Why the hell is poutine not a common American fast food item? This shit would fit right in here! Gimme dat McPoutine! (Actually this one would probably be at Arby’s but not nearly as good looking. GOD DAYUM I wanna eat the picture!)
In Canada, pretty much every fast food restaurant has poutine these days. McDonalds is the worst one IMO. They have the best fries for plain fries, but for poutine, Burger King is much better (and offers poutine with bacon, which is the best combination).
Poutine is also super common in sit down restaurants, which often offer fancier versions. Buffalo chicken poutine is a really fun combination. Some places will have like half a dozen different poutine options, with stuff like hamburger poutine, loaded with multiple kinds of cheese, mushroom gravy, butter chicken, pulled pork, etc.
Burger King poutine is the ultimate shit tier. The gravy tastes like fucking vegetable soup for some reason. McDonalds is not much better but at least it’s edible.
Here’s my fast food poutine tier list:
S- A&W - ( I gobble this shit up like turkey dinner. Happy Thanksgiving, btw)
A- Smoke’s, NYF (similar chains, I would give NYF the edge here though as their fries and gravy are more appealing. Smoke’s has more options though, which doesn’t affect my ranking whatsoever because I exclusively eat classic poutine, but it is worth mentioning.)
B- Arby’s, Dairy Queen (Arby’s curly fries suit poutine well, they pick up a lot of gravy and cheese. Dairy Queen just does all elements well.)
C- Wendy’s (the fries are great, but the rest is always weak)
D- McDonald’s (I never order it, the gravy is meh at best and McDonald’s fries are not suited to poutine)
F- Burger King (the fries are fine but the gravy is the weirdest shit and ruins the whole experience. I’ve ordered it a couple times to be sure and have never finished it. I don’t go to Burger King for this reason)
You can find squeaky cheese curd here in the states, too. It’s not a hard cheese to make; though the local microbiology would potentially alter the taste from the “original” flavor. It’s certainly squeaky. To me it just tastes like mozzarella with a bit more tang. The American kind, I mean.
What’s the OG cheese taste like? Is it even close enough to another, more universal cheese? 🤔
The cheese is nothing special, it’s basically cheddar in non-brick form. If poutine was popular in the states there could be a booming curd market in no time
It’s not that it’s not in a brick form, it’s also “not finished”… Around here there’s a small cheese maker that even sells it one step earlier in the preparation, so it’s like having just the small grains from cottage cheese, they serve it in its whey, still warm, people eat it with chips and it’s even more squeaky than the curds used for poutine!
It turns out I was wrong. The problem with Quebec curd cheese outside of Quebec is not that it is un pasteurized. It is that it does not have a holding period long enough to meet the food safety regs.
It is unpasteurized “raw” cheese. Which is why it is different. It is actually illegal to sell in many places due to not having been pasteurized.
I’m always happy to admit when I’m wrong and this time I am.
It is not the lack of pasteurization that makes Quebec cheese curds problematic in Alberta. It is the fact that it was not held for the 60 days required by their food safety laws.
[Edit: This one is helpful for understanding why I was confused. As a quebecer who lived in alberta for many years it always struck me as odd that the local cheese factory said they could not sell us curd because it was illegal. And the timeline of me learning that is right around when this law was changed.
It’s not uncommon in midwestern states that border Canada. I used to get it in Michigan all the time. I’ve also got a burger place by me in Colorado that does a great poutine.
But really we just don’t have the right kind of cheese in large enough quantity to be nationwide.
I’ve started seeing it at random places recently, but they are usually these trendy type places. For instance, there’s a pie place here called 3.14 pie bar that does sweet pies and savory pot pies. They have poutine on the menu.
Why the hell is poutine not a common American fast food item? This shit would fit right in here! Gimme dat McPoutine! (Actually this one would probably be at Arby’s but not nearly as good looking. GOD DAYUM I wanna eat the picture!)
McDonald’s poutine is shit for the record.
Wait… they actually have poutine at McDonald’s somewhere?! :O
Yes, McDonald’s frequently add items to their menu to cater to local tastes.
For example, in France, some menu items are actually fuckin edible
In Canada, pretty much every fast food restaurant has poutine these days. McDonalds is the worst one IMO. They have the best fries for plain fries, but for poutine, Burger King is much better (and offers poutine with bacon, which is the best combination).
