Hi Steemit! This is my entry for @ladaural's #culturechallenge contest which is all about introducing your favourite typical food of your country. I had a hard time choosing what food to talk about but I decided to go with the quintessential Canadian food - poutine! Poutine is originally from Quebec, the french speaking province of Canada. The dish is traditionally composed of french fries, gravy and cheese curds (almost like little chewy nuggets of mozzarella). Typically, poutine is more of a late night food and especially good after a night of drinking. Poutine has become very popular and you can now enjoy it at all hours of the day and all around Canada. I'm from Toronto which is very diverse and so our poutines are too. Here's a few of the most memorable poutines I've tried.
|Brazilian poutine.|
The most unique poutine I've ever eaten was this Brazilian poutine from a local restaurant called Mata Petisco Bar. Cassava is a starchy vegetable commonly used in Brazil so we have fried cassava instead of potatoes as the base. We also have braised beef cheeks and and cheese curds. I went for brunch so it's topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. Delicious!
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|Lobster poutine.|
There used to be a restaurant in Toronto called Rock Lobster that was all about seafood (and especially lobster). The chef would get his lobsters from the East coast of Canada where there is a lot of fresh seafood. Lobster poutine is not common and it's a little bit funny to pair such an expensive item with something like poutine. Aside from lobster meat, this poutine had a lobster bisque gravy and cheese curds. Unfortunately the restaurant closed a few years ago, but I'll always remember this poutine.
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|Smoked meat poutine.|
This poutine is actually from a famous poutine restaurant called La Banquise in Montreal, which is in the province of Quebec and roughly 5 hours away from Toronto. The general consensus is that poutine is better in Quebec than Toronto and I agree. La Banquise has more than 30 types of poutine on their menu and there's usually a line at the door. Aside from poutine, Montreal also is known for their smoked meat (beef brisket) and that's what makes this poutine stand out. There's also mushrooms, sour cream and a peppery gravy. If you ever visit Montreal, you must order a poutine here! They are massive, so sharing is a good idea.
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|Homemade breakfast poutine.|
Once in a while I like to make my own poutine but it's not very traditional because I usually pan fry or roast my potatoes. I made this breakfast poutine with garlic cheese curds, gravy, bacon, pan fried potatoes and two sunny side up eggs. Garlic cheese curds are hard to find in Toronto but are super delicious! When I found some, I knew I had to make a poutine. I really like cooking and experimenting in the kitchen.
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|Me with a poutine! :D|
I hope you enjoyed all my different poutines, Steemit!
For more posts on food and travel, follow me @jellyfishdonut.
Thanks for reading!
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Amazing! Thank you, so much! :D
Haven't checked your blog for a while. Great post to explain one of our national dishes to the rest of the world. Around where I am typically you get poutine at chip trucks. Perhaps you could explain this (I think) Canadian invention to your followers!
Thanks! That's a good idea. Sometimes I forget what's unique to Toronto because I get so used to it. I used to go to the chip trucks all the time!
No problem. I laughed when I saw your post because a few weeks back someone posted 'best Canadian dishes' but obviously wasn't Canadian, had just done internet search, and not very well, since there were some bizarre selections. And no poutine! I replied 'poutine?' and got back 'what do you mean?' lol. So I taught her about poutine and to her credit she edited her post to add it, even saying a real Canadian had challenged her choices! You did such a better job! Have a great day!
PS - we were in Toronto a couple of days ago, see my post #distinctivesigns about no dogs in the laundry! My son wouldn't let me say where the shot was taken because he works in IT and is very cautious about what goes on the internet lol!
PPS - I spent many years in the Ottawa Valley and they claim that's where chip trucks were invented! Not sure what your research will prove!
Hahaha, thanks! That's good that author edited her most. You can't leave out poutine if you're talking about Canadian food.
Nice post :) Have you ever seen the neighborhood watch signs in Toronto that have funny people pasted on them? For example there's one with Bladerunner and another one with Mr. Rogers. There's plenty in Kensington market although I see them around in other places too.
Btw, I did some black and photos on Steemit recently, I know you post those quite often. I found it pretty fun to do. A bit challenging actually because things that look good in colour don't necessarily look good in B&W. They were for a contest and I didn't win but it was fun to participate.
Would not have guessed that Chip trucks originated in Ottawa. I will have to do some research indeed. I feel like if I were to guess they would be from Belgium since there's a big Belgian frites culture and Canada has always been more strict with streetfood. Then I'd assume Montreal for the first Canadian appearance since that's the land of poutine. Haha.
Not necessarily Ottawa for chip truck start-up, but the Ottawa Valley. There was a truck around Renfrew I think that claimed to be the first one!
Looking for something else after I sent you original feedback I came across the 'non-poutine' post, so here it is:
https://steemit.com/food/@a-alice/8-best-canadian-dishes-201792t17105923z
I don't think she's much competition for you as I think she's a compiler rather than a producer of original stuff like you. Still, I can't believe she has so many followers already. Go figure. (Edit: just remembered something a steem friend told me, she probably brought followers with her from another platform!)
I just got top-6 in the most recent #monomad challenge, very pleased. Going to check out your b&w now! Hey, they are good! I use b&w mostly indoors to open up a range of options because colour is often distorted depending on the type and amount of artificial light. But it's often good outdoors to, e.g. to capture the mood of a stark landscape. Just keep experimenting with it. monomad is good to showcase your work because she presents a different challenge every week and gets a lot of excellent contributions.
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@elteamgordo I've joined the contest! :D
Yay! Just read it. Its a good one, gool luck!!
Thank you!! Good luck to you too! :D
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Good luck! Hope you win ❤️
Thank you for your support @thekitchenfairy!! :D
Uhm... looks healthy!
lol!
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Some of it is really cool!
This looks absolutely delicious, albeit full of fat :) I think my kids would love it and when I get to go to Canada next, I will order some. Love to hear more about the cheese!!
Haha! Yeah, it's not exactly the healthiest food. Canada has a lot of great cheeses though. Each province has some of their own cheesemakers. Quebec has amazing dairy from the French influence there. In Ontario, I really like cheeses from a compancy called Gunn's Hill, there's one called Five Brothers that's really good. Monforte is another company that does great cheese. Thanks for reading! :D
you make my mouth water!! I love cheese. Funny, I never thought of Canada as a land of cheese. Sorry for the ignorance. glad that I know now!!
Canada definitely doesn't have as much cheese as France but I think Quebec has always been a flourishing cheese province. Other provinces are now slowly but surely getting more local cheese makers too. I'm sure by the time you visit, there will be a lot for you to try! :D
Yay!! Looking forward to it!! Will have to be in the summer! I only have been to Halifax and that was beautiful!
If you come to Toronto, feel free to msg me for restaurant suggestions! You can comment under any of my posts even if it's not related. I always want people to have a good experience in Toronto. Plus I eat out a lot, haha!
I will take you up on it. It will be a while. This year is out. Too many commitments!! But maybe next summer. I am going to Philadelphia for a conference and that would take me close. Certainly, something to think about!! Then I need to pick your brain about sustainable living in Toronto and do a bunch of podcasts there!