slope burger and sandwich shop have updated their menu with an astounding 13 varieties of poutine. The Americanized takes—pepperoni, mozzarella and marinara make up the “pizza poutine”—are in our opinion unnecessary, but Corner Burger hits a home run with the hearty classic versions, such as “poutine galvaude,” a popular Quebecois take that adds shredded chicken and peas to the standard dish, which features a delicious housemade chicken gravy. 381 5th Avenue, Brooklyn. $6 – $7.50
Extra Cheese Poutine: Dive Bar
This long-standing Upper West Side establishment has been serving poutine for years, and there’s nothing fancy or inventive about their take. (The bartender found it hilarious/adorable that I wanted to take a photo.) The possibly canned gravy is mediocre, but as you can see that’s not really the emphasis here. Dive Bar wins the most-cheese-curds-for-your-dollar award by a long shot, and gets extra props for the fact that the extra-crispy fries hold up well under all that weight. 732 Amsterdam Avenue, $8.
It’s official: You’re my hero. Yum!
+Jessie
Okay, sign me up! Poutine it is!
My horizons have officially been widened. Something tells me that might not be the only thing Poutine helps to widen. Awesome!
Thanks to this post, I’m now a poutinatarian.
Hummmmm! Poutine.
Please dont miss the Poutine festival in Drummondville Québec next summer.
But first make sure you system is in good shape.
Ah the amazing Poutine! I grew up in a small town in norther Ontario just 30 miles west of the Quebec border. Poutine is a food group in that part of the country..its on every menu of every respectable fast food eatery and if it’s not the patrons will definitely make you put it on there. I grew up eating it and I can’t say enough about how delicious it is, but and there is always one, I don’t eat it any longer for health reasons, but I do admire it from a far and I always will. If you’ve never tried it I recommend that you do, even if it’s just once or twice or three times…just to say you truly got to enjoy this amazing dish!
as a Canadian i can honestly say, most of the world is missing out . i literally just finished a poutine, and it was delicious! ACCEPT NO IMITATIONS! CANADIAN POUTINE CANT BE BEAT! EH!
I thought T-Poutine was closed…is it open now? Because Imma go there if so
@Maria – you’re right — this article was written in Februrary – T. Poutine closed in May 🙁
oh yum! reminds me of my many trips to montreal. 🙂 if you’re ever there, try the gnocchi poutine at macaroni bar!
I am a French-Canadian who left Montreal for a 6 month visit to the USA 42 years ago, and I’m still here in New Jersey…I am very happy to see that you can finally get a taste of Montreal here in the NYC area! Bravo! What I really hope for is for “smoked meat” to also catch on here…You’ll forget about NY style pastrami once you’ve tried Montreal’s smoked meat! Also the Montreal style of BBQ chicken that you get at places like Chalet BBQ, Benny’s or St Hubert BBQ…
@scarlet @dishcrawl Macaroni Bar is one of the most over rated restaurants in Montreal. If you come to Montreal, please, PLEASE, do not go there, it’s way too expensive and not even good. There are so many other places with cheaper and better food.
Google “potato delight” and “fresh pond diner”…I grew up on this stuff right in Queens, so it is hardly new!
At Henry’s Tavern in Portland, OR they have melt gorgonzola cheese on criss-cut seasoned fries. No gravy, but it will make your eyes roll back in your head.
They also have 105 beers on tap. You can wash down the American Poutine with something you like.
I will have to check this place out my self and see if the poutine is a good as I used to have when I lived in Montreal. 40 lbs of me was due to some good poutine.
This is awsome