What is poutine? Where to find Canada's best loaded fries delicacy

THE DISH

Poutine, Canada

PLATE UP

If you're on a diet it's probably best to look away now, because poutine is a beast of a dish that is guaranteed to both warm your cockles and clog your arteries. At its most basic, this much-loved French-Canadian staple is hot chips – aka French fries – smothered in fresh cheese curds and drowned in gravy. Think of your basic pub-grub chips and gravy, and add gooey, melty curds (pieces of clotted, curdled milk). The idea is to have a range of textures and flavours here, keeping the chips crisp and crackly, the curds gooey but solid, and the gravy hot and generous. Absolutely delicious, and the sort of thing you wouldn't want to eat more than once a year.

FIRST SERVE

That poutine originated in Quebec, in eastern Canada, as a roadside snack, is not up for debate. It's been a staple in French-Canada since the 1950s, and its popularity has only recently spread throughout the country. What is a source of disagreement, however, is who exactly invented poutine. Three restaurants – Le Lutin Qui Rit in Warwick; Le Roy Jucep in Drummondville; and La Petite Vache in Princeville – all claim to have come up with the idea of teaming fries, curds and gravy, though there's no clear winner. The name is thought to have originated from the English word pudding, which had already become "poutine" in Quebec, and was slang for a mess.

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I'm breaking no new ground by recommending La Banquise (labanquise.com), a divey all-night diner in Montreal known for its traditional Quebecois cuisine, including more than 30 versions of poutine, topped with everything from smoked meat to merguez sausage to mince and onions.

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