Man vs. Poutine

Alright, to start off with, let's define "Poutine". Here is the Wikipedia definition which is, for once, pretty accurate: Poutine ( /puːˈtiːn/; Quebec French) is a dish of French fries, fresh cheese curds, and sometimes additional ingredients, covered with brown gravy or sauce.
Now, Poutine is to Quebec what Chicago-style Hot Dogs are to Chicago...a regional peculiarity that has taken on a life of it's own.

Last night, I and two friends from the program here finally felt strong (or foolish) enough to take on a true Montréalaise Poutine at what is reputedly the best restaurant in Montréal for an authentic Poutine, La Banquise. Here's my photo-documentary of the battle:

First, we arrive...the restaurant is a little grungy, loud, crowded and smells strongly of grease. I begin to feel uneasy...

We are shown to our table and are left with enormous menus. There are 28 different types on Poutine on the menu!!! We ladies decide on a "Poutine Classique," which is just gravy, cheese curds, and fries. The male member of our group decides on the "Poutine T-Rex," which has ingredients as terrifying as it's name...fries, gravy, cheese, bacon, pepperoni, ground beef, AND hot dogs. Holy moly. In addition, we are told that we have to pay for our meal in advance. Was this because a large number of patrons don't survive the meal, thus stiffing the restaurant on the bill? My uneasiness grows...

Now, I haven't had a beer in probably 10 years, but I decide to go all in. If I'm going to die, I might as well die while attempting to have a truly authentic experience. Even so...terror!

So, the food arrives and it's time to dig in. The taste is...good! Wow! It's like cheese fries from Ed Debevic's with a twist...hmmm...never been a fan of gravy, but somehow combined with copious amounts of grease, potatoes and cheese, it's miraculously delicious! We attack...

After a few forkfulls, though, we begin to feel the challenge. This is some HEARTY food. Wow. After having crossed the province on a dogsled in -40 C weather, this is exactly what you'd want to eat. On a summer night after having sat in class for 6 hours...mmmmm...not so much. But, we did it!! We won!!! We beat the Poutine!!!

Unfortunately, not all members of our group were as tough as others...here's the tragic story of Greg vs. Poutine T-Rex (remember poutine + 4 kinds of meat!!).

Cardiac arrest on a plate...the T-Rex!

Show no fear!

Well, he did it, but at what cost??

M.I.A...where did he go?

The aftermath...poor Greg.

And the irony of it all? That Greg proclaimed far and wide that he was tougher than we ladies. Ha! Enjoy, his capitulation video (it's in French, but essentially he's saying that we're stronger than he is!)...I know I did!