A feast fit for a King

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This article was published 19/09/2018 (2570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s got a serious appetite for one of Canada’s most renowned comfort foods.

More than 400 people lined up last Thursday at Fort Gibraltar to take on a heroic task: trying to sample all nine varieties of poutine at the Poutine Cup.

And Derek Collins, owner-operator of popular food truck the Poutine King, is planning to open a bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Osborne Village, at 121 Osborne St. (formerly After Dark Lounge), serving up 20 gourmet takes on the French-Canadian dish of fries topped with gravy and melty cheese curds. 

Curds, of course, are key. Manitoba’s Bothwell Cheese sponsored the Poutine Cup, providing the proper squeaky cheddar curds to all participants. Organized by Provencher Café owner Shawn Brandson, the foodie feast — which just took home the prize for Event of the Year (budget under $5,000) at the annual Manitoba Tourism Awards — is not only a chance for Winnipeggers to stuff their faces. It’s an opportunity for local chefs and restaurants to express their creativity, coming up with flavour combinations that honour the spirit of the famous French-Canadian dish while putting a new spin on it. 

Traditional poutine is nothing to be trifled with, but there’s something to be said for innovation.

And the nine restaurants at this year’s Poutine Cup certainly rose to the occasion. There wasn’t a bad batch in the bunch, but among the standouts were One Great City’s take on a prime rib dinner, with tender beef and unbelievably rich onion jus set off by zippy horseradish aioli and pickled onions, and Underdogs’ Kamikaze — a dish packed with salty-sweet Asian flavours, featuring crispy, spicy togarishi fries with Sapporo gravy, maple-Sriracha aioli and miso-soy pork belly, topped with wonton crisps.

With attention going to all the toppings, sometimes the humble potato is overlooked, but in Chew’s Locked and Loaded, outstanding shoestring truffle fries — the judges’ favourite fry — put it front and centre. Little Goat, meanwhile, ditched the fries and went with perfectly roasted potatoes for its Poutinet Caçolet, smothered in duck gravy and a delectable cassoulet. 

Judges’ Choice was awarded to catering company Loaf and Honey, which took home the trophy (and the $1,000 prize) based on a combination of creativity, flair and flavour. Their Pomme au Fromage Vielle eschewed potatoes as the base, opting instead for deep-fried apple slices, whose mild sweetness was set against the tangy richness of Prairie Tradition aged, unpasteurized cheese (which Loaf and Honey chefs Dustin Peltier and Rachel Isaak make themselves in the ancient Trappist tradition). Add in homemade pork sausage and a gravy made from the drippings and Barn Hammer Brewing’s Le Sneak Belgique, a sprinkling of pickled potatoes and fried sage, and a topper of a savoury apple crisp.

Peoples’ Choice went to the Park Café at Assiniboine Park for its Kim Chi-Eese, which was the whole package, from its striking presentation — a pop of bright colour from the pink-red kimchi and the green strips of fried nori — to its beautiful blend of flavours, with sour-saltiness from the kimchi, sweetness from the gravy and savoury qualities from the beef. 

The next time local restaurants can jump on the bandwagon is La Poutine Week (Feb. 1-7; mark your calendars). In the meantime, Poutine King’s Collins is planning on having his restaurant open by Oct. 15.

He says the location will be a licensed lounge that’s open to 4 a.m., featuring a long list of poutines — made with homemade Manitoba-potato fries and including such toppings as Montreal smoked meat, lobster, smoked salmon and pulled pork — as well as five kinds of blooming onion, Texas taters (tater tots with toppings), wiggle chips, bar snacks and other offerings from Collins’ fleet. (He also owns the Onion Factory and Fhat Dawgs trucks.)

“It’s been on our to-do list since we got our first truck,” Collins says of the permanent digs. “So about five years — we were just waiting for the right location.”

Renovations will begin Monday at the Poutine King and Lounge, which will have table service and live music on weekends. 

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca  

Twitter: @dedaumier