Pondering Poutine and Craving Crepes
 

Hi, everyone. OK, here goes. I am getting a strong sense from my reading that it will be easy for me to find poutine on the menu. Now I am beginning to wonder how cheese curds taste. I can imagine how delicious the fries with gravy are, but my mind cannot get past the cheese curds. Please tell me they do not taste like cottage cheese, which I do not like.

Also, where are a few of the best places for soupe a l'onion containing Gruyere cheese and for crepes with ham and Gruyere cheese? My hips might disagree ;), but I have a passion for Gruyere cheese.

Gogoboots99

Curds tend to be a bit chewier and saltier than cottage cheese. A bit cheesier and less milkish than cottage. The gravy tends to be the overpowering taste though.

Mind you, for your hips' sake, I should tell you poutine is disgustingly horrible and Greek salads are to die for.

I recommend buying a copy of
Montreal Resto-A-Go-Go: 200 Cheap and Fun Places to Eat and Drink in Montreal (Paperback)by Sarah Musgrave (she is the casual dining critic for the Montreal Gazette)
We live in Vt and have a son at McGill and all of us have found this book very helpful/reliable for finding good, inexpensive restaurants. It will give you some tips on good places for poutine and other French Canadian specialties if you really want to try those. I personally agree with icithecat that poutine is "disgustingly horrible" and I have not tried cheese curds.

I'm also someone who can't stomach the idea of poutine - it sounds awful!

gogoboots, I could have almost written your post.

stick with the "french fries and gravy" and get the full effect Canadian cuisine that way.

I mean c'mon, when was the last time someone walked up to you and asked:

"Where can I find a good Canadian restaurant?"

They have french fries and gravy, maple syrup (yum), (what we call) "Canadian Bacon", and perhaps "Wayne Gretzky Cereal".

I don't dare the full "Poutine" package... just go with the fries and gravy.

Poutine. Yes. In my graduate school days, I succumbed to the poutine, even at one point in my life felt that I *craved* a poutine now and again. I have gone through the Quebec rite of passage.

Those days are gone, and I now seek healthy, tasty eating so poutine is something I would not pick off a menu. You would find poutine at the finest greasy spoons, working-class diners and fast-food joints of the province. (Even McDonald's serves poutine in Quebec.)

Cheese curds are nothing like cottage cheese or Gruyere; they don't really have much of a flavour at all in my experience, although they should "squeak" when you bite into them if done the proper way. Mmmmm and how I did love that brown sauce on top.

Yeah, it's pretty gross, some Quebeckers enjoy it as a slightly naughty pleasure, some people enjoy jokingly referring to it as a "Quebec specialty" (apparently Ashton's fast food chain in Quebec City serves the best poutine although this dubious honour is contested). I'm not sure anyone takes the "dish" seriously but conversations on poutine are great ice-breakers at a party ;).

Enjoy DAN

Well, I'll admit it. This bloke LOVES poutine! "La Belle Province" has great poutine.... You can "healthy" it up by adding chicken and peas!

Cheese curds are nugget like chunks of cheese, very similar to mozarella but saltier. They are sold in little zip lock bags in most grocery stores in French Canada and are addictive!

The curds are cheddar. If you can get some fresh curds still warm from a cheese factory (whatever it's called, "fromagerie" in French), it's a real treat. Two well known places are in St-Fidèle on highway 138, northest of La Malbaie in Charlevoix and Fromagerie Boivin just outside La Baie in the Saguenay region.

Does nayone know of any great cheese shops in downtown Montreal to buy some of the better Quebec cheeses? I admit to being a little ignorant about most of them but I do love that Riopelle!

A friend who likes poutine says you can get good poutine at the snack bar at the St. Joseph's Oratory. I figure even if you don't like the poutine you can enjoy the oratory and view of Montreal

They are not quite downtown, but both the Atwater and Jean-Talon markets have lots of cheese shops (fromageries) where you can find a full range of cheese from Québec. Even if you're not buying, the markets are worth a visit.

I love the Riopelle as well. If you will like it, you will also like Ciel de Charlevoix. I'm also fond of Migneron, another cheese from the Charlevoix.

If you read some French, this is a great site on Québec cheeses and where to find them, although for some reason, it doesn't include cheeses from Charlevoix, which are among the best:

http://www.fromageduquebec.qc.ca/

Look for Cheese shops under "Où les trouver"

BTW, cheese curds are not exclusively a Québec product. You can find them in most supermarkets in Ontario, and I'm sure in much of the rest of the country as well.

Yesterday's Financial Post had a good story on Québec's cheeses and mentioned that the Fromagerie du Marché Atwater, the largest cheese shop in Canada, carries 1,000 different cheeses, including 150 from Québec.

http://tinyurl.com/yoystp

So much cheese, so little time!

I saw that stricle too! Makes me excited to go to Montreal!