Poutine Greatness at The Blue Truck on Campus

Hi fellow foodies!  Today I'd like to share a guest post by TL about the Blue Truck on Campus.  Provide us your comments and perhaps you will see more from TL!  Enjoy!

Welcome to this guest post on Urban Foodie. I've seen Urban Foodie expand with new bloggers, highlighting some of the great food that’s out there for us to experience. While we'd all love to sit down and have a proper meal, sometimes just ain’t nobody got time for dat. Today, I bring you a place near and dear to my heart that I run to when all I need is a quick bite: D&M Catering, otherwise, known as The Blue Truck on Campus.

I won’t go into very short history of Toronto’s food truck scene but D&M was one of the first. Located at 50 St George Street in front of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Building, it’s one of the many food trucks that can be found on the University of Toronto Campus.

It’s certainly no specialty food truck, selling your usual menu of burgers, hot dogs, and fries. But their poutine is what I compare all my other poutines to. What makes it so great? They use the proper fries: not the dinky slender McCain frozen fries but fresh cut slices of potato. Their fries aren't soaking with oil, but are fried fresh right in front of you. Despite being smothered in gravy afterwards, they somehow maintain a slight crisp to them. They use the proper cheese: not packaged shredded marbled cheddar but proper curds that squeak against your teeth as you chew. And the gravy. Yes, it comes out of a can but it has the right flavours to blend the cheese and potato together as opposed to overpowering it like some establishments. It has the right consistency, not too watered down or nor too chunky. I can’t stress how important it is to have the right consistency, something only years of practice can perfect. The gravy’s hot enough to slightly melt the curds but not burning hot as to turn your curds into complete goo or prevent you from wolfing down this mountain of deliciousness. Starting at $4 for a small, you certainly won't find a better deal in town.

Fresco's: Come for the Fish & Chips but Stay for the Poutine!

Fresco's Fish & Chips

213 Augusta Avenue

Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

416-546-4557

Dates Visited:  April 1 and April 8, 2014

Not many establishments like Fresco's have a Yelp score higher than 4 stars and over 100 reviews.  So the Urban Foodie wanted to check out what all the fuss was about especially with so many Yelpers claiming that Fresco's has the best fish and chips in town. 

Fresco's has a cool Beatles vibe to it as memorabilia grace the walls and Beatles classics play in the background of this cozy spot in Kensington Market.

Patrons can select cod, haddock or halibut as part of their fish and chips combo and each combo comes with 2 pieces of fish, fries, coleslaw, a slice of lemon and tartar sauce.  There is also an option to order the fish extra crispy which entails having Miss Vickie's chips incorporated into the original batter - ingenious!

In addition to fish and chips, Fresco's also offers poutine, chili, seafood po boy sandwiches, chicken wings, and an assortment of sides ranging from deep fried pickles to mozzarella sticks. 

The halibut combo was ordered with extra crispy batter and it came in white box that disassembled easily at each side which was perfect for sharing. The halibut was wrapped with a classic newspaper print and sat atop a mountain of fries. 

The chip batter on the fish was a fantastic creative touch.  It was crispy and wasn't too oily.  Unfortunately, the fish was not moist and flaky as one would imagine.  It was nice of Fresco's to give out three pieces for this particular order since two of them were noticeably smaller, but to be honest, these pieces didn't taste as good because the batter to fish ratio was too high.  So it was a disappointing visit to Fresco's.  Perhaps it was because the halibut was ordered over the traditional cod and haddock variations?  Regardless, the "best in the city" fish and chips claim is unjustified.  There are comparable places in the city if not better.

So why the return visit?  

Was it because of the free drink with any fish and chips combo with a check in on Yelp?

No... it was because the fries were so tasty!  They were these fat, fleshy fries with skin on them.  They would be perfect served as part of a poutine!

The $5 (taxes in) poutine and drink special was ordered.  First of all, what great value!  The poutine was a sight for sore eyes!  It was so beautifully crafted.  Piping hot steam radiated out of this poutine and the fries soaked up the rich and flavourful gravy.  Admittedly, the cheese curds were a bit cold when the poutine was first served up, but they became gooey and stringy!

