Look, I’m no connoisseur of poutine, but I know a good one when I have it, and being in the city with more poutine per capita, I have had my fair share to judge.

I have so far only highly rated two poutine joints worth mentioning. I know there will be more to come, but for now- my weaknesses. I guess you could say this sections is under construction, because I’m not done tasting, but I’ll keep you posted.

La Banquise: more like Club Banquise. Paired with late night beers and a bouncer– every night. This is the top spot to hit after a night at the bars and the busiest spot to hit at 2am. It doesn’t
matter what night it is, this place is always packed and has a bouncer guarding the door. You could wait up to an hour to actually make it to a table, but it’s worth it when you get to that cheesy, gravy light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve had both take away and sit in, and either way it’s melt in your mouth. I’ve tried the original, double smoked bacon, and Elvis (ground beef, green peppers and mushrooms)- but was honestly so drunk I don’t know what it tasted like but in my imagination, it was well worth it).

Visit their website for the menu and the history behind this beautiful joint.

http://labanquise.com/menu-poutine.php

Dunn’s Smoked Meat:

Well, this seems like an obvious spot for smoked meat, but it’s often hard to find a smoked meat spot that actually makes decent poutine on top of that. The Dunn’s Famous (smoked meat poutine) is the most phenomenal thing I’ve ever tasted. It’s not just drunk food, but it’s comfort food, crave-worthy food, and somewhere I bring every single friend that visits Montreal for a classic smoked meat and poutine experience all wrapped up in one. A classmate in my wine course introduced me to this heaven and our plan to “try a different poutine spot every week” became going to La Banquise once, and Dunn’s the rest of the time. Check it out: http://www.dunnsfamous.com/

Yep… that’s a lot of poutine packed into a couple months of living here, and I’m not even close to done, but OMG. You only live in MTL so often.

Now, whether you live here, or are visiting, GO pack your pie-hole with poutine and stay tuned for more gravy-doused treasures.