Gravy and Cheese Curds, Je T’aime: Spotlight on Poutine in Calgary, Alberta

Dan    Calgary & Area, Restaurants, Thoughts     Alberta King of Subs, Bistro 2210, Brasserie, calgary, cheese, food tour, fries, gravy, Laurier Lounge, poutine

When Montreal is a little further than a hop, skip, and a jump away, a poutine fan can certainly have a hard time fulfilling those cravings. Are you a poutine-lover feeling unsatisfied in Calgary? Well, I’m here to make you feel better, or the Poutine Crawl is anyway…

Created and organized by local foodie, Karen Richards, the Poutine Crawl was an afternoon adventure into the magical land of potatoes, gravy, and cheese curds. Yes, this city-wide tour took participants to four local restaurants boasting some delicious styles of poutine. Forget the gravy boat, this was going to be a gravy battleship kind of experience. Keep in mind, this culinary excursion was not for the faint of heart, nor the small of stomach. Let the onslaught begin…

The tour started off at Alberta King of Subs. Nestled in the north-eastern quadrant of the city, this little shop has been dubbed a diamond in the rough by many of Calgary’s food critics.

Firstly, it’s known for it’s top-notch Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich (trust me, it’s hard to find a good one here), but, secondly, is also a poutine hot-spot. We were greeted with excitement by the staff, and were presented with four types of poutine: Chicken, Pepperoni, Montreal Smoked Meat, and Hot Dog.

I liked the pepperoni and the smoked meat variations, but wasn’t so crazy about the chicken or the hot dog. The same gravy was applied to each offering, which was good, as were the fries. Overall, a great start. Karen had handed out score sheets to fill out as we went along. I gave these guys a 7/10. After the poutines were eaten up, we piled back onto the bus and headed to stop #2, Brasserie Kensington.

If you read my post on Brasserie Kensington recently, you’ll remember that I had tried their breakfast poutine, so I was definitely excited to see what other styles I’d be offered today. They did not disappoint. We were served by a couple of the owners themselves, who, like the first destination, presented the group with four different flavours to try: Original, Foie Gras, Pork Hock, and Mushroom (vegetarian).

With the exception of the mushroom version, all of these alternatives were topped with the same home-made duck-based gravy. The addition of truffle oil made them all nice and rich tasting too, which was great. As the title implies, the mushroom poutine is made with, well… mushrooms. Surprisingly, it was my favourite. As always, Brasserie Kensington has some very delicious french fries, always well seasoned. 8.5/10.

Stop #3 brought us to a quaint little place, in the Mission area of city, called Bistro 2210. Their service was amazing. The bistro was definitely ready for an army of poutine-eaters! Each table was equipped with lots of napkins, forks, and a large paper (?!) for any severe poutine spillage. Yes, they were ready. Chef/owner Jason Armstrong cooked up two great dishes for us: Duck Confit and Duck Chili.

The portions were very generous, probably the most generous, actually, out of each of the four stops. The duck chili ‘poutine’ was more like chili cheese fries, but tasted delicious, and massive points for thinking outside the box (or the gravy boat if we’re sticking with some mild humour theme?). Delicious as the duck chili fries were, I could not stop eating the duck confit poutine. I easily had one whole dish to myself (keep in mind, this was our third stop!). The gravy was not as heavy as the past couple stops, and there was plenty of nice, tender duck meat to keep a guy happy. Needless to say, this was the best poutine I had throughout the afternoon. 9/10.

Finally, it was time for stop #4. By this point, I (and I assume most others) was quite full in the belly. When the bus pulled up to Laurier Lounge, I knew that everyone was in for a treat…

Read the rest of this piece on Food Network Canada’s site.

If you enjoyed this article please consider sharing it!