Guinea Boar

I was recently reminded of one of the worst poutines I had ever eaten. It was my own fault really. Many years ago, I travelled to Edmundston where I mistakenly assumed that proximity to the Quebec border would guarantee me a good poutine. It does not.

While the restaurant had the gravy right, nothing else positive can be said about this melted mozzarella - frozen French fry fiasco.

My most recent return trip from Edmundston had me in Grand Falls at lunch. My traveling companions indulged my poutine fetish and off we went in search of a local non-chain Mom-and-Pop restaurant where, having learned from many of a bad moza experience in the past, I inquired about the cheese they used before actually ordering. 

"Mozarella," was the answer. 

Well. I took a pass. I'm glad I did because the fries I eventually did get with my lunch were crinkle cut frozen fries. You know, the kind that actually tastes as though they were frozen.

And so my travels to northern New Brunswick once again proved to be a bust on the poutine front. 

On Canada Day, while with my family in Downtown Moncton, I took advantage of being near the Tide & Boar restaurant. Its poutine has been widely recommended to me, especially the boar meat variety. That's right. Poutine with a topping of boar meat. How can anyone not give this a try?

The $16 price tag should give many folks second thoughts. It is a pricier restaurant, and if it were not for the recommendations of others, I would not have ordered this dish. So, I blame my friends. 

For that kind of money, I would have expected more curds, more fries, more meat, and essentially more everything. Even the non-boar variety was $11, which still makes for a pricey regular poutine. 

That being said, the fries were awesome. Also, the gravy came in its own little gravy boat on the side allowing you to dip or spread out as much gravy as you choose. Plus, it was good, but not good enough to make it outstanding in terms of my grading system. It scores a .69/1 and the saving grace was the tender topping of boar meat. My wife, however, had the halibut taco which she claims may be the best taco in Moncton. So, it was not a total loss.

My poutine tasting did not stop in Moncton.

As part of my travels for work, I had the chance to be in Saint John. I took advantage of this by visiting Lanie's Place in Market Square in Uptown Saint John. This establishment was recommended to me in my first blog, by good friend Nathan White. I should extend a special thanks to Nathan for recommending this, as I would have otherwise walked by it. 

Lanie's poutine's only deficiency is the gravy. It was far too soupy and thin. But otherwise the rest was great; ultimately scoring a .78/1 on my scoring system. It is certainly worthy of a Poutine Guy recommendation. 

So, keep the suggestions coming. I’ll do my best to guinea-pig (or boar) any idea.

Until next time, may your curds stay squeaky!