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Add cheese and the gravy!
Back in the year 2000, Ron Cahute, an accomplished Ukrainian-Canadian musician, was nearly finished with his children's CD series- six albums with colorful characters that taught kids how to speak Ukrainian. Having been born and raised in Canada, he decided to make one French CD with French teacher Jane Lapko, titled "Poutine". "Poutine" was based almost exactly on the first album of the Ukrainian series, "Barabolya" (which means "Potato" in Ukrainian), going over basics, such as colors and months of the year. Now, I can't speak on how well that did commercially- but I can confirm that when I got the titular song stuck in my head one day, a friend that I was with finished the lyrics without missing a beat.
As a Ukrainian-American raised on Cahute's CDs, learning that his latest album looked exactly like "Barabolya" intrigued me. I'd never had poutine before, and I was confused as to why Cahute and his crew wouldn't just dip their fries in ketchup like the rest of us. I also understood that getting into the album meant learning a third language- the kids at school were already putting up with me trying to navigate English, and I started to wonder what would happen if I added some s'il vous plaîts and bonjours into the mix of languages I was already trying to articulate at the age of 6. And sure enough, though the whole album didn't stick with me, every so often I'll hear the chorus of "Poutine" ring out in the back of my mind:
Poutine- let's start with the French fries!
Poutine- add cheese and the gravy! Poutine is my favorite thing, It's fries with an attitude!
Ten years later, I unexpectedly found myself having a "Ratatouile" moment with my first serving of poutine, graciously crafted by Pommes Frites at their original 2nd Ave location in Manhattan. In the movie, Anton Ego is so enchanted by Remy's ratatouille that he gets transported back in time to his own mother's cooking. In real life, I was so mesmerized by this trio of flavors that I ascended into a euphoric state. I didn't know what I had been missing this entire time. So, as a moth is drawn to light, I make sure I stop by their new location on MacDougal St every time I'm in the city.
I'll tackle an official Pommes Frites review later on, while the fries are still fresh and the steam is still rising from my plate. In fact, the background image of this site was taken at my most recent NYC excursion back in May- they've upgraded from two poutine sizes to four! And I'm willing to review dishes that aren't "traditional" poutines, e.g. breakfast poutines and pub fries. Heck, it's got a fried potato. There's sauce involved. A smart human put cheese on it as well. It counts in my book. Even if you put it on a donut, I'll give it a try. Dessert poutine, however... probably not. Churros, apples, and other substitutes don't make up for the starchy, glorious base that only a French fried potato can hold together in the company of cheese curds and gravy.
I've also made my own poutine in the past, though they never turn out as well as I'd like. Should I make the fries from scratch? Am I using the wrong gravy? Should I melt the curds before they go on top of the fries? I'll make some more attempts in the future, so we'll answer those questions when we get there. Over the course of the past 8 years, I've had a lot of poutine across NY state and Canada- but there's still legendary locations that are in big capital letters on my bucket list (looking at you, La Banquise!). My hopes are that through this blog, I'll be able to cross off some culinary destinations- who knows, maybe I'll fall in love with something completely different along the way. It's all part of the adventure, but for now- let's start with the French fries.
-Hawklady
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About the HawkladyHawklady is actually several giant French fries stacked on top of each other, wrapped in a trench coat. Rumor has it they're currently hiding in Syracuse, NY. Archives
March 2019
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