As you may remember back in July, I made an official Poutine [dot] me visit to the Winnipeg location of Smoke's Poutinerie. I was not impressed, but I had to make another visit, just to see if things had changed.
After a brief stop at my favourite watering hole, Lo Pub, I went on a quick jog to Smoke's. There was no line (unlike last time), so I ordered quite quickly. $10.30ish later, I ordered a regular Montreal Smoked Meat poutine (sans mustard, sans pickle) with a Pop Shoppe Root Beer.
First of all, the experience was much more enjoyable than my first visit. The staff was incredibly pleasant and friendly, so I didn't feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb, even with it being a bit of a hipster attraction.
After five minutes of waiting, I got my food. I was pleased by the amount of Montreal Smoked meat that came on the poutine, quite a decent amount. Compared to the meat at Joe Beeverz, it tasted better, was nice and warm, and nicer texture.
The curds were just as good as the previous visit as there was a decent amount to be enjoyed. The fries were hot, but limp and soggy for the most part. The gravy still RUINS the poutine..Why? Well it's just too salty, too boring, too.. je ne sais quoi. They really need to work on it. I was planning on getting the vegetarian poutine, but that didn't happen.
I quickly scarfed it down, even with suffering with a bit of a burnt mouth. I guess I was that hungry, and the pints of beer in my body had a bit of an effect as well.
It could always be much better, but for Manitoba - it's better than dealing with shredded cheese.