I had my first poutine last week when I was in Brooklyn, NY. I’ve never met a poutine before but I sure liked the Roast Pork Poutine I ordered.
A poutine is a Canadian dish, originated from Quebec, that features curds and gravy over fries. The one I had at this little restaurant, Perfect Potato, featured roast pork, curds, sauteed veggies, fresh zucchini and tomatoes and gravy over fat, yummy fries. It was a hearty meal and the pork was juicy and delicious.
Visitors to Brooklyn, we had just arrived and were walking down 5th Avenue when we came across this friendly face offering us a taste of potato fries with several different dipping sauces. Everyone who went by took up the offer. We too could not resist the fat, thick fries. I love cheese fries but this was different.
These were Belgian fries. They are twice as fat as French fries and we were told they were cooked twice so they are soft on the inside and crispy outside–just the perfect potato, as the name of the restaurant suggests.
The description of the sauces themselves was enough to tempt me to eat up the whole bowl of fries to sample them–dijon mayo, wasabe mayo, asiago pesto, coconut curry, orange bbq, miso red pepper, sriracha ketchup, moroccan tangine, gorgonzola tarragon, to name a few! Good thing I don’t live here–I’d look like a spud myself.
Of course we had to go into the eatery and order our own fries. The people were super nice and very welcoming. Turns out the person outside with the sampling was the owner herself, Stephanie Seitman, who got the idea of serving poutine when she wanted to open a restaurant offering something different. Her husband is Canadian so poutine came to mind.
So enthusiastic about their service, Stephanie and James, one of the guys working behind the counter, shared how they make everything on their menu from scratch, including curing their own apple-wood smoked bacon. Their potato is special, Stephanie said, Kennebec potato from the local area. The Belgian fries we ordered with dijon mayo was too good. So simple and so yummy.
Alison had a Banana Cream Pie shake and Ted ordered a Mango Lassi shake which reminded me of an Indian mango dessert blended with the Indian yogurt. Delicious. I think I’ll try making it one day.
Stephanie and James endeared themselves to me even more when they surprised us with a treat of their sweet potato doughnut. These were donut holes, freshly made and fragrant with cinnamon and cardamom and piping hot, with crispy outside and melty, sweet potato inside. Came with a delicious warm glaze. James even took out their recipe book to tell me that the glaze had maple syrup, nutmeg, sugar, milk, cardamom, cinnamon and the magical ingredient was smoked salt. Such friendly folks.
Look out for Perfect Potato when you visit Brooklyn. 172 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY11217.
