Poutine, long a much-maligned Quebec dish, has been capturing the rest of Canada’s hearts as the ultimate comfort food. There’s only three ingredients – french fries, cheese curd and gravy – but getting it right is no easy task. To find out which Revelstoke pub does it best, the View sought out four experts in poutinerie (aka, Québecois.) We led them on tour of local establishments. Each judge gave a score to each element of the poutine as well as how well the three ingredients fit together. We then took the average to find the winner.
1st place:
Village Idiot
$7.60 inc. tax
Fries: 3.1 Cheese: 3.9
Gravy: 3.9 Overall: 4.4
The fries were given a touch of criticism but the cheese and gravy gave this poutine the win. “Quantity’s perfect,” said one judge.
2nd place
Big Eddy Pub
$7.40 inc. tax
Fries: 3.4 Cheese: 4.1
Gravy: 3.4 Overall: 4.1
Judges loved the amount of cheese. “Like in Quebec,” said one.
3rd place
The Grizzly
$10 inc. tax
Fries: 3 Cheese: 3.3
Gravy: 3.9 Overall: 3.4
The cheese and gravy were praised, though there was too much of the latter. “It’s not a soup.” The fries were also criticized for not being homemade.
4th place
The Last Drop
$4.95 inc. tax
Fries: 3.6 Cheese: 0.8
Gravy: 3.4 Overall: 3
Low price and good fries and gravy made up for the lack of cheese curds on this British twist on poutine. “Grated cheese is a big downer,” said one critic.
5th place
River City Pub
$10 inc. tax
Fries: 2.5 Cheese: 2
Gravy: 2 Overall: 2.1
A lack of cheese and gravy and the use of frozen fries meant poor scores for this poutine. “Way too expensive for what you get,” added one judge.