Eat Here: Bengal Lounge

Admittedly, I was late to the poutine party, but when I finally arrived I put on my dancing shoes and never left. What’s not to love? Fresh cut fries, soulful gravy, squeaky cheese curds and a fork for shoveling -- the only thing that does poutine one better is an icy Coke or a local draft to wash it all down. Oh, and some great surroundings.

Which brings us to Victoria’s Fairmont Empress hotel, and me, tucked into a cozy high-back chair in the famed Bengal Lounge, a tiger hide sprawled over the fireplace, a heaping dish of curry poutine in the middle of our table.

The idea for the Bengal Lounge was inspired by Queen Victoria’s role as the Empress of India, and as such the lounge has been serving curry cuisine (there's a daily buffet) and signature cocktails, such as the Ivory Hunter and Hemingway Special since the mid-50s. (The Bengal Tiger is my personal favourite.)

Now getting back to that curry poutine; while it’s not a classic poutine (more of a generous portion of chicken curry on fries with some cheese), it is delicious. And even if you’re not in the mood for curry poutine I still suggest you pop into the Bengal Lounge for a step back in time in an elegant room with professional waiters in a storied hotel in a lovely, lovely city.

Eat Here: Fromagerie Lemaire Restaurant

What's going on with me? I had never tried poutine up until a few years ago (and this – even though I lived in Montreal for four years), yet suddenly can’t get enough of the stuff. I’ve had it high (Martin Picard and Jamie Kennedy’s versions) and low (Harvey’s). I’ve had it here, in Calgary, just last night at Charcut Roast House, a great new restaurant in the great new Le Germain hotel, and there, in Quebec City.

There’s an honest-to-goodness poutine boom going on in Toronto, as this “fries as a meal” dish appears on most restaurant menus, in chip trucks and even at standalone poutine haunts such as Smoke’s Poutinerie and Poutini’s House of Poutine.

What is poutine? Fresh cut french fries, chicken gravy, cheese curd. Those are the basics. I find the rest of it – foie gras and shredded shortribs, lobster and béarnaise sauce, pulled pork and curried chicken – to be silly, superfluous stuff.

After all, a classic is always timely.

Which brings us to Fromagerie Lemaire Restaurant in Drummondville, Quebec. See how the word fromagerie is right in the title of the restaurant? That’s because they make their own cheese on the premises, including the freshest, saltiest, squeakiest cheese curds you’ve ever tasted.

Heaven on a cafeteria tray.

Lunch on the Magdalen Islands

A perfect mix of sand, sea, sun, lobster and poutine: I'm on the Magdalen Islands for a few days, and man, is it ever gorgeous. This was my lunch yesterday, at a simple family diner. I think it cost $12. (Less than a Starbucks Vente Caramel Mocha Frappuccino. Stupid Starbucks.) And it was awesome.

The top 25 things I ate this year

This is by no means a definitive list, but merely a tip of the hat to some of the great things that people cooked for me (or I cooked myself), all leading to my favourite food memories of the year. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. The 'za at Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria. And she just came out with a pizza cookbook.

2. I think this recipe helped score me the book deal for my culinary work of fiction (watch for it in spring 2011.) My editor loves kale. (Hi Jane!)

3. S’mores over a pit fire on an ancient beachhead as we watched polar bears snoozing along the shores of Hudson Bay. (Thought the locale probably had more to do with this winning taste sensation than the s'mores themselves.)

4. Jeff Crump’s Picasso-like composed salad at an event put on by the good people at the Good Food Revolution.

5. The Indian feast I made with the lovely Swaran and Rimple Sumer at their Vancouver home.

6. Sure, they’re all about grilled pickled elk tongue and fried headcheese, but the chocolate pudding at Murray Street restaurant was the best I’ve ever had. (The only thing missing was a delectable pudding scum.)

7. Can't forget the Dou Su cod, a Formosa Island specialty, at Vogue Chinese Cuisine in Richmond, B.C.: Steamed cod encased in a thick crust of soybeans that have been deep-fried and ground so that they resemble sand and taste like the delicious crap stuck to the bottom of a frying pan.

8. An oyster Po’ Boy at Grand Central Oyster Bar. Love the subterranean room. And the old school service. Loved the oysters. Love New York.

9. Eating champagne macarons at Luxemburgerli in Zurich made me feel like Marie Antoinette.

10. The delicious passed hors d’oeuvres at my al fresco birthday party at Ezra’s Pound – and the Dufflet Chocolate Banana Fudge birthday cake to complete the fete.

11. Crisp and flavourful duck fat frites at Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak in Scottsdale are served with three dipping sauces. But the best part? They’re free.

12. I’m not usually a quiche fan, but I was meeting the gang for brunch at Coquine, didn’t want an omelet, so ordered what turned out to be the most ethereal example of mushroom quiche, ever.

13. The perfect example of poutine, in Quebec City

14. Crisp duck salad at Nota Bene.

15. I am addicted to Tom Thai’s cooking. That’s all there is to it. Case closed.

16. I want to live at the Oyster Bar at Shaw’s Crab House in Chicago.

17. My beginner’s luck foray into the mysterious world of smoked brisket.

18. Even better was the word on every deli lover’s lips this year: Caplansky’s. Sure, most go on about the smoked meat, but don’t forget about the chopped liver. (What is it, chopped liver? Heh.)

19. Ceci!

20. Union’s juicy, fatty, honest, earthy, cote de boeuf and Swiss chard.

21. From-the-water sweet king crab legs in Norway.

22. Our Lobsterlicous meal at Scaramouche was so good we’ll be going back for seconds in January.

23. Just about everything I ate in Mexico City, but especially here.

24. Sticky French Toast with Candied Rice Krispies.

25. And let’s not forget: A classic is always timely.

Happy continued cooking, and eating, and here’s to a great 2010 for one and all.

Je me souviens le poutine

A couple of weekends ago I spent an afternoon trotting around beatific Quebec City, the port area, the Old City, the Museum of Civilization and the riverside food market. I walked and I kept walking, past the funicular, the street musicians, the ice-cream lickers and the tourist shops. Smiles all around. And then I got hungry, but hungry for something hearty. A baguette sandwich or paltry pastry just wouldn’t do. I had my eyes on the prize.

After wandering around in circles (my go-to mode) for another hour, I decided to take a stool at the charming 30-year old greasy spoon in Lower Town just down the block from my wonderful hotel. Buffet de L’Antiquaire was its name, and a poutine and Coke was my game. Though they do serve big plates of hearty Quebecois faves like beans and cretons for breakfast, or pea soup, cheeseburgers and hot chicken plates for midday mains, I was there for poutine because even though Toronto has at long last caught on to a good thing – I’ve had a short rib version at Gilead Café and a breakfast version at Harbord Room – and now there are dedicated shops dishing out almost nothing but -- such as Smoke’s Poutinerie and now Poutini’s House of Poutine, I wanted an authentic Quebec version. Anyway, the fry cooks at Buffet de L'Antiquaire in the open kitchen with their paper hats looked like the real deal. (Always trust a fry cook in a paper hat.)

My hand-cut potatoes were tossed into amber-coloured deep fat and cooked to a golden finish. The chicken gravy was like mother’s milk, and the fresh, plentiful cheese curds were as squeaky as a mouse convention.

Best friggin’ poutine, ever.