After my trek to find the “PNE’s Top 3 Must Try Foods”, I was inspired by #2 (the Unroutine Poutine Hotdog) to venture out and find what I think is Vancouver’s Best Poutine. After much consideration and a full belly later, I came up with one winner:
“La Belle Patate” Original Poutine
La Belle Patate is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant located in the heart of Davie Village that specializes in Canada’s favorite snack (or at least mine) – poutines! Offering more than 30 variations and boasting about using the freshest, “squeakiest” cheese, this definitely is a hung-over-on-a-Sunday-morning type of joint you can’t miss. They even offer all-you-can-eat for $19.50 (if it was that kind of night).
Fries: Double fried, double the flavor. Paired with the perfect amount of texture -Crispy outer layer and soft warm center, these fresh, hand-cut-everyday fries were the perfect bed for what this poutine had to offer.
Cheese: “Squeaky” good. I didn’t really know what they meant by this until I actually had a bite. The cheese is so fresh that it, in fact, squeaks when you chew it. If we’re looking for a science lesson here, it has something to do with the humidity in the cheese and the sound it makes when it rubs against your teeth. But we’re looking for food porn right?! It was the exact amount of goo and cheesiness you want and was evenly distributed throughout to promise a bit of everything in every bite.
Gravy: For you all veggies out there, this is your poutine! I was so happy to hear that La Belle Patate uses vegetarian gravy instead of beef gravy. This means they really concentrate on getting the flavor themselves, rather than gathering that flavor from beef stock. One of the most flavor packed vegetarian gravies I’ve had – Salty and a little bit tangy, with a velvety texture that went so well with the crispiness of the fries and the oozing, tender cheese curds.
Consensus: I could eat this poutine for breakfast, lunch and dinner if only my jeans allowed me to.
La Belle Patate is located at 1215 Davie St.
Original Poutine – Small: $6 Medium: $8 Large: $10
Written by: Melanie Booth
@melaniejbooth