Poutine is also super common in sit down restaurants, which often offer fancier versions. Buffalo chicken poutine is a really fun combination. Some places will have like half a dozen different poutine options, with stuff like hamburger poutine, loaded with multiple kinds of cheese, mushroom gravy, butter chicken, pulled pork, etc.
Nahnahnahnahnah
Burger King poutine is the ultimate shit tier. The gravy tastes like fucking vegetable soup for some reason. McDonalds is not much better but at least it’s edible.
Here’s my fast food poutine tier list:
S- A&W - ( I gobble this shit up like turkey dinner. Happy Thanksgiving, btw)
A- Smoke’s, NYF (similar chains, I would give NYF the edge here though as their fries and gravy are more appealing. Smoke’s has more options though, which doesn’t affect my ranking whatsoever because I exclusively eat classic poutine, but it is worth mentioning.)
B- Arby’s, Dairy Queen (Arby’s curly fries suit poutine well, they pick up a lot of gravy and cheese. Dairy Queen just does all elements well.)
C- Wendy’s (the fries are great, but the rest is always weak)
D- McDonald’s (I never order it, the gravy is meh at best and McDonald’s fries are not suited to poutine)
F- Burger King (the fries are fine but the gravy is the weirdest shit and ruins the whole experience. I’ve ordered it a couple times to be sure and have never finished it. I don’t go to Burger King for this reason)
I will not be taking arguments.
DairyQueen also carries it
Because the cheese is hard to come by outside of Eastern Canada, you can find it outside of Quebec if you’re close to it but don’t go too far…
You can find squeaky cheese curd here in the states, too. It’s not a hard cheese to make; though the local microbiology would potentially alter the taste from the “original” flavor. It’s certainly squeaky. To me it just tastes like mozzarella with a bit more tang. The American kind, I mean.
What’s the OG cheese taste like? Is it even close enough to another, more universal cheese? 🤔
It’s incomplete cheddar in fact! It’s way more salty too!
This exactly, every time I tell someone that the cheese down in the states isn’t right, they don’t believe me.
I LOVE poutine and every time I’m in Canada I get as much of it as possible lol
The cheese is nothing special, it’s basically cheddar in non-brick form. If poutine was popular in the states there could be a booming curd market in no time
It’s not that it’s not in a brick form, it’s also “not finished”… Around here there’s a small cheese maker that even sells it one step earlier in the preparation, so it’s like having just the small grains from cottage cheese, they serve it in its whey, still warm, people eat it with chips and it’s even more squeaky than the curds used for poutine!
It turns out I was wrong. The problem with Quebec curd cheese outside of Quebec is not that it is un pasteurized. It is that it does not have a holding period long enough to meet the food safety regs.
It is unpasteurized “raw” cheese. Which is why it is different. It is actually illegal to sell in many places due to not having been pasteurized.It’s made from fresh pasteurized milk so I have no idea what you’re talking about buddy.
I’m always happy to admit when I’m wrong and this time I am.
It is not the lack of pasteurization that makes Quebec cheese curds problematic in Alberta. It is the fact that it was not held for the 60 days required by their food safety laws.
Where did you find that fact?
Can you link it because I’d enjoy reading it.
https://albertamilk.com/ask-dairy-farmer/rules-around-cheese-made-raw-milk-alberta-can-sold-stores-can-served-restaurants/
[Edit: This one is helpful for understanding why I was confused. As a quebecer who lived in alberta for many years it always struck me as odd that the local cheese factory said they could not sell us curd because it was illegal. And the timeline of me learning that is right around when this law was changed.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-to-allow-raw-milk-cheeses/article1058318/ ]
That’s from cheese made using raw milk.
Cheese curds are not made from raw milk, it’s been pasteurized.
It’s not uncommon in midwestern states that border Canada. I used to get it in Michigan all the time. I’ve also got a burger place by me in Colorado that does a great poutine.
But really we just don’t have the right kind of cheese in large enough quantity to be nationwide.
I went to a pizza place once that had poutine with mozzarella. Not quite the same, but it was still pretty good.
Raid the strategic cheese caves!
Can you say where? I’m in Colorado as well.
5280 burger bar. They have a place in Denver and one in Westminster.
Oh nice, thanks!
A 24hr diner near me carries it (my state borders Quebec). The current US food trend is more healthy than probably contributes to it not spreading.
It’s not terriblely hard to make at home.
I’ve started seeing it at random places recently, but they are usually these trendy type places. For instance, there’s a pie place here called 3.14 pie bar that does sweet pies and savory pot pies. They have poutine on the menu.