Stephan Villanueva

Costco’s poutine has enough gravy and curds to coat every last fry

There’s something about the food you grew up with. For me, poutine isn’t just comfort food; it’s a right of passage. Growing up as a child near the Ontario-Quebec border, poutine was something that was always readily available. It wasn’t until I moved west years later that I even realized it’s a regional delicacy and something that’s worth appreciating on a higher level. Good poutine is melty, thick, yummy and oh so bad for you.

Since moving to Cowtown, I’ve been on a quest to find a decent poutine, and the best one that I’ve found is located at Costco of all places. Yes, the big-box superstore Costco. In its cafeteria, it offers a fairly real-deal poutine that has surpassed any other I’ve tried here.

First off, Costco uses real curds. Far too often, restaurants will serve you shredded cheese on top of fries and gravy. While it can be tasty, that’s not poutine.

In order for a poutine to meet my standards, the curds must be squeaky. The ones at Costco aren’t the squeakiest I’ve ever had — that title goes to La Fromagerie St-Albert in Ontario — but they certainly do squeak.

Next up are the french fries. They need to be crispy enough to withstand the gravy. The Costco fries are covered in some type of a coating. Given my preference, I would opt for freshly cut and cooked fries, but I’ve decided that these are passable. They offer a nice crunch and definitely hold their own in the battle against the gravy.

This brings me to the gravy, or sauce, as it’s more often called. Traditionally, poutine sauce is chicken-based and thick. The Costco gravy is dark, heavy and has a real onion overtone in its flavour.

My very last criterion for a good poutine is ratio. When hitting the bottom of the dish, there should be enough gravy and curds to coat everything right down to the very last fry. If I wanted to eat just fries, I would have ordered fries!

As far as portion is concerned, Costco’s is big enough to be a meal on its own for most.

Also, if you’re in the market to do it yourself, the A Taste of Quebec booth at the Calgary Farmers’ Market imports fresh curds each Friday from Edmonton, so head down early on a Saturday morning before they sell out. They also sell packets of poutine sauce imported from Quebec.