Your winter woes are about to get meatier, cheesier and covered in gravy. La Poutine Week is back for another year of over-the-top poutine creations across Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City.
The official week of cheese curds, French fries and gravy will run for a week from Feb. 1 to Feb. 7. Restaurants signed up this year (at least 170 of them across each city and internationally), will serve up their latest take on Canada's national food treasure for a fixed price, ranging from $7 to $20.
"More this year than ever I saw poutines that were not poutines." — La Poutine Week co-founder Na'eem Adam.
"This year there is more variety and poutines are really out-of-the-box," says La Poutine Week co-founder Na'eem Adam. "A couple of years down the road we won't see the classic poutine anymore."
Adam is referring to this year's roster that includes everything from a poutine hamburger to a "poutine pasta" made with gnocchi to even a poutine on fire. In fact, many of these dishes below aren't necessarily your average poutine, and unsurprisingly, Montreal by far has the most creative versions of it — it's time to step up your game, Toronto.
"More this year than ever I saw poutines that were not poutines," Adam says. "I would get into debates with some of the chefs."
Adam says for the most part, chefs stuck with potatoes, cheese and a gravy or sauce.
For the second year in a row, the poutine team also expanded its doors to international restaurants, including dishes from Australia, U.S., France and the U.K. Organizers have also come up with a La Poutine Week app that will let you track down restaurants and a $20 "poutine pass" that offers discounts and freebies.
A full list of all participating restaurants can be viewed here and in the meantime, check out our list of some of the most noteworthy poutines. Just to keep things balanced, we've included a classic poutine as well.
