Review: Smoke?s Poutinerie

When you think of food that is unique to Canada, some may say: meat pie (tourtiere), maple syrup, or beer.  For me, it is poutine.  To celebrate Canada Day, we decided to try the new poutinerie in town to see if they stayed true to this tried and true Canadian dish.  As a French Canadian who has grown up on gravy and loves poutine, let?s see if Smoke?s Poutinerie in London, Ontario makes the cut.

Upon entering the restaurant, I am greeted food by the familiar smell of grease, which transports me back to a time when I didn?t think twice about deep fried foods and gravy was a staple, much like ketchup is to some (yes, gravy on scrambled eggs tastes divine!).  Smoke’s has a modern flair, alternative music and basic décor.  The menu board lists a variety of poutine options from those including pork to vegetarian gravy. While poutine is a once a year treat for me, I couldn?t bring myself to order one, so I decided to take a few bites of whatever my companions ordered.  The chipotle pulled pork and traditional poutines were ordered in the small size.

Both poutines come in the cardboard style compostable take-out containers; kudos to Smoke?s for that!  While the container looks small, the contents are overwhelming.  The consensus was that they should get an even smaller size which would be 2/3 the size of the small.

Chipotle pulled-pork poutine: While I was expecting a spicier and smokier poutine, it was good and the flavours went well with the fries.  The gravy is sweet, salty, and smokey with pulled pork (about ¼ cup), on top of freshly cut fries and cheese curds.  Overall, this is great combo and the gravy was hot enough to melt the curds.


Traditional poutine: I preferred this poutine because I am a purist when it comes to certain dishes and poutine is one of them.  The gravy was good, but I have tasted better.  This poutine?s biggest weakness was the gravy was not warm enough to melt the cheese curds, and any poutine aficionado knows this is a necessity.

Overall: Smoke?s gets high marks for using curds that do taste fresh and serving fries that are freshly hand-cut and cooked just right.  There is also a decent gravy to curd to fry ratio. While it was good, these poutines did not evoked the same love and passion for all things fried and topped with cheese and gravy that my youth in Northern Ontario frequenting greasy spoons and chip stands has.  A small poutine is enough to share between 2 people and large could feed 3-4 people.

FACT: The poutine is gaining popularity outside of Quebec.  There a few of established poutineries, in Toronto.

Your say:

-          What food do you identify with Canada?

-          What is your ideal poutine?

-          What do you think of vegan poutines?

-           Is poutine passé?