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| - POUTINE, part deux. (The first sample was at Frite Alors, a Montreal chain).
La Banquise gets a wink and gun for being one of the classic Montreal poutineries (yes, that's an amazing word that exists in real life). But if we're taking votes, I preferred my Frite Alors experience. Like fellow legendary food establishment Schwartz's, La Banquise can get a ridiculous wait. Unlike Schwartz's, I don't think it's worth the investment.
For the wait averse, there's a to-go option at La Banquise, which we took advantage of rather than waiting in line. After ordering, we waited a short 10 minutes and hailed it to the nearest stoop to dig in.
Again, my take on poutine is to get the base model, no fluff. Give me frites, give me curds, give me gravy, call it a day. Thus, it's hard to produce a truly electrifying poutine, since the differential tends to be the unnecessarily piled on toppings. It's like ordering a New York slice with seventeen ingredients, or Texas BBQ with five kinds of sauce. Don't do it.
Anyways, the easiest way to screw up poutine? Start with fries that are too soggy to withhold the gravy dairy onslaught. Unfortunately, that's where La Banquise didn't hold up. Gravy? Good. Curds? Good. Fries? Not so much.
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