Lifestyle /
Venue Hotspot: La Banquise
For Those Poutine Enthusiasts Passing Through Montreal
A few weeks ago, a couple of friends and I took a trip to Montreal to visit another friend of ours who lives there. We arrived in Montreal late on a Friday and consequently decided to spend the night at home and catch up, as it had been a while since we had seen each other. It was a mellow evening and we stayed up until dawn before we finally decided to go to sleep — after all, we had decided we’d be going barhopping Saturday night and would need some rest.
The next afternoon, while eating breakfast, we decided it would be criminal to have visited Quebec without eating poutine. We would start our night of barhopping with dinner at a poutine place, so we started brainstorming ideas for where we could visit. One of the guys suggested Frite Alors!, citing a recommendation from his brother, but our host dismissed it as “chain-restaurant garbage” (a statement he denies having made). We indulged the idea of visiting some burger places, as poutine is a staple on most menus, but our host convinced us to go to La Banquise, a popular joint on the Plateau.
We arrived at La Banquise at around 7:30 p.m. to a modest line outside the restaurant and figured that the wait wouldn’t be longer than 20 minutes. It was a chilly night and we were glad for the heating elements placed above us outside the restaurant. Forty-five minutes into our wait, when we were finally inside the doors, we could see into the restaurant and it was absolutely packed to the brim. We had now been filed into one of two lines (there’s a line for take-out and a line for eating in).
What immediately struck me about the restaurant was its energy. It was fairly noisy, being packed, but more striking than that was the extremely casual atmosphere among the employees. There was a pretty good view of the kitchen, and the cooks were singing along to songs that I hadn’t heard in a long time, including “Here Comes The Hot Stepper” and “Gangsta’s Paradise.” Finally, about an hour after we initially joined the line, we got our seats.
A quick glance at the menu showed a pretty huge variety of options. The wait had really whetted our appetites, and I was contemplating getting a large order, but upon seeing one served out to another patron, I decided against it since I’d be spending the rest of the night drinking. So I ordered a regular-sized “La Reggae,” which comes with ground beef, guacamole, tomatoes and hot peppers. After a relatively short wait, given the business, our food came and I was very impressed. My meal was $10.25 without tax, which may seem like a lot for a regular-sized poutine, but La Banquise’s regular is not only a generous serving of fries but also a generous serving of all the toppings. I made short work of my food and was extremely satisfied. After finishing my poutine, I second-guessed whether I would’ve been able to finish a large. The look of the servings is deceptive. The plate my meal was served on wasn’t too big, but the serving was inches thick, making it a pretty substantial meal, and the large-sized portions were wider and thicker.
Conclusions? Fries, cheese and gravy are a hard thing to do wrong, and La Banquise gets this combo right. Plus, it gives you great value for money with its portions and a cool atmosphere to hang out in! I recommend anyone visiting Montreal who is a poutine fan to check out this hot spot.
Feature Image: Blogger's own
Blog Images courtesy of: labanquise.com
Vikram Bettadapura
Author
When he’s not blogging, Vikram Bettadapura works at a busy vet clinic. Born in Bangalore, he grew up in Abu Dhabi and later moved to Ontario, where he earned a BSc from the University of Guelph. Currently based in Toronto, he's an avid reader, passionate about culture, social issues, and ...
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