A Classic Canadian Dish

Poutine has been becoming more recognizable in the public consciousness for several years now. The dish is a staple of diner scene in Canada and the northern United States dating back to 1950’s Quebec. The simplest form of the dish is comprised of three components, French fries, cheese curds, and light brown gravy, but it has given birth to a ton of different styles and combination of ingredients. The fact that poutine has become so popular has not been lost on Walt Disney World, which responded by opening The Daily Poutine in Disney Springs in May of 2016. While the variations on the dish offered at The Daily Poutine are great in their own rights, it is not where I would go for the best version of poutine when visiting the Vacation Kingdom.

For that, I would find my way over to the Wilderness Lodge and then, after taking in some of the great sights of the resort and working up an appetite, I’d grab a table at the Territory Lounge. Here they offer up a traditional form of poutine, with only minor deviations. Poutine is listed under Other Things on the Territory Lounge menu and comes with house-cut fries, veal jus, cheese curds, and green onion.

I’m not the biggest fan of veal, but the veal jus is full of flavor. Also, it creates a light gravy, and not your typical heavy, brown gravy. I would be hesitant to call it a jus, which I usually look at to be a very thin, almost water-like consistency, and the veal jus here is definitely thicker than that. The fries are hand-cut and fried, which shows through in the browning and crispiness of the fries, in that they are not uniform and are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The heat from the veal jus and fries melt the cheese curds to a gooey consistency that is rich and builds off of everything right with the fries and jus. The green onion is a nice touch, but it really is just that, a finishing touch.

When Julie Andrews sang the words, “these are a few of my favorite things,” in The Sound of Music, I know she wasn’t thinking of poutine. However, when I think of those words, I am most certainly daydreaming about poutine. Recently, those imaginary images have come from the version of the dish offered at the Territory Lounge. Fried potatoes, a light gravy, creamy cheese curds, and something a little green to break up the study of deliciously tan food items, what more can you ask for? Poutine may be a simple dish, but that also means it is easy to screw up. The culinary team at Territory Lounge is consistently delivering their poutine with a high degree of expertise.