My Secret Love Affair

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Hi, my name is Aiiyah and I am a poutine-aholic.

I love poutine. It has no culinary value in the world of snooty foodie cuisine but its artery clogging deliciousness has a place in my heart like morning-after indigestion. Somehow, this magical combination of ingredients can scale the hierarchy of the comfort food chain to its extreme. Don’t get me wrong; we have had poutine at its “culinary” best, we also have had some that had us wonder, “What the hack were they thinking?” Regardless, there is nothing that beats a good plate of this Quebecois concoction when hunger pangs come knocking at your stomach after a few drinks. It’s like finding a warm fireplace after trekking in the cold winter snow.

They say you never forget your first. Our introduction to poutine was strangely not in Montreal but on the opposite side of the country while we vacationed in Whistler, British Columbia. It was a perfect late spring day. There was still ski-able snow at the top of the mountain while Tulips were at full bloom at the bottom. We sat on the patio of the bar, The Garibaldi Lift Company, not far from the bottom of the chair lift for happy hour. The poutine we had wasn’t particularly outstanding, but the combination of salty fries, warm gravy, melting cheese curds, and the beautiful scenery, perfect weather, and refreshing mountain air, stopped the growling in our stomachs and made us just perfectly happy.

We have had some noticeable poutine throughout the years. Church Key in Washington, DC sells a variant with cheddar cheese and sausage gravy. The place has an outstanding beer list but this creation was a perfect example of a chef who looks up the recipe on the internet with no idea what the real thing tastes like. May be that’s why the place tried to hide it and called it Disco Fries instead. Unfortunately, no boogie woogie magic disco ball could save this dish from a poor concept and poor execution.

At the other end of the spectrum, the over the top foie gras poutine from our favorite Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal could just silence any naysayer’s argument that poutine is just another bar food for drunks. Besides elevating your cholesterol, putting a piece of foie on a plate of poutine definitely has elevated this dish from the bar room to the dining room.

Desperate means for desperate time. When nobody knows what poutine is in this area, you make your own.

There are just three simple components, fries, cheese curds and gravy; but finding the cheese curds in this area is no simple task. I came into luck when I saw a cheese maker at the farmer’s market in Arlington, VA selling fresh cheese curds in vacu-packs. The gravy was the easy part but it’s hard to make good quality crispy fries at home without a good commercial grade fryer. So I cheated. McDonald’s has great fries, thus I took full advantage of its close vicinity to my house and super-sized these fries instead of doing frying experiments in my kitchen (the fire department should thank me).

This poutine turned out very nicely and definitely surpassed some of the wannabes that we have encountered elsewhere. It may not have been the most outrageous one we have had but it certainly gave us a quick fix from the craving.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. This Philadelphia experiment of the dish made famous by Au Pied de Cochon drew us to the restaurant Adsum.

The poutine starts with a bed of fries done in duck fat mingled with cubes of cheddar cheese, then topped with a piece of pan seared foie gras. The gravy is made with duck fat and foie gras jus. The fries were done nicely with a perfect mix of outside crisp and inside softness. If that piece of foie wasn’t sitting on the fries, it could be plated and served in any upscale restaurants with its nicely caramelized outside and perfectly done inside. The essence of the foie was completely present in the gravy which bridged the flavor of the seared foie gras and rest of the dish quite wonderfully. Interestingly, cheddar cheese was used in place of the cheese curds. Considering the scarcity of cheese curds in this area, I would not argue the wisdom of using the cheddar but I would say that the cheese would had been put to much better use if the pieces themselves were cut smaller.

 

This was definitely a more upscale version of the Montreal original, however, with rustic being the characteristic of Montreal cooking, which dish reigns supreme?

 

Comfort food brings us a sense of well-being. It also makes us feel sentimental about things past. Eating comfort food is like sitting in front of a nice warm fireplace in the middle of a snowy winter; listening to the crackle of the fire, feeling its warmth, and being comfortable. Our journey with poutine has taken us to many places; from both coasts of Canada to different cities in the US. Besides its magic in curing hunger after many hours of imbibitions, it also reminds us of places we have been and friends we have made along the way.



The Garibaldi Lift Company, Whistler, BC

Church Key, Washington, DC. http://www.churchkeydc.com/

Au Pied de Cochon, Montreal, PQ. http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/

Arlington Farmer’s Market, Arlington, Va. http://www.arlingtonfarmersmarket.com/

Adsum Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA. http://www.adsumrestaurant.com/

 
 
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Sweet Surprises

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At Fond, you never know what to expect from Chef Jesse as a finish for your meal. After a delightful tasting menu prepared by Chef Lee, Chef Jesse started sending out her sweet handiwork surprises.

Eggnog Panna Cotta

Putting a spoonful of this panna cotta in the mouth would confuse my brain to think that I was sipping a glass of the real thing sitting next to a fireplace. Chef Jesse captured the taste and the essence of eggnog in this charming panna cotta that was served with a small dollop of stewed chestnuts on the side. Being that it was the night before Christmas Eve, I was absolutely delighted to have this especially since I haven’t had eggnog in a long time. 

  

Lemon Cake, Peanut Brittle, Chocolate Sauce, Cherry Vanilla Sorbet

Sounded like a lot of different elements on the plate but all the items indeed worked quite well together giving the palate a nice treat like watching a likeable chick-flick with a happy ending.

The lemon cake was moist, had a subtle flavor and a texture that just would made you keep eating. The flavors complemented very well when paired with the chocolate sauce along with the cherry vanilla sorbet acting like a sort of palate cleanser.

The dessert was absolutely amazing however the most amazing thing about it was not just the flavor, the texture, or the presentation. It was the ingredients. This was a Tourist Tree safe dessert with no wheat or dairy used in the making! With an advance warning that we would be coming in for dinner, Chef Jesse made this dessert with Tourist Tree in mind using rice flour and almond flour for the cake, and coconut milk in making the chocolate sauce. We were all delighted that the dessert tasted wonderful and nothing like the “gluten free” or “dairy free” variety that usually found in specialty shops. If not for the less than subtle hint from the waiter, “You all should have the dessert that Jesse had made for you,” we would not have experienced this little sweet surprise!

No Christmas Eve Eve meal is not complete without a few gingerbread man cookies before walking out of the door.

http://www.fondphilly.com/

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