Poutine: messy but delicious

UNLIKE McDonalds, there are no healthy options when it comes to this dish, consisting of of French fries, cheese curds and gravy.

escape poutine

A DISH which consists of French fries, cheese curds and gravy may not sound like the most appetising meal on the planet.

But, as the saying goes, when in Rome do as the Romans do.

That means when you are in Canada, you simply must try poutine.

And when you go to Toronto, you simply have to go to Smoke's Poutinerie -  or so we had been told by a passionate local.

Like all good locals haunts the iconic eatery, located in Adelaide St West, is hard to find if you don’t know where you are going.

We walk right past it at first, but after a couple of trips back and forth down the street we eventually work it out.

Smokes has a strong retro feel, with laminated grey and red floors, two long benches with stools and a handful of tables with metal and wooden chairs.

Rock songs such as Born in the USA and Blitzkreig Bop blare from the speakers, and a blackboard with chalk for merry patrons to write on while they wait in the queue at 2am lines one wall.

"Excited for good poutine,'' one customer has scribbled.

There is a large, open window to a kitchen servery and a couple of young employees wearing hair nets.
And there is nothing but poutine on the menu.

Unlike McDonalds, there are no healthy options, just the famous dish often described by Canadians as a "heart attack in a box''.

In all there are 21 poutine dishes to choose from, all served in a brown cardboard carton and eaten with a plastic fork.

A Hogtown, which consists of sausage, bacon, onion and mushrooms, will set you back $6.99 for a small serving and $8.99 for a large.

Other options include the Italian Deluxe, which has meat sauce, sausage, mushrooms and onion, and Mamas chicken and green peas.

If you are not a meat eater, the Veggie deluxe or veggie nacho are both viable options.

I'm a bit of a fan of poutine

After much deliberation, I finally settled on the Montreal with smoked meat, pickle and mustard.

Smokes is known for its large servings, and I only managed to get halfway through.

Disgusting as it may sound, I have to confess to being a bit of a fan of poutine.

Its not the kind of thing you would eat every day, but I can certainly see the appeal as an occasional treat.

I had been introduced to poutine by some French Canadians I had met during a previous trip to Canada a few years earlier.

Poutine originated in rural Quebec in the 1950s.

Smoke’s Poutinerie proprietor Ryan Smolkin is a former advertising executive and first-time restaurateur.

He opened the eatery two years ago above another late-night hub, Burrito Boyz and has also created the World Poutine Eating Championships, in which one guy ate 5.8kg of poutine in 10 minutes.

It’s unlikely I will eat that much poutine in an entire lifetime, but it’s definitely something I will seek out on my next trip to Canada.

The writer was a guest of the Canadian Tourism Commission.

 Wish You Were Here

Getting There: Air Canada has daily flights from Sydney to Vancouver with connections to Toronto.
Ph 1300 655 767.

Staying there
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel is a short walk from Smoke's Poutinerie. It has one night packages which include accommodation in a Fairmont room and breakfast for two from C$195, excluding taxes.

Tips: Canada destination guide