Mike Cohen finds out that Poutineville goes beyond its signature dish with great burgers, sandwiches and more

Let me begin by telling you that all of my life I resisted the temptation of poutine. The Quebec, creation of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy just did not appeal to me. Then I was invited to the grand opening of the new Poutineville franchise on Queen Mary Road and my attitude changed completely.

Since 2011, Poutineville has been home to the biggest poutine in the province, The Heart Attack weighting over 15 pounds. That one I am not quite ready to try. I should tell that his has been dubbed the best restaurant for poutine by its patrons and visitors from around the world.

This newest location at 5405 Queen Mary Road is in the spot previously occupied by the likes of Blanche Neige, Parthenon and Vali. The interior was completely redone, seats 80 people and has a snazzy bar area already popular with the younger generation.

Specialty poutines here include the Montrealer, Zeus and Poutineville (the house specialty) to name a few and notably, clients are also invited to create their custom poutine by combining their favourite cheeses, type of potato and toppings (gluten free and vegan options are available!). They give you a neat piece of paper to fill out containing all of the ingredients, kind of like a sushi restaurant.

With an extensive list of over 40 ingredients, including 11 different cheeses, a choice of four kinds of potatoes and five kinds of sauces, the possibilities are endless.

Poutineville’s recipes use high quality products such as Quebec cheese curds, farm-fresh local Quebec produce and premium meats. Poutineville also offers a fine selection of wines, imported and domestic beers and an extensive cocktail list to compliment all dishes and tastes.

Co-founder of the brand, Camillo Fresco enthusiastically states, “As a team we have created a brand that sets gastronomy trends within the province and re-inventing the wheel is our forte. We are elated for our next location in Quebec and can’t wait for our patrons to enjoy their favourite dishes at our new location!”

I went back to the Queen Mary location for lunch recently with friends Mitchell and Glenn for one important reasons. To disqualify the myth that this place only serves poutine. You could not be further than the truth. We were pleasantly surprised the many food options they provide. Kosta Kariotakis, another co-founder and franchisee Jimmy Katsipis were there to guide us through the options as was our server Alexis Turner. They include   appetizers, salads, burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and subs.

We started off by sharing some poutines:  The Zeus, house fries, fresh cheese curds, feta cheese, gyro, tomatoes, red onions and red wine sauce; and the Poutinville, crushed potatoes, fresh cheese curds, mozzarella, with braised beef and red wine sauce. They were both terrific. In the latter case, the braised beef is slowly cooked for eight hours.

Mitchell does not eat meat so he ordered the Vegetarian sandwich, consisting of roasted red peppers, marinated eggplant, zucchini, caramelized onions, melted goat cheese and mayo.

Glenn and I shared the double cheeseburger and the smoked meat deli meat sandwich – both I can honestly say to die for! Kosta said they are very proud about the quality of their burgers. We cut ours in half and savored  every morsel. As for the smoked meat, it is cut into small pieces (because of the poutine) with melted swiss cheese, the house mustard, aioli and mayo. This was so delicious it probably moved to the top of the list of what I will order from here next time.

There were other tempting items on the menu such as chicken burgers, jumbo hot dogs and a few other sandwiches. Kosta persuaded us to share a dessert called the Zango: creamy, sweet white chocolate cheesecake marbled and layered with a rich, dulce-flavored cheesecake and pockets of gooey dulce de leche caramel. It was wrapped in a flakey pastry tortilla. Kosta even demonstrated how we should hold and eat it.

Camille and Kosta have quite the associate in Tom Bountis, the mastermind behind the Allô! Mon Coco Group.  Besides Katsipis, the other franchisees are Tom Filipopoulos and Tommy Ntokolas.

Poutineville’s famous dishes are also available via UberEats, Skip the Dishes, Foodora and Golo for all of their locations. Queen Mary is starting off with UberEats for now.

Besides 5405 Queen Mary Road in Snowdon,  there are  Poutineville locations at 1348 Beaubien Est,  1365 Ontario., 5145 ave de Parc, one in Quebec City and another to come soon in Verdun.  For more information log on to www.poutineville.com or visit them on Facebook or Instagram.