Montreal's Poutine

Unlike the sinisterly famous ex-head of the Russian State now reduced to Premier, Poutine is edible, rather soggy, quite tasty but hardly inspirational. Much like the Russian executive chief, it is heavy, difficult to digest and energy-filled.

Despite its energetic Americanized way of life, Quebec’s capital, Montreal, has retained a strong attachment to its Francophile roots. An interesting blend of American jingoism and positivist “never-say-die-till-your-bones-rot” outlook upon life is bizarrely interwoven with the French language.

Cheeriness and enthusiasm seems misplaced in this tongue often justifiably perceived as inherently constructed to express complaint and criticism. The buzz and energy of the city and the “Montrealais” clearly outlines the American cultural stamp which impinges most of Canada. However, speak English as you order your poutine, and you will have committed the utmost of sins! Unfortunately, France’s cultural heritage only extends as far as language. A shame that French imperialism did not extend to Quebec’s cuisine!

Constantly bolstered by snow-storms, blizzard, and high winds in the long winter months; poutine is the quickest way to provide insulation against adverse weather conditions. Chips, gravy and the elusive -unbeknownst to British stomachs- cheese drops are the primary components of poutine. Any number of additional ingredients can be added to the basic sloshy mixture: caviar, caribou meat, oysters… and for the more conservative; beans. Although it may derive from its Anglo-Saxon cousin (the Cheesy Chips with Gravy), Poutine has the rare quality, equaled only by the Scottish deep-fired mars-bar, of instantly clotting the coronary arteries, rapidly developing the desired extra-pound of stomach flab, and plugging the digestive system necessary to the long month of hibernation lying ahead.

The gravy is richer, the fry greasier, and its greatest difference the cheese drop, a marvel of scientific technology pushing the boundaries of fat and salt concentration beyond the possibly imaginable. Overall, it makes for a delicious, if heavy, snack. Not just the poor man’s salad, poutine, as a Montrealese emblem, has taken many forms from the frankly atrocious and banal (closely resembling our cheesy chips and gravy) to the more sophisticated and refined poutine of Montreal’s middle- class restaurants.

The varieties of quality and derivations Montreal has over the centuries from a simple cheesy chips and gravy reflect its most intricate character. A city of opportunity, entrepreneurialism, frank good heartedness, which caters for every rank of society; in other words a town where all appetites can be met.

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