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What has four wheels and fries...smothered in gravy and cheese curds? It's The Poutine Truck, of course! One of the newest food trucks to hit the streets of L.A. is all about bringing the French Canadian food staple to Angelenos in simple, flavorful variations.
"Who doesn't love fries and gravy?" laughs Chef Debbie Lee, who operates the truck, whose almost unlikely owner is Hollywood makeup artist (and poutine enthusiast) James MacKinnon.
For the uninitiated, poutine is a traditional French Canadian dish of fries covered in brown gravy and cheese curds. "Canadians have really perfected the ultimate comfort food," says Lee of the truck's central menu item*.
Lee, a onetime "Next Food Network Star" contender who also runs the Ahn Joo truck, designed the simple menu of fries with your choice of three gravies, three cheese curds, and three protein add-on toppings, with a mind to show Angelenos what poutine is and can be with a slightly modernized take on the classic dish.
Kennebec potatoes are cut into fresh fries daily, and the cheddar cheese curds (which also come in "Firehouse" or garlic herb variations) are locally-sourced and organic from Spring Hill in Petaluma. Ladled on top is your choice of gravy: Brown onion, a Quebec-ian Veloute (chicken stock and wine), or a veggie garlic thyme. Need a protein boost? Add on marinated chicken, grilled flatiron steak, or Applewood smoked bacon. Vegetarians, you can have your needs met, but vegans are out of luck for the time being. Oh, and PS, you can skip the fries and just get panko-crusted deep fried cheese curds with aioli for dipping.
The goal of The Poutine Truck is to honor the history and integrity of the dish, and, above all, to have fun. Follow them on Twitter or Facebook to see where they'll park next; if you're out drinking and happen to see them by a curb near you, heads up: Poutine makes a kick-ass post-drinking soak-it-up snack.
*A clarification for the sake of moving beyond cultural stereotypes: This Canadian accepts the compliment, though cautions that poutine, though widely available in Canada, is really a regional dish from the province of Quebec, so not all Canadians are born poutine-savvy.
