On August 17, 2010, residents of Gatineau gathered at various locations in Vieux Hull to watch Hollywood movie crews transform some city streets for a large ($28 million) production, the screen adaptation of author Jack Kerouac's On the Road. According to the CBC, director Francis Ford Coppola's company, American Zoetrope, worked with Ottawa/Gatineau's Film Corp to choose the locations.

One happened to be the Vite Vite pataterie (poutinerie) on rue Wellington (61).

Vite Vite
It is an eatery my colleagues frequent almost weekly. Accordingly, its chili cheese fries are a must try. I have never been.

That morning, the section of rue Wellington in front of Vite Vite was blocked off by Gatineau police. The building, which existed during the "Beat Generation" era (1950's), was temporarily re-finished. Then, period cars were brought in. Crews dulled their paint and carefully positioned them along the street.

Here is how the completed transformation looked before filming started.

Transformed
This photo was taken by Catherine (@MsCatou) during her lunch break. I didn't have a camera with me that Tuesday.

I did however bring my camera the following day.

50's Vite Vite

Pataterie turned Coffee Shop

and Snacks

Removed Sign

Everything was restored two days later.

Present Day Vite Vite

If you want to know what characteristics distinguish a food blogger, while crowds gathered to catch glimpses of the film's A-list stars (Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortenson, Amy Adams, and Kirsten Dunst), I only wanted photos of the set.

Particulars:
Vite Vite Patate
61, rue Wellington, Gatineau
(819) 770-9888

How do you turn poutine into $1266 to fight cancer?

You find a great cause. In this case, Isabelle Rivard's (@spoonsie) Give to Live challenge (isaonabike.com) to cycle from Vancouver, BC to Austin, TX (a 4300 km trek) and raise $10,000 for cancer causes.

Izzy Rivard
Proceeds from this event went to The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Craig's Cause for Pancreatic Cancer, and The Canadian Cancer Society.

You find seven generous restaurants who make specialized takes on the dish that normally tops crispy fries with squeaky cheddar cheese curds and a veloute-style gravy.

You contact culinary tour guide Paola St. George (@cestboncooking) who is also the marketing manager behind C'est Bon Cooking.

Chef Andrée Riffou and Paola St. George of C'est Bon Cooking

You sign up 35 poutine enthusiasts to join you in a tour of Ottawa's ByWard Market, including Mark Warburton (founder of Ottawa Foodies), Kaitlin (Ottawa food blogger behind Heartful Mouthful), and Jodi (Ottawa food blogger behind Simply Fresh).

Mark Warburton and Paola St. George

You split the group in two and take everyone on a 2 km walking tour of downtown Ottawa.

The result,

@foodiePrints (Jul 17, 09:40 PM)
@EqualOppKitchen ...7 very generous restaurants. 37 happy p0utine enthusiasts. 2 km of walking tour. $1266 raised to fight cancer!

Poutine crawls are not unheard of. Earlier this year, Toronto food bloggers organized one. Theirs was not a fundraiser, just poutine enthusiasts, trying the various takes on poutine their city has to offer. The dish that has been long derided, often referred as "fat lumber jack food", has slowly colonized the city.

With the help of friends, the bloggers behind the Endless Simmer blog organized a "Tour de Poutine" in New York City. In total, they visited 7 eateries and sampled 7 takes on poutine. As Rebecca Marx of the Village Voice blog wrote about the poutine crawl, it revealed Brooklyn to be an unlikely poutine paradise. The most interesting to me was the one that came from a lunch counter in the Essex Street Market, Shopsin's. Dubbed the "Last Supper Poutine", it was topped not with cheese curds, but three poached eggs.

Well, Ottawa neighbours Quebec, the province that gave poutine birth. This is a city that knows good poutine. Here's what our ByWard Market produces.

The Courtyard Restaurant (21 George Street)

Chef Michael Hay's take on Poutine

Hand Cut Shoe String Fries, topped with Duck Confit, St-Albert Curds, and smashed Foie Gras Torchon
Jenn and I unfortunately did not get the opportunity to try Chef Hay's poutine. Sous Chef Arleigh Martin assembled the poutine to order. According to one of Chef Hay's earlier tweets, the sauce involved "French fry consomme." The torchon looked like it was frozen with liquid nitrogen and "smashed."

Zak's (16 ByWard Market Square)

Breakfast Poutine
Home fries, cheese curds, hollandaise, and paprika.

More after the jump...

Fellow Ottawa Food Blogger Jodi (@simplyfresh) correctly identified the picture of the "mystery" poutine from the fifth "Ottawa, do you know your poutine" opportunity as having come from Island Flava (409 Dalhousie Street). She writes the "Simpy Fresh" food blog. She is a former restaurant line cook. And, she offers in-home cooking lessons. Jodi was entered into the draw for a pair of tickets for the Give to Live Poutine Crawl.

Before we get to the results of the draw, let's return to Island Flava for a second. First off, I would like to extend thanks to Chef Antoine for generously choosing to participate in the Give to Live Poutine Crawl. Island Flava will be the second last stop on the tour for both groups.

Island Flava

Street-Facing Sandwich Board

Secondly, I need to point out two recommendations. Firstly, a former colleague of Jamaican descent gave me a list of must-visits for Caribbean food. Island Flava, then on Merivale Road, was at the top of his list. Secondly, alumni, including a former manager of mine, have been raving about a "new place" near University of Ottawa campus that sells great jerk chicken. Island Flava is that "place."

