The Grand Opening of Poutineville in Toronto!

Poutineville's First Toronto Location!

There was nobody more excited yet apprehensive at yesterday's grand opening of Poutineville (@PoutineVille) in Toronto's Annex than the Urban Foodie.  As a lover of poutine, I was delighted to hear back in April from Michael Fresco that there would be another entrant into the Toronto poutine scene.  But, would Poutineville live up to the hype?  

Poutineville was promising an upscale sit down establishment where you could have a drink and choose from a variety of specialty poutines such as the Filet Mignon (fresh crispy home fries topped with cubed, tender AAA filet mignon, sauteed mushrooms, caramalized onions, fresh cheese curds with a hint of blue cheese and home made pepper sauce).  But what if you were feeling creative and adventurous?  You could customize your own poutine from the type of potatoes and cheeses right down to the meats, vegetables and sauces!  Throw in the infamous Heart Attack poutine (a $100 poutine weighing over 15lbs) and you have elements of a poutine joint that Toronto has never seen.  A winning formula in my mind... 

But that's why I was feeling so apprehensive leading up to my first bite at Poutineville.  I really wanted this place to fulfill my expectations... my poutine dreams if you will.  

So how was it?

In the evening, Poutineville was dimly lit with Edison bulb lights throughout... how romantic I thought :).  The interiors had exposed wood and brick giving the ambiance a cool industrial look.  It seemed like the white counter top bar with under-lighting was well stocked.  Speakers were scattered throughout the place pumping out top 40s music while TV screens played the accompanying music videos.  I'm sure this place is going to be a favourite amongst the after clubbing crowd... it is open until 4am from Thursday to Saturday after all.

So how is the poutine?

Below is an image of the create your own poutine menu.  You can check off whatever you wish and any box with a number beside it represents an add-on dollar value to the base price.

Create your own Poutine!

While tempting, I opted to order the Shepherd's Pie poutine and the namesake poutine, the Poutineville.

Shepherd's Pie ($12)
 Hand crushed potatoes* with fresh cheese curds, minced beef, corn, peas topped with their home made poutine sauce and melted mozzarella cheese

The Shepherd's Pie poutine was delicious!  I liked how there were 2 types of cheese.  You have your traditional squeaky cheese curds scattered throughout the mess of poutine and on top you have a baked mozzarella cheese canopy.  The cheese canopy had crispy broil marked parts as well as areas of melted, gooey goodness!  Because it was baked, the temperature of the dish was warm throughout.  Also, the poutine actually tasted like a Shepherd's pie with familiar ingredients such as minced beef, corn, and peas.  The peas made the poutine extra fragrant and is an ingredient that really distinguishes the dish. *What I didn't realize until after I left was that the Shepherd's pie poutine was served with regular cut fries instead of the hand crushed potato variety as per the description.  Perhaps they ran out of hand crushed potatoes?  Opening day kinks?  I thought the hand cut fries worked well in the dish but a little notice would have been appreciated.  

Poutineville ($12)
 A house specialty of hand crushed potatoes* with fresh cheese curds and mozzarella topped with their slow 8 hour home cooked braised beef and wine sauce

I usually resist the temptation to get braised beef in restaurants because it often isn't done well and this frequently results in dry, tough meat.  Poutine with braised beef typically would not be the exception had it not been the namesake dish of the restaurant.  I mean, I had to order it, it's their specialty!  To my surprise, the braised beef was moist, tender and flavourful, perhaps they really did slow cook it for 8 hours...  It was tasty but it was a bit on the cold side.  It's probably because the beef is cooked separately from everything else and sits at room temperature while waiting to be part of a greater whole.  It wouldn't be a problem if the wine sauce was piping hot and covered the entire poutine but that was a miss on both parts... I'm just going to give them the benefit of the doubt and attribute this to opening night jitters.  The wine sauce wasn't too acidic like I feared and instead it made for a full-bodied sauce.  The cheese curds were squeaky which is a must for a great poutine.  Unfortunately, the hand crushed potatoes were substituted for regular fries without my knowledge as well.

Overall, I still had a great time at Poutineville.  I'm sure they will will work out their kinks and become one of the elite poutine places in Toronto - I have faith!  I'll give them another chance to serve me the hand crushed potatoes I've heard so much about.  I'll also definitely go back to eat a Montrealer... smoked meat poutine topped with a fried pickle!  Ironically, the Montrealer comes with the regular cut variety...

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.

Update: Poutineville Toronto Slated to Open in the Annex Late July

UPDATE:  Click here to see the official grand opening date!

The Current Storefront of the Much Anticipated Poutineville (2014/07/09)

Urban Foodie originally broke the news here first that a Poutineville (@PoutineVille) would be opening in Toronto's Annex on Brunswick Avenue.  The original time frame for Poutineville to open its doors was as early as June.  Now in July, this poutine shrine is still tight lipped on a firm date for their grand opening.  However, they revealed on July 4th that they will be opening "in the next couple of weeks" in the comments section of a timeline photo on their Facebook page.  This should place the opening sometime in late July.  Urban Foodie will be following this story closely and will post any updates as soon as possible!

Fresco's Poutineville slated to open in Toronto's Annex this June/July!

UPDATE:  Click here to see the official grand opening date!

This Easter Monday the Urban Foodie was fortunate enough to speak to Michael Fresco of Fresco's Fish & Chips fame regarding the much anticipated opening of Poutineville, a brainchild of his brother Camillo Fresco.

Cod Fish & Chips and Poutine at Fresco's

You may recall that the Urban Foodie was pleasantly surprised to taste such a quality poutine at a fish and chips joint.  Well, it seems like great poutine runs in the Fresco genes.  Camillo Fresco will be opening Poutineville in Toronto's Annex at Bloor and Brunswick with a time frame as early as June.  Already with three locations in Montreal, it seems like this opening is going to rock the poutine scene in Toronto!

The concept?  A high-end sit down establishment where you can either choose from a list of specialty poutines such a the filet mignon (filet mignon cubes, mushrooms, onions, blue cheese, cheese curds and pepper sauce) or create your own custom poutine from over a dozen ingredients.  You can select everything from the type of potato for the fries to cut up pieces of pogo as a garnish!

Michael Fresco also mentioned that Poutineville will be bringing their famous "Heart Attack Challenge" to their Toronto location.  Fifteen pounds of poutine await a pair of patrons who are foolish enough to partake in the challenge.  

The Heart Attack Challenge Poutine!

The Urban Foodie will be anxiously waiting its grand opening...

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!

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.