Sherman's Food Adventures: Poutinerie Jean-Talon

Poutinerie Jean-Talon

After trying out various versions of ice-fried yogurt at On Yogurt, Diana and I were thinking something savoury was in order.  Interestingly, we had to find a place that both of us have never been to.  That was a tall order as us 2 combined have covered many of the "usual" places in the GVRD.  Alas, Diana did some research and we settled on Poutinerie Jean-Talon next to Pizza Babarella.  Despite its name, the place actually serves up Japanese-influenced items including their poutine.

We began with a Small Poutine dressed with beef stew sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese (our choice for this as cheese curds were available as well as many other toppings).  The first thing that we noticed were the crunchy fries that were closer to crisps than anything resembling a potato.  These were fried so aggressively, even the gravy couldn't soften them up.  As for the gravy, it was somewhat meaty with a mild sweetness complimented by onions and mushrooms.

For our second course, we had the Katsu Sandwich with a side of Poutine with classic gravy and cheese curds.  I thought the pork cutlet was a bit firm, yet it was naturally meaty.  It was a touch dry, but by no means was it dried out.  The panko breading was somewhat crispy while conservatively sauced.  I would've preferred more tonkatsu sauce myself.  The side of poutine was somewhat similar to the beef stew version without the meat.  There was a dominant sweet onion flavour to the gravy.  For the unmelted cheese curds, they were indeed squeaky.

Lastly, we shared the Japanese Curry with hamburger.  The curry was mild and not overly sweet.  It was certainly chunky from all the veggies, yet it wasn't watered down either.  I though the hamburger patty was moist and tender, yet I would've liked to see less onion in it as the meat texture was hidden. Although I wasn't personally bowled-over by the food at Jean Talon, I do admit it was different and unique.  There are elements of Yoshuku cuisine here which is a rarity in the GVRD these days.  Hence, if you are indeed looking for something that isn't just the regular, Jean Talon is worth checking out.

The Good:
- Something different
- Really enthusiastic service
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:- Still not sure about the crisps (trying to be frites)
- Flavours are very onion dominated  

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