Praying for poutine at the Holy Grale

A friend of mine had the poutine. It was a big disappointment. Too bad. Why mess with such a simple formula.

A friend of mine had the poutine. It was a big disappointment. Too bad. Why mess with such a simple formula.

I concur. They just need to call them "Chorizo Chili Cheese Fries".
I like a "play" on a culinary term, if it stays true to the original dish. What they serve is too far a departure for me to define it as "poutine".
That being said, I do think they are delicious

They are delicious, but I have to concur. I made several hundred orders in Waskesiu, SK. Fries, cheese, brown gravy. Boom. Disco fries. (yes I'm soooo proud to have that one on my rezo). My favorite was when the parents ordered them for the kids at brekky. But call Holy's what you will, they are still good frites. The kim chi dogs are freakin' awesome! I just order the fries w/ the beer cheese to swab up with.

[Robin Garr]

I think what we have here is parallel to the ongoing arguments about whether Cincinnati chili is really chili. Is Holy Grale poutine really poutine even if it fuses flavors unheard of in Montreal? I think so, but please take note that I worded my review to point up the difference: "Holy Grale takes this French-Canadian treat and imparts an international spin by adding Spanish chorizo sausage to the spicy gravy. It starts with a sizable mound of fritjes (the Flemish word for frites, perhaps signaling the Grale’s stated inspiration by “the beer culture in Belgium and Holland”), then adds cheese shreds and a thick, spicy reddish gravy."

I think I took appropriate pains to highlight the original form and the Grale difference. But to paraphrase Thurber, still, "I say it's poutine, and I say the hell with it."

I think what we have here is parallel to the ongoing arguments about whether Cincinnati chili is really chili. Is Holy Grale poutine really poutine even if it fuses flavors unheard of in Montreal? I think so, but please take note that I worded my review to point up the difference: "Holy Grale takes this French-Canadian treat and imparts an international spin by adding Spanish chorizo sausage to the spicy gravy. It starts with a sizable mound of fritjes (the Flemish word for frites, perhaps signaling the Grale’s stated inspiration by “the beer culture in Belgium and Holland”), then adds cheese shreds and a thick, spicy reddish gravy."

I think I took appropriate pains to highlight the original form and the Grale difference. But to paraphrase Thurber, still, "I say it's poutine, and I say the hell with it."

Robin,
You called it like it is in your review. It was not misleading. However, for those, like my friend, seeking a traditional poutine, it is disheartening. I would love to stop by for a legit poutine. But I have no interest in this concoction.......Oh well, maybe some Montrealer will someday fill in the void.

A friend of mine had the poutine. It was a big disappointment. Too bad. Why mess with such a simple formula.

I kinda take issue with your post. Nothing on their menu is misleading other than the word "poutine," and that's only if you stopped reading there; the description clearly states that chorizo and cheese are involved. Now if you posted that your friend was hoping to find an authentic poutine and didn't that's one thing, but to call it 'a big disappointment' doesn't really explain why he/she didn't enjoy the dish.

Just my take FWIW. I just really like the place and found everything I've tried so far to be really good.

i thought their 'poutine' was delicious. authentic?... no. delicious?.... a lot. had their scotch quail eggs too. not true to original form, but REALLY tasty.
had a 'reuben' at blind pig the other day. was it true-to-form? no. but it was one hell of a yummy sandwich.
....a bloody mary with sake and sriracha
....a gyros pizza
....etc, etc
if something is good, its good. if not... well, thats too bad.
but there are MANY rigid and finite formulas and templates to work with in food and drink. i, for one, love when someone takes a classic idea, puts their own spin on it, and it turns out to be delicious.
now dont get me wrong, i have been disappointed with more than a few 'swing-and-a-miss' attempts. but i dont see that being the case here.
im just sayin

I agree with many of the points made here. They should just call them chili cheese fries. Kind of like something I alluded to in a post on another thread about street food trends. "Poutine" is hot because it was in the New Yorker food issue last year, prior to that it would have been the butt of a joke about trucker's food in Canada. Plus, according to my experience, their version of frites bears little resemblance to what I have experienced in Belgian kiosks. I withheld commentary after having tried them at the soft opening because Tyler & Lori are friends, and frankly, the Grale is still a great spot.

Here's some things I will say in their defense. As noted, they do taste good, and are extremely satisfying with the beers in their own right. They tried to get cheese curds, some health restrictions have stood in the way because they are doing their best to source locally (Kenny's, I believe). And their fry cook, not exec chef is Canadian, and he did suggest they just use powdered brown gravy mix, since that is what the Canadians do, and love. Annnnnd...it is my understanding that there are plenty of joints in Montreal and many parts of Canada that mess with the standard poutine recipe, including elevating it with all manner of new-fangled uppity haute cuisine touches.

All that said, my Ontarian brother-in-law insists that the best poutine comes from gas stations and the like. For my part, I'm an equal opportunity employer, and will take cheesy gravy glop on my fries in all stripes and colors. And an fyi to any Louisvillians travelling to Chicago (my former hometown), head over to Susie's and get you some of their bacon cheese fries (served in one of those deep fried tortilla shells taco salads used to come in) if you want a cheese fry experience par excellence.

