#poutinechallenge

If you keep up with me on my social media streams, you’ve probably noticed the hashtag, #poutinechallenge, popping up quite frequently in the past week. What the hell is poutine challenge, you ask?  Um… well it’s practically a gluttony contest created by the Vancouver Foodster for poutine-obsessed folk such as myself. Basically, he wants to know where the best poutine is in Vancouver and invited all of Vancouver to participate in the hunt during the past week at 29 different restaurants.

So what exactly makes a poutine? Traditionally, french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Now, if you’ve looked at all the listed flavours on the website, it’s no joke that they strayed far off from the norm. Some didn’t even have cheese curds in it and, well, that just ain’t a poutine in my eyes. And the fries on some were just too thick, too starchy. Yuck. And the gravy? One of them tasted like it came out of a can. Not joking.

And besides finding out which restaurant has the best poutine, there was also a very tempting challenge part to the week-long poutine festivities: winning a prize. Not only was the an excellent opportunity to try as many different poutines as possible, it was now a competition. And you all know how competitive I am. Winning is everything. Here is a picture documentary of my #poutinechallenge — let’s see if you can try to keep up!

Preston’s – traditional poutine

The Charlatan – poutine grilled cheese

Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar – poutine trio

Coast – dungeness crab poutine

Hidden Tasting Bar – butter poached lobster poutine

Dunn’s – quebecois poutine

Society – ultimate poutine supreme

Between Two Buns – kennebec kahuna poutine

La Belle Patate – traditional poutine

Red Card – curry poutine

The Five Point – carolina poutine

The Fray – duck poutine

Bob Likes Thai Food – thai poutine

Calabash – jerk poutine

The Flying Pig – pulled pork poutine

…which brings me to a whopping grand total of 15 out of 29 poutines tried!!! What up. More than halfway down the list! Yay. $100+ later. And possibly gained the 3lbs that I lost in the past 3-4 weeks all right back. And a gut. My favourite(s)? Coast, hands down. Can’t go wrong with hollandaise, crab, and a fried egg on top. The Fray was a close second and would’ve won if their potatoes weren’t cut so thickly. The Charlatan comes third because, um, hello? Poutined grilled cheese? Yes please. And The Flying Pig and The Five Point are tied for pulled pork. Both so damn good. And lastly, La Belle Patate for traditionality. Between Two Buns gets an honourable mention but no cheese curds!!! What a deliciously fattening week.

Hope some of you guys got to try some of the fabulous and creative poutines we have in this city. Can’t wait til the next food challenge!