And, yes, Chef Antoine's jerk chicken poutine compares very well to anything Smoke's serves. In fact, I find some of Smoke's more elaborate poutine combinations include too many strong flavours. The jerk chicken poutine at Island Flava is a balanced take that carries only the mildest warmth.

Compare Between Jerk Chicken Poutine and Smoke's

Now, regarding the draw for the pair of tickets, here are the people who entered the draw.

1. Judy
2. Eric (@ottawabites)
3. AM Waters (@AMWATERS)
4. Oskar
5. Jodi (@simplyfresh)

The winner was picked by querying random.org to come up with a number between 1 and 5 inclusively.

The number drawn was 4 (four):

Screen capture from random.org.
Source: random.org

Congratulations to Oskar. An e-mail will be dispatched shortly to alert you.

To everyone who did not win and those of you on the waiting list, you are welcome to join us at D'Arcy McGee's (90 Sparks Street), starting at 3:30 pm on July 17, 2010 for the Poutine Crawl "After Show." Come! Buy a Guinness poutine. And wash it down with a cold brew. Learn which poutine purveyors in the Byward Market make the top 3 favourites!

Particulars:
Island Flava
409 Dalhousie Street
(613) 321-4198
Open Weekdays 11:30am-9pm; Sat 11:30am-4am; Sun 12pm-6pm

More after the jump...

A total of 4 opportunities to enter the draw for the pair of tickets to the Give to Live Poutine Crawl (July 17, 2010) have been spoken for. One remains.

Again, here is how the raffle works:

• Everyday, we will post a picture of poutine from an Ottawa restaurant, not necessarily one that will be included in the poutine crawl.
• We will leave hints. We may even be careless enough to leave links to websites or Facebook pages.
• The first person to comment on the post, correctly identifying the eatery where the poutine comes from, will be entered into a draw for the pair of tickets.
• Each day, a different first correct commenter will be chosen.
• If someone submits multiple guesses, the first one submitted will be considered.
• The winner of the tickets will be chosen using random.org Friday afternoon.

Here is the 5th and last opportunity.

Mystery Poutine

This poutine comes in one size: generous! It is a specialty poutine you will find no where else, a Caribbean jerk chicken poutine ($7.99). It is wonderfully savoury. The fries are crisp. There is boned dark meat chicken. The gravy is distinctly jerk.

According to wikipedia.net, jerk is a style of cooking in which meats, traditional pork or chicken, are dry rubbed or wet marinated in a spice mixture. Jerk originated in Jamaica, but can be found in other parts of the world like the Caribbean where it intermingled with indigenous cuisine, creating some regional specialization. The principal ingredients of jerk seasoning include scotch bonnet peppers, allspice and thyme. Other ingredients can include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper.

The Caribbean eatery that makes and serves jerk chicken poutine was originally located at 1018 Merivale Road. It relocated further down Dalhousie (401) in a smaller location. More recently, it moved to its current digs at 409 Dalhousie Street. It so happens Ottawa's location of Smoke's Poutinerie opened next door.

Hailing from Grenada, the eatery's Chef, Lennox Antoine, is well known in the city for serving authentic Caribbean fare, including great roti.

Menu
In fact, the A-Channel had him prepare and talk about his chicken, jerk chicken and goat roti on the A Morning show.


Inside the restaurant casual dining room, there are but a handful of tables.

Dining Room
On the weekends, the restaurant is known to overflow with patrons.

Beside its cash and till, you will find freshly made fruit juices and Jamaican patties.

Tropical Fruit Juices

Jamaican patties
Above the Jamaican patties, a great manifesto about what it means to be West Indian.

Name the Caribbean eatery and be entered in the draw for a pair of Poutine Crawl Tickets.

Good luck!

Particulars:
Island Flava
409 Dalhousie Street
(613) 321-4198
Open Weekdays 11:30am-9pm; Sat 11:30am-4am; Sun 12pm-6pm

New to foodiePrints, Oskar, correctly identified the "mystery" poutine from the fourth "Ottawa, do you know your poutine" opportunity as having come from Smoke's Poutinerie (407 Dalhousie Street). He will be entered in the draw for a pair of tickets for the Give to Live Poutine Crawl (July 17, 2010).

Located within walking distance of the University of Ottawa campus in the ByWard Market and opening late into the morning on Fridays and Saturdays, we expect Ottawa's first Smoke's poutinerie, to be, shall we say, profitable.

Smoke's

Sandwich Board

When I went, I saw students ordering a pair of large poutines and splitting them 8 ways. Interestingly, one was still hungry. He ordered a small, added Vietnamese sriracha, and dug in. Looking back to the condiment area on the stainless steel counter, two hot sauces were available.

Hot Sauces

My first impressions of Smoke's were lukewarm. A veteran of fry truck poutine, made in the classic Quebec tradition, I prefer my fries thicker and crisp. The veloute-style gravy should be savoury, not over powering, but still flavourful. The cheese curds need to squeak. Smoke's got the last one right.

I think a tour of Quebec's poutineries is in order...

Aside: And yes, I have been known to eat poutine with wooden chopsticks, as Kaitlin (@kaitli) blogged in Heartful Mouthful. I treat the fries and cheese curds like noodles.

Chopsticks
I find chopsticks allow for more precise bites. I don't like filling my mouth with a mass of fries, curds, and gravy.

Update: Izzy (@spoonsie) posted details about the Give To Live Poutine Crawl on her blog. Go check it out!

Particulars:
Smoke's Poutinerie
407 Dalhousie Street
(613)789-2872 (CURD)

More after the jump...