Post-pandemic, it’ll be time to taste some real poutine

Above : A dish of poutine, served in the Montreal restaurant La Banquise. (Photo/Dan Webster)

Slowly but surely, the country is reopening . I’m not ready to toss my masks yet, whatever the CDC, state of Washington or even our local officials say. But I’m close.

Fully vaccinated, I feel fairly confident walking in the open air around other people (as much as I ever am, at least). We’ve even had other vaccinated people over for dinner on our terrace.

But while reading an article on BBC.com , I began to feel the need to travel once again. And I don’t mean just a Sunday-afternoon drive through the Scablands. I mean going someplace that requires me to show my just-renewed passport.

The article I’m referring to traces the origins of poutine , the dish that has become a Canadian trademark. But as the author, James March, emphasizes, poutine has area-specific roots.

The area in question? The province of Quebec.

March quotes the food scholar Nicolas Fabien-Ouellet, who wrote this in a 2016 thesis titled “Poutine Dynamics” : “The dish should be, ideally, labelled explicitly as a Quebecois dish and not a Canadian one to further underscore the cultural context to which it actually belongs.”

I’ve eaten area-specific foods all over the world. Pizza in Naples, Italy. Fish and chips in London (though I enjoyed it better in Reykjavik, Iceland). Dim Sum in Hong Kong. Tandoori Chicken in Delhi, India. Hot Pot in Shanghai and tempura in Japan.

And it was during a summer visit to Montreal a few years ago that I, for the first and only time, ate poutine – that unusual concoction of French fries and cheese curds all slathered with gravy.

It was mid-morning when our entire family – including grandchildren – shared a plate at the restaurant La Banquise. We ate first out of curiosity, then with gusto. And whether Canadian or specifically Quebecois, I remember this: poutine proved to be a great complement to the rest of our breakfast dishes.

And, yes, apparently a local version of poutine has been offered i n some Spokane eateries . But I look forward to the day when I can maybe eat some more in Montreal. It’s a great city to explore, but especially for anyone who likes good food.

It’s certainly something to look forward to post-pandemic.