Posted by Yeah… we’re still at it. Check out our pile of previous poutines for the whole picture so far.
- The Cod Squad $8.95
- Seadrift Fish Market $13.00
- Van Isle Poutinerie (food truck) $13.00 incl. tax
The Cod Squad
The trick to a good poutine is that all the individual components must each be delicious and high quality for the poutine to rise above the rest. While The Cod Squad is a great place for fish, their fries were under-salted and overcoooked. Even though the gravy was good (if plain) and the cheese curds melty and gooey, it was held back by the weak fry game. Even a pro runner will come last while running with a broken leg.
Still, you get a decent serving for the price. While we wouldn’t go out of our way for this poutine again, overall it was fine. Go for it if you’re in the mood.
Seadrift Seafood Market
At risk of repeating ourselves, here’s another poutine with the exact same problem. The fries were overcooked to our taste, and waaaaay under-salted. On top of that, the gravy and cheese curds, while fine, were insufficient to the point where we had dry fries at the bottom of the dish! No bueno! At $13, this is tough to recommend.
Van Isle Poutinerie (food truck)
Now here’s one that came a surprise. We were recently downtown for the Silly Boat Regatta and all the usual food trucks were there as part of the festivities. We were really excited to try Van Isle Poutinerie as there’s been a lot of good buzz about them.
There are all kinds of variations available on the menu. We ordered a classic poutine, but also a nacho poutine for fun. The classic poutine was merely fine. Unlike the contenders above, the fries were really great and we really liked the light seasoning. The gravy was slightly bland, but the saltines of the fries made up for it.
This poutine committed the cardinal sin though. The cheese curds were cold! The gravy needs to melt the curds. When the curds are used right out of the fridge, they are too cold to melt, and instead cool down the gravy. We keep harping on about this and were really disappointed that a place with “poutine” right in the name got this fundamental wrong. Don’t they read nanaimofoodblog.com?! 😉
While not part of the review, we should also note that the nacho poutine was not good. We expected a baked nacho situation. You know: fries, then nacho chips, then cheese; all baked, and with sides of sour cream and salsa. Like at the pub. Instead, the cheese, salsa, and sour cream were applied cold to the hot fries, and the jalapenos were not cooked but were also applied cold. The result was a hot bottom and cold top with lukewarm soggy chips in the middle. Priced at $17, this one needs a rethink.
Winner
No one. No one wins.
What’s that? We have to pick a winner? Ok then. While none of the classic poutines this time were great, Cod Squad at least was decent value. It can be the winner.
Honestly we’re starting to wonder if Nanaimo can get a poutine right. Are we being too harsh? We’ve had good poutines before and even wrote about them, but sadly some of the best poutine purveyors are no longer with us. We’ll keep trying to find the diamond in the rough.