Montreal
Poutine: fries-curds-gravy.
Poutine
Poutine — crisp fries topped with squeaky cheese curds and hot brown gravy — is Montreal and Quebec's gift to late-night Canada.
View page →Montreal eats at 3 AM. The casse-croûte is a 24-hour Quebec institution and the poutine is what it serves at every hour: double-fried golden fries piled in a bowl, fresh cheese curds (must be unrefrigerated, must squeak against your teeth), and ladles of hot brown gravy that wilts the curds just enough without dissolving them. The squeak is the test — refrigerated curds are not curds, they're cheese. Beyond poutine, Boulevard St-Laurent runs Montreal's other food anthems: Schwartz's smoked meat sandwich (cured-spiced brisket, hand-sliced on rye, yellow mustard, a kosher pickle on the side), St-Viateur and Fairmount bagels (smaller and sweeter than New York, boiled in honey water, wood-fired), and tourtière for Christmas Eve. The cuisine is hearty, butter-rich, designed for -25°C winters, and unapologetically French about its sauces.
The Palate
Start Here
Double-fry russet fries, scatter unrefrigerated cheese curds, drown in beef-chicken gravy. The squeak test is non-negotiable.
Why start here · Poutine is the calling card. Get the curd-and-gravy temperatures right and you understand why Quebec calls this comfort food perfection.
The Pantry
See all 33 ingredients›
Proteins
Fruits
Herbs & Spices
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
Sauces & Condiments
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
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Other regions
Siblings within Canadian — each its own tradition.