Pause V

Arriving late into Quebec City meant we had really no choice in rental cars.  We were saddled with a Chrysler Pacifica, which would've been awesome if we brought the kids, alas we did not.  That infortainment unit must be the crappiest I've ever experienced.  It kept crashing and messing up my navigation!  Hence we took a little while to get to our hotel in Downtown and once we got settled, there were limited options in terms of late night eats.  We did stumble upon one a block away from our hotel in Pause V.

For Elaine and Costanza, they were in the mood for some Poutine Brune and as such got the classic in medium.  They weren't shy on loading up the legit cheese curds atop fresh cut fries.  Once melted from the delicious gravy, it was an ooey gooey experience.  Those fries were perfect with a crispy exterior giving way to plenty potato texture inside.  About that gravy, it was flavourful to the point of salty but not being salty.  

As you can see, they also had some Cheeseburgers and they were also fantastic.  They looked rather unassuming, but the bun was nicely toasted being soft, but robust enough to keep things intact.  The burger patty was meaty with natural textures.  It had been grilled up with some smokiness and had good flavour.  The only added ingredient was some shredded lettuce and burger sauce.  Basic but good.

Viv wanted something more than basic and ended up with the Country Burger with all of the same things as the cheeseburger except with the addition of a slice of grilled ham and fried onions.  So was this any better than the basic cheeseburger (that costs less)?  No not really.  I mean the ham added more flavour and the onions were sweet and caramelized.  But the basic cheeseburger was king.

So we also got a Shawarma Mixt with both beef and chicken.  In actuality, the beef was chopped up burger patty (which wasn't a bad thing).  This combined with pickles, lettuce, garlic and kebab sauce in a grilled pitta was quite filling and rather tasty.  There was the meatiness of the beef and chicken that was complimented by the sauces and then the burst of tanginess from the pickles brought things alive.  The grilled pita was crispy adding texture and also keeping things intact.

Lastly, I added the Poutine Steak Haché for good measure.  Yes, it was essentially the same classic poutine brune, but with chopped-up burger patty on top.  Therefore, the burger meat made this more fulfilling and robust.  I loved this poutine so much, I came back the next night to get one to go!  Overall, Pause V was a surprise find when we were desperate for food.  It fit the bill and more so.  I would come back the next time I'm in Quebec City!

The Good:
- Solid eats including the burgers and poutine
- Inexpensive
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Basic things are good, don't need to go beyond that, it isn't better