Le Grand Poutinefest Doesn’t Hold the Fries and Gravy

Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington. Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.

By Rachel Levine and T.A. Wellington

Le Grand Poutinefest de MontrĂ©al is taking place at the Old Port this week. You can expect about 10 food trucks and drink stands offering up poutine and lemonade. A sneaky Felix and Norton cookie truck is at the front for those who prefer chocolate chip cookies instead. Among those poutine makers participating are Deso, Greg’s Diner, Smoking Dragon, and Smoking BBQ. The poutine ranges from around $10 for a classic, and up to $15 for a fancy poutine. Fancy poutines include the General Tao poutine, which is the Chinese dish served atop poutine. A taco poutine has a big scoop of guacamole. For fans of wings, there’s a buffalo chicken poutine, but there are many others. The event is crowded (at around 5 p.m. on a Tuesday) but the wait for the poutine isn’t all that long, say a 10 minute wait max at the busiest trucks. The seating fills up quickly, so get ready to jump when there’s a spot.

Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.

On a quick comparison, Deso is better than Smoking Dragon, but poutine is subjective. The lemonade all around gets thumbs down for tasting like diabetes.

One weird thing — forks — bring your own, or you’ll be shelling out a $1 for a fork.

Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.
Le Grand Poutine Fest 2019. Photo T.A. Wellington.

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