A friend of mine had the poutine. It was a big disappointment. Too bad. Why mess with such a simple formula.

I kinda take issue with your post. Nothing on their menu is misleading other than the word "poutine," and that's only if you stopped reading there; the description clearly states that chorizo and cheese are involved. Now if you posted that your friend was hoping to find an authentic poutine and didn't that's one thing, but to call it 'a big disappointment' doesn't really explain why he/she didn't enjoy the dish.

Just my take FWIW. I just really like the place and found everything I've tried so far to be really good.

I did not make a commentary on the Grail, just the poutine. They can sell what they want and call it what they want as long as customers will order and pay for it. Just keep us folk who are still holding out for a simple poutine posted when you run across some--merci!

Annnnnd...it is my understanding that there are plenty of joints in Montreal and many parts of Canada that mess with the standard poutine recipe, including elevating it with all manner of new-fangled uppity haute cuisine touches.

Not speaking directly to the subject of Poutine...or even the Holy Grale for that matter but I have a real problem with any number of traditional dishes being attacked by someone with a squeeze bottle and an "uppity haute crusine" approach. There are some things in the world of food that just don't NEED to be "reinvented" or personally interpreted.

"Poutine" is hot because it was in the New Yorker food issue last year, prior to that it would have been the butt of a joke about trucker's food in Canada.

So thats why I'm seeing this everywhere! What's next? Haute garbage plate ala Rochester? Tee hee, hee.

Annnnnd...it is my understanding that there are plenty of joints in Montreal and many parts of Canada that mess with the standard poutine recipe, including elevating it with all manner of new-fangled uppity haute cuisine touches.

Not speaking directly to the subject of Poutine...or even the Holy Grale for that matter but I have a real problem with any number of traditional dishes being attacked by someone with a squeeze bottle and an "uppity haute crusine" approach. There are some things in the world of food that just don't NEED to be "reinvented" or personally interpreted.

But isn't every act of cooking an act of interpretation? We're not talking recipe following here.

But isn't every act of cooking an act of interpretation? We're not talking recipe following here.

Matthew,

I suppose if you get down to brass tacks, you are correct. That being said I think there are plenty of instances where preparation and interpretation can be taken to the extreme, that was my only point.

also, the description on the menu is pretty clear and difficult to misconstrue. i mean, like it or not, you know whats coming to the table before it gets there.
game over, imo

Annnnnd...it is my understanding that there are plenty of joints in Montreal and many parts of Canada that mess with the standard poutine recipe, including elevating it with all manner of new-fangled uppity haute cuisine touches.

Not speaking directly to the subject of Poutine...or even the Holy Grale for that matter but I have a real problem with any number of traditional dishes being attacked by someone with a squeeze bottle and an "uppity haute crusine" approach. There are some things in the world of food that just don't NEED to be "reinvented" or personally interpreted.

To quote a true American hero.
"Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man."
You may choose a classic dish at a restaurant that executes the dish well (such as say the pot roast at equus) and I may choose a restaurant that takes that dish and puts it on it's head.
It's really up to the diner to make an informed decision about the restaurants that they patronize and the style of cuisine they serve. Even though I always see cars packed in The Cottage Inns parking lot, I know it's not the style of cuisine I prefer to spend my money on, but that may be your bread & butter.

It's kind of like my chowder at the seafood chowder throwdown. A chowder is, "a generic name for a wide variety of seafood and/or vegetable stews and thickened soups, often milk- and/or cream-based. Some varieties are traditionally thickened with crushed ship biscuit instead of flour, which is more usual. New England clam chowder - perhaps the best known chowder - is typically made with chopped clams and diced potatoes, in a mixed cream and milk base, often with a small amount of butter." - Wikipedia

Now for my chowder I had a couple stipulations that I thought I should follow; I thought it should contain corn, potatoes, and shellfish as well as being somewhat creamy. Then I took into account how and where it would be served. I checked the weather a few days out, it looked hot so there was no way I was going to go with a heavy chowder, so I extracted the butter, heavy cream, and flour and replaced it with coconut milk and thickened it just a touch with a modified tapioca starch.

Also there are few things I personally loathe more than over cooked shellfish and potatoes in a chowder so I decided to cook 60 person pre-measured batches at a time so that the shellfish wouldn't be too overcooked and the potato dice that I had previously cooked in duck fat would still have some consistency. From there the saffron, lemon, freeze dried roasted corn, pink peppercorns, coconut milk powder so on and so forth was just my own interpretation of flavors that would work with the clam stock, bacon stock, mussel stock, and corn stock that I had combined, reduced, and added the coconut milk to.

My chowder wasn't for everyone, and that's okay because we had a lot of people that really loved it.

There is a fine line a lot of chefs here in louisville seem to walk between making the food they want to make and making the food they think the masses want to eat. And the really "good" (in a business sense) ones here in louisville have done that.

Speaking of dishes reinvented if you get a chance check out what Sean Brock of McCrady's in
Charleston, SC does with his shrimp and grits; it's weird, even for me.