If you live in Canada, you know what Poutine is. For my blog readers in other countries, Poutine is not a type of cheese. Poutine is the name given to a combination of french fries, cheese curds and gravy.
Poutine - French Fries, Gravy and Cheese Curd
We had a new burger restaurant open recently near our home called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Our kids said that some of their friends had tried it and liked it. Today the family and I decided to check it out ourselves.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries is the epitome of simple. They sell burgers and fries … and that’s it. Well I think there was a hot dog option. The place was very busy and I didn’t see a single hot dog. Everybody had … that’s right … burgers and fries. They did offer a cheese burger and a wide choice of toppings. The short review – Good burger, good fries.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries originated in the United States. While we were eating, my kids commented on how Americanized the restaurant seemed. Big portions, simple and tasty. That’s when I recognized that there was no Poutine on the menu. Then I started wondering what kind of cheese restaurants put on top of Poutine.
I did some research and determined that the cheese used on top of Poutine is fresh white cheddar cheese curds. I found an informative website called Poutine 101 that gives more information about Poutine’s history, the fries, the cheese, the gravy and even the bowl.
In 2010 there was the First Annual Poutine Eating Contest held in Toronto.
Personally I am not a Poutine fan. I love cheese, however, the whole combination of fried french fries and gravy is overwhelming to me. It has to be packed with calories and I would not consider it very heart smart.
Now you know what cheese to look for if you want to make Poutine . Alternatively, if you get a chance to eat some Poutine, you may appreciate knowing that it is fresh white cheddar curds hiding under the gravy.
The Canada Cheese Man 
Mmm Five Guys…we had one where we used to live. I dont know anyone who has actually ever ordered the hot dog!
Glad to know that you like it – and you’re right, they are quite large portions.
Poutine would be something I’d like to try once. Just to say I have tried it (fries & gravy is a bit mind-boggling to me).
Why mind-boggling? MANY people love gravy on their mashed potatoes! Poutine is BETTER! lol Just more salty and savory!
Now you do…know someone who has ordered….and eaten….the hot dog….but I am striving to be more vegetarian. We have a gluten free place that opened and they have an Oh Canada item that is eggs with potatoes and poutine cheese and a drizzle of maple syrup….which brought me here to find out just what was that cheese….
How funny that we both post about food we would probably not eat! Enjoyed your post sir!
Jamie
Bothwell Cheese, a local (Manitoban) cheese company sells curds in two (and a half) varieties. White cheddar cheese curds, orange cheddar cheese curds and a combination of both. It’s easier to find the orange cheese curds here over the regular white ones. I’ve used the orange curds on poutine a few times, tastes identical to me, but the orange colour doesn’t seem right to me, but atleast it’s not shredded cheese. Local Manitoba diners LOVE to use shredded mozzarella cheese or a combination of shredded mozza and cheddar.. that’s just entirely wrong.
I’d recommend giving poutine a try if you haven’t, while “unhealthy”, it’s heaven on a plate when done right!
As for Five Guys, I agree 1000% about how great they are. Rather than going to New York fries for a bucket of fresh fries, I generally go there now. I would love to see them take on poutine, I reckon that they would do an amazing job at it. I will send an email to corporate soon, but I think I’ll just get a response stating “thank you for your input but we have no plans to change the menu at this time.” If they added poutine on their Canadian menu (as they don’t have hot dogs in their Canadian operations), they would attract even more people.
When I first read what Poutine was, I thought it sounded weird. But then I thought, it’s basically like chips n’ cheese (a popular takeaway food in the UK) with gravy (which is commonly served instead of ketchup or mayonaise in northern England)! I’ve never had cheese curds though – I wonder how they taste in comparison to ‘normal’ cheese?
Anyway, thank you for liking my post, Food Diaries — The rise and fall of my first cheese soufflé! I love how your entire blog is all about cheese… 😀
Hi, great post, I love love poutine, but it really makes me feel ill.
Here is my take 🙂
http://skinnyandsingle.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/do-you-put-out-for-poutine/