Canadian Cuisine: Poutine

Warning! This post may be hazardous to your health. While reading, you may experience upset stomach, nausea, heartburn, dizziness, or loss of appetite. Risks include heart attack, sharply increased cholesterol, and weight gain. Talk to your doctor before reading to find out if this post is right for you.

Poutine is a dish which originated in rural Quebec, Canada, in the late 1950's. Interestingly enough, the word poutine is a French word which has many possible meanings, including, "unappetizing mixture of various foods" (which is, in fact, a fairly accurate description), or"fat person" (which is, in fact, what you are likely to become from regularly eating poutine).

The dish consists of french fries, topped with cheese curds, and covered in brown gravy. As one might imagine, this combination usually results in a salty and luke-warm pile of soggy fries. It also usually results in people of abnormally large girth. Undaunted, Canadians regularly gobble up this "delicacy" with reckless abandon. Of course, the fact that they won't have to pay for the subsequent coronary artery bypass surgeries may make this decision a little bit easier.

So kick back, flip on some hockey, and treat yourself to a second helping of this Canadian classic, chubby. This one's on Medicare.