Come Hungry to The Festival de la Poutine Nov. 19

The annual Festival de la Poutine takes place Nov. 19, at the Hellenic Cultural Centre to the delight of Van’s poutine connoisseurs. The first time I ever heard of edible cheese curds was in nursery rhyme wherein little Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey. But I know better than to underrate the appeal of this Canadian staple. As Remy’s post on Vancouver’s best poutine demonstrates, poutine is a passion, not a passing trend like the bacon cupcake.

The Festival de la Poutine by Francouver celebrates this gravy and cheese curd smothered French fry dish. Read on to get the event details, from Poutine Crawl to poutine contest.

The Festival de la Poutine, which has the support of le Gouvernement du Québec (where poutine originated) as well as La Belle Patate on Davie, is a full day of family-centred events. The fun starts at noon at the Hellenic Centre (4500 Arbutus St.) with poutine education through tasting, a kids section, temporary tattoos and battle of the bands. Admission is free until 5:30 p.m. when Festival de la Poutine transitions into a ticketed poutine contest with a Francophone DJ making sure there are enough bumpin’ tunes to help you kill calories on the dance floor.

Poutine by the Oakwood: Kennebec potatoes with house brisket, gravy and cheese curds.

The city-wide Poutine Crawl is another ticketed element of the festival which is already sold out. But I don’t see why that should stop you. Vancouver’s poutine scene is hopping with fresh takes on the traditional Montreal recipe. Why not get together a gaggle of friends and poutine hop on your own?

La Bell Patate serves about 30 varieties of poutine so you could be lazy and just hang out there. Or you could get adventurous and make your own tasting agenda.  I recently devoured The Oakwood Canadian Bistro’s “all Canadian poutine” with hand-cut kennebec potatoes served in a skillet and generously topped with gravy, cheese curds and the house brisket.

Get noshing at the Festival de la Poutine by Francouver Nov. 19, from noon onwards, at the Hellenic Cultural Centre.

Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2011/11/16/come-hungry-to-the-festival-de-la-poutine-nov-19/