Poutine’s gotta rock. Smokes’ Poutinerie is a restaurant that serves only one thing but in a variety of ways. You can get poutine with pulled pork, shaved beef, chicken, bacon, and so on.
Traditional poutine is fries, gravy and cheese curds. Unfortunately, Smoke’s got each of these wrong. The fries should be cooked through but crispy. Mine were cooked but limp. The gravy should be hot, with a rich taste. My sage-infused gravy was so cool it gelled while I was eating it. The curds should be room temperature and melt slightly. Mine were nice squeaky curds, but they were fresh from the fridge and had no hope of softening.
When you only serve one thing, you need to get the basics right, and Smoke’s did not. Maybe I was there at the wrong time. Maybe this treat tastes better at 3 a.m. Any way you cut it, this poutine didn’t rock.
