SEX, BOMBS & BURGERS

I can proudly report that I've accomplished two missions in the past few days. One, I did have lunch with New York Fries founder Jay Gould. Two, I did try one of his chain's latest creations, the Braised Beef Poutine. Both happened separately, although our lunch - at a South Street Burger Co. restaurant - did include a side of fries.

I'll have more on our lunch soon as I think there's a good story in what we talked about. In the meantime, let's talk about the Braised Beef Poutine. It was... interesting tasting. As I mentioned , it's one of two new poutines being served up by New York Fries in additional to the traditional kind, which is fries, cheese curds and gravy. The Braised Beef Poutine features some tasty Angus beef that's been marinated in a red wine sauce, along with some carrots, onions and mushrooms. I haven't yet tried the other new one, Butter Chicken Poutine, but will of course report back when I do.

The beef version was good but a little too wine-y tasting for me. I'm a big fan of poutine and do occasionally eat New York Fries' traditional serving, so I'm already partial to how they do it. But I'm not sure if I'd have the Braised Beef again.

I've had similar reactions to many of the different kinds served up at Smoke's Poutinerie, which is a fast-growing new chain in Ontario. I've tried a number of different versions there, from the Peppercorn Chicken Poutine to the Nacho Grande Poutine, yet I always find myself going back to the basic kind. The only exception to that is the Pulled Pork Poutine, which I only recently tried. It's freaking amazing!

Now I know that many non-Canadians are probably reading this and thinking, "What the hell is he blabbering on about?" But make no mistake - poutine is coming for you! A Canadian recently opened up M Poutinerie in Munich, which is apparently the first poutine shop in Europe.

As for the U.S., it's only a matter of time. This is, after all, one of the unhealthiest foods around, which would seem to be tailor made for American appetites!