La Poutine Week: Indulge in gooey goodness

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This article was published 01/02/2021 (1731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local restaurants are serving up plates of ooey-gooey goodness as they vie for recognition during La Poutine Week.

Presented by Saputo and delivered by SkipTheDishes, La Poutine Week runs Feb. 1 to 7 across the country.

For the ninth consecutive year, La Poutine Week allows restaurant owners to showcase their creations in a friendly competition.

In Winnipeg, more than 100 restaurants have signed up to participate, so there’s no shortage of poutine dishes to sample.

A new local kitchen called Westside Delivery is participating for the first time. The delivery-only service launched in October and currently serves Westwood, St. James, Headingley, Charleswood, Tuxedo, Wolseley and Oak Bluff — and it’s expanding to open new delivery zones all the time. Based out of the Howard Johnson Winnipeg at 3740 Portage Ave., Westside Delivery takes orders through its website at www.westside-delivery.com

“We entered La Poutine Week because it’s one our favourite dishes to create and eat,” said marketing manager Dianne Ribbers.

“We really waned to show Winnipeg what a fun kitchen we are by showcasing our top poutine.”

For La Poutine Week, Westside Delivery is serving up a dish called Beefy Cheesesteak, featuring a traditional poutine of fries, cheese curds and gravy topped with a half-pound of roast beef, caramelized onions and roasted red peppers. To top it off, the dish is drizzled with aged cheddar cheese and garnished with red and green peppers.

In addition, Ribbers highlighted the entry from Hat Tricks Sports Bar, also located in the Howard Johnson Hotel in Westwood.

Hat Tricks’ Nik the Greek poutine features hand-cut fries with chopped tomatoes, chopped red and green peppers, diced red onions, and jalapenos tossed in house Greek dressing, topped with ground veal or pork and crumbled feta cheese. The delectable dish is garnished with a large dollop of house-made tzatziki and lemon.

“We love the sense of community that events like this bring,” Ribbers said. “We love to support local and see what everyone has to showcase.”

Another strong contender is St. James Burger & Chip Co. (1866 Ness Ave.), which ranked in Winnipeg’s Top 5 last year with its Thanksgiving Poutine.

This year, its eye-catching entry is a colourful culinary delight.

“We have decided to participate given the tremendous sales and creativity it drives here. We’ve had great entries in the past like the Shepherd’s Pie Poutine and the perogy poutine — now a standard menu item,” said co-owner Kevin Ramberran.

“This year we’re very excited to feature the rainbow poutine. Our vibrant entry features coloured local cheese curds from Bothwell Cheese and a garlic, cream-based, multi-coloured gravy. And $1 from every Rainbow Poutine sold is going to the Rainbow Resource Centre.”

For a full list of participating restaurants and to cast a vote for your favourite entry, visit www.lapoutineweek.com