by Steven Doyle
Poutine is the national dish of Canada and is made of French fries, squeaky cheese curds and a thin brown gravy. Sounds ideal for the taco and burger hungry crowds in Dallas, right? Then why is this dish completely elusive on restaurant menus?
We have taken in many other Canadian imports such as Wayne Gretzky, William Shatner and Monty Hall, Crown Royal, why won’t they send this luscious, steamy dish down to Texas to play?
In Canada you can find this dish everywhere from the lowly KFC to 5-star dining establishments. Every restaurantin Canada has their own take on the dish from the addition to duck confit to foie gras. There are even roadside chipperies called cabanes à patates that sell the stuff.
Bijoux's poutine
There was a Garland restaurant selling poutine, but it is no longer in business. Chef Scott Gottlich of Bijoux had the dish on his menu recently, and it may make a come back.
Most of the cheese curds used are mozzarella, and we are pretty sure local cheese wiz Paula Lambert would be pleased to provide fresh curds for a restaurant willing to put this dish on their menu. This would also make excellent ballpark grub. Are you listening Nolan Ryan and Mark Cuban? Cha-ching!
The sous chef at Pyramid, Paul Peddle, is Canadian. Maybe he can show us some love and put this on the menu.
For now we will have to settle for cheese fries, or as Pat Snuffer calls them “cheddar fries”. He claims to have invented those right here in Dallas, Texas.
EDIT: As we were hoping, the first siting has been found at Oddfellows. Not sure how we missed this one since we were just there a few days ago. The menu says it is “a Texas twist on the Canadian classic: traditional cut fries + crispy bacon + pickled jalepeños + Texas cheddar + scratch gravy”. Thank you Oddfellows for stepping up!
These were on a menu draft for Stackhouse that slipped out when they were opening. People went in expecting to be able to get poutine on Day 1. Randy said he hasn’t been able to find the right cheese – the kind that squeaks. They are still trying though, so I wouldn’t rule poutine at Stackhouse out as a possibility…
I am a Canadian living in Dallas and I’ve been endlessly searching for a place that will satisfy my poutine cravings. When I saw that Oddfellows had it on their menu I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, it was far from an authentic poutine. White gravy and shredded cheese just doesn’t do it for me. The problem is the shredded cheese almost instantly melts with the gravy leaving a sloppy mess. The reason cheese curds are essential are that they don’t really melt. The hot gravy makes them slightly softer, but you still get a great big bite of squeaky cheese. If anyone knows of any other places that have it on their menu I would love to hear about it!
As someone engaged to a Canadian, I can tell you that lovers of true poutine aren’t going to be satisfied with something that uses Texas cheddar, scratch gravy, and jalapenos. My fiance would probably react the same way I reacted when she took me out for Mexican in Canada and I watched in horror as they put mayo, cauliflower, and potatoes in my burrito. There’s a fine line between an interesting local take on a foreign dish and something that makes you want to scream, “You’re doing it wrong!”
P.S. at least on the east coast, there’s already a dish that combines gravy, shredded cheddar cheese, and fries. It most commonly goes by the name, “disco fries.”
We have seen disco fries available at The Commissary. We heard from several readers in email that we would not be happy with Oddfellows poutine, but they say it’s still a very cool dish. Just not poutine. We will remain ever vigilant for poutine in North Texas.
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It’s at Barter in Uptown