The poutine was a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.  Yes, Aristole is being quoted... but it was just that good!  It was an amazing hodgepodge of flavours - a delicious mess!

The poutine rivals the likes of Smoke's and Poutini's House of Poutine.  The Urban Foodie will definitely be back if not for the fish and chips but for the poutine!

On a Yelp score of 5, this place is 3 for the fish and chips but gets a bump up to 4 for its poutine!

Turducken Feast!

Despite an ice storm causing power outages leading up to and on the day of the Turducken, nothing could stop the feast!

The Turducken was cooked breast down for the first few hours in an attempt to infuse the white meat with flavour and lock in moistness. 

In addition to the rub that was frozen with the bird, a rosemary, butter and oil mixture was used to coat the outside.  During the roasting process, broth and the bird's natural drippings were used to baste it. 

In the meantime, guests enjoyed the always phenomenal 7 layer dip with nacho chips as well as a salumi and Brie platter (pictures below):

The Turducken had a nice golden brown coating when cooked.  The internal temperature of the bird reached the required 170 degree Fahrenheit mark after 7 hours of roasting despite 2 power outages!  Miracles do come true!

In a cross sectional slice, you can see the spicy Italian sausage and chicken: 

Drippings from the bird were also mixed in with store bought gravy powder to yield an amazing gravy to go with the Turducken. 

So... Turkey? Check. Duck? Check. Chcken?  Check. 

But what about the beef?  

Being the foodies that we all are, we also prepared tender, melt in your mouth prime rib for our feast!

Many classic turkey sides were served up such as sweet corn, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts with bacon. 

The hearty stuffing had pork, mushrooms, leek, celery, sage, rosemary, and carrots to accompany the bread. 

So the question on everyone's mind:  How did the Turducken stack up?

The turkey was moist and the pieces of duck found within were a great compliment to the white meat of the turkey and the chicken due to the high fat content in the skin. 

The disappointment was actually in the  Italian sausage stuffing. There was too much of it and it was too salty. It also was artificial tasting and overpowered the flavour of all the other ingredients. 

It didn't live up to the hype. But, it was excellent excuse to meet up with great company and so the feast was a success! 

Smoke's Again...

Location
Smoke's Poutinerie
490 Bloor St W.
Toronto, ON M5S 1X8
Neighbourhood: The Annex
(416) 588-2873

http://smokespoutinerie.com/

Intro

I had the chance to experience a Smoke's poutine again, but this time at the Annex location on Bloor - one of many new pop-ups around the city.  The last time I had poutine at Smoke's, I found the gravy lacked richness and had too much of a herbal taste for my liking.  The cheese curds also weren't very squeaky. 

This time I ordered the large Philly Cheese Steak Poutine (Reg $7.99 / Lrg $9.99).  It consisted of shaved roast beef, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted peppers and cheese sauce.

Philly Cheese Steak Poutine (Lrg)

The Good

Fortunate for me, I got a fresh batch of fries.  Even after the onslaught of gravy, cheese and toppings, the fries kept their integrity - they didn't get overly soggy.  Leaving the skin on the fries gave the poutine a good texture.  Tasting the gravy again, it seemed to be less herbal tasting from previous incarnations, which I liked.  The curds seemed squeakier than before.  The onions were caramelized well, offering a sweetness that balanced the saltiness of the beef.  I also love how my poutine was served piping hot!

The Bad

The nuclear yellow artificial cheese sauce was a bit juvenile  It took away from the poutine's appeal in taste and appearance.  It definitely wasn't doing the poutine any favours.  Why add artificial cheese to a poutine with genuine Quebec cheese curds? 

Halfway though my meal, it became obvious the gravy itself was too sweet.  It didn't help that I had a scarcity of beef and that the onions were still around.  The poutine became increasingly unpleasant to eat because of it.  

Overall

I'd like to point out that I love poutine, especially a plain, ol' classic one with just fries, cheese and gravy.  Therefore, it is difficult to pass judgment on Smoke's, being the pioneer of the dedicated poutine joint in Toronto.  While there are good things happening to the poutine at Smoke's, there are some negatives that can't be overlooked. 

Poutine - not the most artistic form of food to some, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.