Once they recovered from the poutine-induced coma by sampling from the city's five highest-ranked chip stands and restaurants, the Tour De Poutine judges were able to calculate results.
The final standings were close — only a few points separated the winner from the runners-up. After considering factors like portion size and value, presentation, taste, quality of ingredients, cheese-fries-gravy ratio and the infamous Artery-clogging Factor (ACF), the panel of Northern Life poutine connoisseurs ranked Leslie's Charbroil and Grill on top.
“Leslie's (located at 661 Notre Dame) had the best gravy, best curds and the fries were a very close second,” Devyn Courvoisier, poutine expert and systems administrator at Northern Life, said. “ It was very close, but I would say their curds were my turning point.”
When Leslie Langen found out she won, she and her staff exploded into enthusiastic cheers. The restaurateur attributed her win to the effort put into each and every poutine that crosses the counter.
“I think it's the tender love and care we put into chipping those fries, peeling those fries, cooking those fries, pouring the gravy, cheese, gravy, cheese and serving it to our customers,” she said.
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Leslie Langen of Leslie's Charbroil and Grill shows off a sample of the top poutine in the city, as selected by a panel of Northern Life poutine connoisseurs. Northern Life Facebook fans picked the top five poutine destinations. Photo by Jenny Jelen.
Following close behind Leslie's was GP Poutine at the corner of Main and Errington in Chelmsford — a mere three points separated the two. The winner of the value category, served on the what the judges unanimously called the best fries of the day, GP offered up a tasty second.
Next on the scorecard came Poutine Palace, located on Lorne Street. The chipstand offered a unique gravy, creamier than the rest, as well as top-notch service.
Rounding out the top five were Vespa Street Kitchen on Riverside Drive, which provided a more upscale rendition of the classic, then Poutine Express on Douglas, which offered the squeakiest of all the curds — which earned the judges stamp of approval.
“I never knew that eating poutine would be such a challenge,” Heather Green-Oliver, poutine critic and videographer, said. “After the second stop on the Tour De Poutine, I think we were all ready to burst. But we persevered, and lived to tell about it. Barely.”
The Tour De Poutine was inspired by Northern Life readers' passionate response to the city's best chipstand. A Facebook post resulted in nearly 300 people expressing their opinion about the tastiest fries, cheese and gravy combination in the city. It was viewed more than 12,000 times.
While Silver Bullet did receive the most “votes,” Northern Life felt that their shredded cheese topping did not meet the curdy-criteria of real poutine.
Since cheese is such a vital ingredient, only curds would do.
This reporter and longtime lover of poutine was thoroughly impressed by the delicious numbers served up around the city.
“You know when you feel like bursting, but keep eating anyway because it tastes so good? That's kind of what happened to us. Consuming so much poutine in so little time left me feeling a little rough, but I'm definitely looking forward to eating the leftovers today for lunch.”
Northern Life would like to thank all the chipstands and restaurants that graciously participated in this friendly challenge, as well as the enthusiastic readers who inspired us to find the city's best poutine.
Posted by Arron Pickard
