This weekend on Good Food Evan interviews Top Chef’s Gail Simmons about the food of her native Canada. Of course, no discussion of Canadian cuisine would be complete without a mention of poutine – the Québécois dish of french fries smothered in gravy and topped with fresh squeaky cheese curds.
Originally, Gail explains, poutine was popularized in Canada’s alpine ski lodges as a hearty snack after a long day on the slopes. Despite it’s humble origins, nowadays chefs in Montreal are creating haute-poutines that favor venison jus and a lobe of foie gras in lieu of the classic gravy and curds. Gail says she is pleased to see Americans “catching on” to her country’s classic dish and quite frankly we are too.
If you are searching for “upscale” poutine try Animal’s version with cheddar cheese and oxtail ragu or Chef Casey Lane’s poutine with fried oysters or his poutine with pigs feet at The Parish. For a more low-brow (some might say traditional) approach check out Redondo Beach Cafe where the Montreal-born Tsanganis brothers are serving a classic poutine with gravy and curds. The video below shows just how they make it…
And for more on where to find poutine in the LA area, check out Lesley Balla’s indispensable round up on the Zagat Blog.