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| - There was nobody more excited yet apprehensive at yesterday's grand opening of Poutineville in Toronto's Annex than the Urban Foodie. As a lover of poutine, I was delighted to hear back in April from Michael Fresco that there would be another entrant into the Toronto poutine scene. But, would Poutineville live up to the hype?
Poutineville was promising an upscale sit down establishment where you could have a drink and choose from a variety of specialty poutines such as the Filet Mignon (fresh crispy home fries topped with cubed, tender AAA filet mignon, sauteed mushrooms, caramalized onions, fresh cheese curds with a hint of blue cheese and home made pepper sauce). But what if you were feeling creative and adventurous? You could customize your own poutine from the type of potatoes and cheeses right down to the meats, vegetables and sauces! Throw in the infamous Heart Attack poutine (a $100 poutine weighing over 15lbs) and you have elements of a poutine joint that Toronto has never seen. A winning formula in my mind...
But that's why I was feeling so apprehensive even leading up to my first bite at Poutineville. I really wanted this place to fulfill my expectations... my poutine dreams if you will. So how was it?
In the evening, Poutineville was dimly lit with Edlison bulb lights throughout... how romantic I thought :). The interiors had exposed wood and brick giving the ambiance a cool industrial look. It seemed like the white counter top bar with under-lighting was well stocked. Speakers were scattered throughout the place pumping out top 40s music while TV screens played the accompanying music videos. I'm sure this place is going to be a favourite amongst the after clubbing crowd... it is open until 4am from Thursday to Saturday after all.
So how is the poutine? Below is an image of the create your own poutine menu. You can check whatever you wish and any box with a number beside it represents an add-on dollar value to the base price.
While tempting, I opted to order the Shepherd's Pie poutine and the namesake poutine, the Poutineville.
Shepherd's Pie ($12) - Hand crushed potatoes* with fresh cheese curds, minced beef, corn, peas topped with their home made poutine sauce and melted mozzarella cheese
The Shepherd's Pie poutine was delicious! I liked how there were 2 types of cheese. You have your traditional squeaky cheese curds scattered throughout the mess of poutine and on top you have a baked mozzarella cheese canopy. The cheese canopy had crispy broil marked parts as well as areas of melted, gooey goodness! Because it was baked, the temperature of the dish was warm throughout. Also, the poutine actually tasted like a Shepherd's pie with familiar ingredients such as minced beef, corn, and peas. The peas made the poutine extra fragrant and is an ingredient that really distinguishes the dish. *What I didn't realize until after I left was that the Shepherd's pie poutine was served with regular cut fries instead of the hand crushed potato variety as per the description. Perhaps they ran out of hand crushed potatoes? Opening day kinks? I thought the hand cut fries worked well in the dish but a little notice would have been appreciated.
Poutineville ($12) - A house specialty of hand crushed potatoes* with fresh cheese curds and mozzarella topped with their slow 8 hour home cooked braised beef and wine sauce
I usually resist the temptation to get braised beef in restaurants because it often isn't done well and this frequently results in dry, tough meat. Poutine with braised beef typically would not be the exception had it not been the namesake dish of the restaurant. I mean, I had to order it, it's their specialty! To my surprise, the braised beef was moist, tender and flavourful, perhaps they really did slow cook it for 8 hours... It was tasty but it was a bit on the cold side. It's probably because the beef is cooked separately from everything else and sits at room temperature while waiting to be part of a greater whole. It wouldn't be a problem if the wine sauce was piping hot and covered the entire poutine but that was a miss on both parts... I'm just going to give them the benefit of the doubt and attribute this to opening night jitters. The wine sauce wasn't too acidic like I feared and instead it made for a full-bodied sauce. The cheese curds were squeaky which is a must for a great poutine. Unfortunately, the hand crushed potatoes were substituted for regular fries without my knowledge as well.
Overall, I still had a great time at Poutineville. I'm sure they will will work out their kinks and become one of the elite poutine places in Toronto - I have faith! I'll give them another chance to serve me the hand crushed potatoes I've heard so much about. I'll also definitely go back to eat a Montrealer... smoked meat poutine topped with a fried pickle! Ironically, the Montrealer comes with the regular cut variety...
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