There’s one festival that we’ve had plugged into our Notable calendar for quite some time, and it takes place this Saturday – for one day only.
Returning for another year of cheesy goodness is Festival de la Poutine, which sets up shop at the Hellenic Community Centre at 4500 Arbutus Street. This day-long event celebrates one of La Belle Province’s greatest culinary creations and will give hard-core poutine fans an excuse to sink their teeth into a sampling of gravy-topped offerings on-hand throughout the day.
Starting at noon, head over to the Hellenic Community Centre where it all begins. You’ll find live French music to set the stage for the rest of the day, and if you opted to skip breakfast (might be a smart idea given the menu) fear not: we’re told they’ve got that covered to and will be serving up a special breakfast poutine loaded with Hollandaise. Now that ought to fix any trace of a hang-over…
Opt to partake in what we think sounds notably fun: the poutine crawl. This tour will have you sleuthing out the city’s best spots to tuck into cheese curd, chips, and gravy-fuelled heaven. Save room for more festivities taking place throughout the night and score one of the last remaining tickets for the evening’s fête of note (starting at 6pm) complete with DJ Camaro, as well as plenty of live Francophone music, all you can eat poutine, and a poutine creation contest. After reviewing last year’s gallery of potato-inspired shots, we can only imagine what amateur chefs will come up with next (how can you top braised short-rib or Mexican-style poutine?)
As our friends at Francouver aptly state on their website: “Prepare your taste buds! It eats like pigs at the Festival of Poutine in Vancouver, November 19, 2011.” We plan on doing just that, Merci!
Image courtesy Creative Commons.