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| - Still completely amazing. I want to talk poutine now.
Is poutine Syrian? Absolutely not. But it's also arguably not even "Canadian." Ask anybody from Montreal and they'll lecture you about how poutine is Quebecois, and that the rest of Canada cannot lay claim to it. I understand this sentiment and we as Calgarians should do the same with ginger beef and Caesars. We invented them. But erecting provincial borders isn't how we roll in Canada, and I find some poutines in Calgary to be completely superb. On or near 17th Ave SW, the two best options, with excellent fries, good rich but not too salty gravy, ample cheese curds, and a little lagniappe of love, are Cluck N Cleaver and, yes, Damascus.
Why Damascus? Because it's not only perfection on those three criteria but also because it offers a poutine made with chicken shawarma (you can get plain and beef donair too, but I've only had the chicken), and following their recommendation I got it with garlic and sweet sauce- see, it's not Syrian, sweet sauce is a Haligonian invention, and so we have this fascinating amalgam of Quebec, Halifax and Syria in a box that merits intrigue even if it doesn't taste good.
Spoiler Alert: IT TASTES GOOD. It is incredibly delicious. I think the shawarma poutine should be our version of Dutch kapsalon: a massive pile of fries, gouda, kebab meat, salad, garlic sauce, and sambal that encapsulates the ethnic diversity of the Netherlands in one luscious bowl of food. This can be ours. It comprises the tastiest junk food innovation from our own country with those of our immigrant cultures.
Everything is good here. Try the poutine.
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