Eight months ago, I finished foodiePrints' piece on poutine and sent it into the blogosphere. Is it definitive? Far from it, but it combines just about everything I could gather together on the subject as of Fall 2008. Odds are it will be a living document. Already, some Quebec foodies have pointed out to me that some regions of the province feel that authentic poutine is served with a sauce brun. Elsewhere, it's a white sauce. I'll be looking into clarifying this in the near future.

That said, Ottawa sure has a lot of tweeps twittering away. Just take a look at Ottawa.meme.ca's growing list. Also, take a peek at Ottawa Start. Our fair city of a little over 874 thousand people (1.15 million if you count the entire metropolitan area) has dozens of "notable tweeps" and many more online.

So, yesterday evening (June 10, 2009), I put up a query with a hashtag (#bestpoutineinottawa) to local tweeps:

foodiePrints Jun 10, 11:37 PM
Ottawa tweeps, @pfqrst has put in her 2 cents for best poutine in town: corner of bank & maclaren. What say you? #bestpoutineinottawa

Fast Food Grocery
Pam's (@pfqrst) is the Fast Food Grocery at the corner of Bank and Maclaren. Its OttawaPlus.ca profile has an added comment referring to poutine. It received honorary mentions in Ottawa Xpress' 2006 and 2007 "Best of Ottawa" lists for poutine. It's often referred to as "the poutine place across from Barrymore's."

Speaking of the Ottawa Xpress' "Best of Ottawa" lists, under the poutine category, the Elgin Streeet Diner (374 Elgin) has taken the top prize for the past 4 years (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008). Other honorable mentions include Sasha's (next to Dominion Tavern, 33 York), The Works (all locations), and The Chip Wagon (corner of Bank and Sunnyside).

Elgin Street Diner
An endorsement for Elgin Street Diner comes from @PaulLomax

PaulLomax Jun 11, 05:07 PM
@foodiePrints Elgin St Diner, even...

A second, from @jessrawk

jessrawk Jun 11, 05:37 PM
@foodiePrints I'll definitely second the Elgin Street Diner!

Glen's
Here's my 2 cents. I feel poutine is amazing street food and some of the best comes from snack trucks. When asked, I am known to refer to the "truckiness" quality of the poutine experience. My fav is Glen's on Richmond.

foodiePrints Jun 10, 11:55 PM
One my fav places for poutine in Ottawa is Glen's on Richmond Road:http://bit.ly/hHsAr #bestpoutineinottawa

Archie's Bunker Restaurant
Jessica's (@wangmo) fav is Archie's in Gloucester (1162 Cyrville):

wangmo Jun 11, 06:03 AM
@foodiePrints @pfqrst It has to be Archie's off of Cyrville? #bestpoutineinottawa

Unnamed at the corner of Cooper and Bank
@ChromeSushi's fav "truck poutine" is a truck at the corner of Cooper and Bank

ChromeSushi Jun 11, 08:51 AM
@foodiePrints If we're playing that game my favourite 'truck poutine' is the yellow truck at Cooper & Bank #bestpoutineinottawa

Jp's/Eric's (aka: Crispy Fries)
One of @momomoto's fav's is Jp's/Eric's

momomoto Jun 11, 09:33 PM
My vote for #bestpoutineinottawa depends on how far out we can go. If Alfred counts as in Ottawa, Kennebec. If it doesn't, then JP's/Eric's.

According to OttawaFoodies and Eric Monmart (presumably THE Eric), there are now two locations run by "JP's crew", one at the corner of Merivale and Hunt Club (Canadian Tire) and another at Clyde and Baseline (Value Village).

Unfortunately, I don't think the township of Alfred, Ontario counts as part of Ottawa. I could be wrong. However, I'll be sure to check out Kennebec Restaurant on 472 St-Philippe Street the next time I swing by that locale.

I will keep adding to this list any and all tweets for however long the hashtag survives.

For inspiration, click on the Hockey Forum Boards, hfboards.com. There, the Ottawa Senators' sub forum has an older thread on the subject of "Best Poutine in Ottawa/Gatineau."

It's always good to know of a decent place for poutine when you're in the neighbourhood. Besides, I want to know of a place I can hit up for poutine when all the trucks have gone home.



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