Picture by me, pizza by Gus's Pizza
I was probably baked at the time (Relax! It was long ago.), but one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had (I have had much pizza) was from Casa Mare in Pierrefonds, QC. Whether in the restaurant or at home, holy crap, they made good pizza. It was simple: crust, sauce, cheese, pepperoni. That’s it. No arugula, artichoke, whale tongue bullshit. Just a simple pepperoni pizza. If a pizza place can’t do a really good pepperoni pizza, don’t bother with it. The pictured pizza is a really good pepperoni pizza from Gus's Pizza (link under the pic) in Calgary, AB. Yum yum would eat it again.
Simple is good. Beer, blues, and burgers; their brilliance
is in their simplicity. Just a few ingredients, expertly crafted; joy! Yes, you can add embellishments, but why? I enjoy fancier, more
complicated stuff sometimes, but I always return to the simple things.
Prompted (not the GenAI kind) by some friends, a side quest
into …
Poutine! It’s simple, and it’s the most comforty of comfort foods, made with three layered (layering is key) ingredients:
- The bottom layer is deep-fried French fries made from real potatoes. Not baked, not air fried (who hurt you?) not yam or sweet potato fries (nasty horrible things better suited for livestock than humans). Real Russet potatoes, deep-fried in a deep fat fryer. They need to be fresh and hot enough to aid in the melting of layer 2.
- The middle layer is plenty of squeaky cheese curds. If you even think about using any other type of cheese you don’t deserve Poutine. In fact, you don’t even deserve to read the rest of this post. Begone, I say. Begone!
- Last is the gravy. Piping hot brown gravy. So hot that if spilled on you it would remove 2 or 3 layers of epidermis. The heat turns the squeaky curds into melty, gooey goodness.
Just like you should drink your whisky however you want, you can have your Poutine however you want.
Wanna chuck some deconstructed bacon cheeseburger stuff on it? Go right ahead.
Shredded country ribs? Yup! One of my favourite un-Poutines was a Donair
Poutine from Simply Donairs in St.
Albert, AB. If memory serves, they used shredded cheese which makes it un-Poutine,
or Poutine adjacent. Still delicious, though.
There was a time when I would have brought the wrath of Pierre (patron saint of Poutine[1]) upon your house if you’d referred to something that contained anything other than the Curdy Trinity[2] of Poutine, Poutine. Now? Whatevs. I’ve got a whole bunch of other stuff to focus on.
Wanna refer to your creation as “bacon-cheeseburger Poutine”? Go ahead. (That
sounds pretty tasty, not gonna lie.) Just be aware, though, that there are
militant Poutine Snobs amongst us (mostly in Quebec) that might get their knickers
in a twist over Poutine naming conventions. Just tell ‘em to fuck off, but make
sure your mouth is empty because talking with your mouth full is rude and poor
manners.
If your creation contains cheese in any form other than The
Curd, do not call it Poutine. This is not debatable. There is no wiggle room. This is sacred. Do not invite the wrath of Pierre, patron saint of
Poutine.
Uh oh, the Poutine detour was longer than expected. Back to
our regularly scheduled stuff …
Yeah, I was talking about keeping things simple (unlike this post).
It’s not just about food, drinks, and music, it’s about embracing simplicity in
as many areas of your life as you can; the simple pleasures, if you will. We’ve
got lots to deal with at the moment. Between this, that, and the other thing,
life’s a bit complicated, angsty, and stressful.
Do yourself a favour and enjoy something simple. Be in the
moment and be mindful. Some of my favourite ways to get simple are reading a
book, listening to music, chatting with friends, meditating over a good cigar
& beverage, or just sitting & letting my mind wander where it will.
I said earlier that the blues are simple; they are. Blues is
based on a 3 chord (I-IV-V uh, some music theory
required) progression and, according to Muddy Waters, “the blues had a baby and
they named the baby rock and roll.” In case you’re wondering, because why wouldn’t
you, I prefer a major key to a minor key (happy vs sad).
Despite being simple, blues are not easy to play well. I
mean really, really well. One of my favourite players is David Gogo. He’s a brilliant player from
Nanaimo, BC. If you like blues and blues-based music, you really ought to check
him out.
How do you get simple?
Be great today, be better tomorrow!
Cheers!
Poutine is kinda like gumbo, a few basic requirements then plenty of variations possible. Though if you put tomatos in, it's no longer gumbo -- and I will fight anyone on this one.
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