A couple of weeks ago I gushed about my love for the burgers at Kenny’s Burger Joint. One of our Sidedishers, “Kirk,” commented that they offered “the closest facsimile of poutine in the DFW area.” When I heard this, it was not long until I found my way back to sample the Kenny’s version. As you likely know, “poutine” is a classic Canadian dish, traditionally composed of crispy French fries, cheese curds, and a brown gravy. The most successful variations of poutine are able to serve the fries thick and crisp, the cheese curd soft but not so completely melted that they lose all their texture, and the gravy incorporated into each bite, but not so much as to turn the whole thing into a soup or make the fries overly soggy. However, this dish is incredibly hard to find in Dallas. I don’t understand why this is so. Perhaps it’s our distance from our neighbors to the North? Perhaps there are not enough Canadians here in the Lone Star State? It really is a travesty.
Kenny’s version was tasty but had some flaws compared to the more traditional Canadian versions. It was very heavy on the gravy, which left the otherwise exceptional fries a bit too soggy. The melted Jarlsberg cheese was rather scant and lacked the textural chew that comes from a good cheese curd. One of the more memorable American variations can be found at the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland, OH which serves duck fat fries, mozzarella curd and veal gravy. However, there seems to be nothing like this in the Dallas area.
What gives, Dallas restauranteurs? This is a dish I think Dallas would truly embrace. Even a poutine food truck could work. Anyone know where this delectable dish may be found in Big D?
