Hand-cut, double cooked fries. A generous ladle-full of flour-based poutine sauce. Cheese curds so young that they squeak. According to La Belle Patate owner Pascal Courmier, those are the elements that make up a true Montreal poutine – and he’s been serving it up in Vancouver since 2009.
Habs memorabilia, Canadiens stickers and hockey sticks decorate the poutinerie, an aesthetic Courmier can take credit for.
“I’m a Habs fan and a lot of my customers are, too. When we’re open, it’s on a sports channel,” the restaurateur says.
The Davie Street poutinerie boasts more than 40 types of the stuff on its menu, with a few added Quebec staples, such as the classic “steamie” hot dog and a Montreal smoked meat sandwich.
“If you go to a hockey game in Montreal, you would always have a steamie,” Courmier imparts.
As for the eatery’s main staple, there are more than a few options. There’s the Shepherd’s Pie poutine, the Baked Potato poutine, the Italian poutine – the list goes on. But nothing beats the real deal, Courmier contends.
“The traditional: the fries, cheese, and gravy straight up is the most popular one by far,” he says. “I’m doing it the most authentic possible way that I know of, and I grew up on that stuff. That’s what a poutine should be.”
So, what, pray tell, does that include?
“The fries have to be fresh, they have to be home made fries; the poutine sauce is traditional, so it’s not a chicken gravy or a beef gravy its traditional poutine sauce as you would get in the majority of places around Quebec; the curd is a cheddar curd and it’s as fresh as we can get it. The fresher the curd, the more it will squeak,” he advises.
“That is what a real, true poutine is.”
For those who want to dress up their fries with a little more, La Belle Patate has no lack of options. In addition to their multitude of selections, the restaurant has daily features such as Philly cheesesteak Fridays and ham, bacon, maple syrup poutine on Sundays.
And don’t think after all that poutine, Courmier would let his guests go thirsty. A beer or two will wash it down, including three Quebec based brews: Fin Du Monde, Maudite, and Blanche de Chambly.
After all, you can’t have an authentic poutine without the authentic Montreal experience.
