When I found out about Spud Shack, a little joint located at New Westminster skytrain station, I was pretty excited to introduce my friend to what may possibly be one of the best places for poutines. She loves her poutines and always orders them. So, after claiming that she will love me even more for where I am about to take her for a late night snack, she says "poutines? I don't even like them". LOL what? Yeah, apparently when she orders a poutine at the food court or movie theatre, it is because there is nothing else that she wants. Oh well, already paid for parking so too bad for her. I even raved about this "surprise" place to her for days too!
BOYLAN CREAM SODA ($2.75) AND WATER.
FRITES, SMALL ($2.75).
Walking in, I was surprised at the high ceiling and well ventilated restaurant which is always appreciated for a small joint known to deep fry goods. After ordering, we grabbed our drinks and took a seat. I wish bottled water was available but a water dispenser is provided on the side. Every table has a few holes to place the cone shaped frites, however, the small order of frites were a bit too small and almost fell through, so we laid them on the table. The frites taste lightly salted, crispy and quite tasty. For those who are not fans of poutines, the frites will not disappoint.
MONTREAL SMOKED MEAT, DIJON MAYO ($11.00).
The smoked meat tastes moist but there is no flavour and resembles a fast food version of Montreal smoked meat. As for the dijon mayo, a stronger hint of mustard would have complimented the sandwich a lot more. The sandwich is definitely missing something and tasted bland (this is coming from someone who prefers bland tasting food too!). Also, although the bread is not over toasted, it did taste a bit too hard and dry.
SUBSTITUTE MEDIUM FRITES FOR MEDIUM BUFFALO CHICKEN WITH RANCH DRESSING POUTINE ($7.75)
Moving to the choice of side, we upgraded the medium order of frites to a medium buffalo chicken with ranch dressing poutine. The bread battered chicken does not taste moist or dry and the ranch as well as buffalo sauce tastes very generic. Despite feeling that the sauces taste overwhelming (since we are not big fans of buffalo sauce and ranch dressing mixed), this is a must order for those who like buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. I probably would have enjoyed the poutine more if the chicken was not breaded and had more of a buffalo hot sauce flavour.
SALMON FISH N' CHIPS ($12.50).
Since half a sandwich is not really a good enough snack for me, I also ordered fish n' chips. The halibut was sold out so I went for the salmon. The salmon is perfectly cooked and there are nice flaky as well as moist layers, although I would have preferred a more crispy rather than crunchy batter. Nevertheless, the batter does not taste overly crunchy or greasy. As for the tartar sauce, it tastes a bit too light as well as smooth and some more pickles would have been nice. The sauce resembles the taste of mayonnaise more than tartar sauce.
SUBSTITUTE SMALL FRITES FOR SMALL POUTINE ($2.00) + PULLED PORK ($2.75).
Moving to the side, instead of a small order of frites I upgraded to a small pulled pork poutine. The pulled pork tastes moist but the barbecue sauce is very overwhelming. The barbecue sauce does not taste smokey and is more tomatoey. Fortunately though at the bottom of the poutine, I was quite happy to see some cheese curds and gravy! The cheese curds taste slightly melted with a nice firmness as well as a springy texture, and the rich tasting gravy tastes so much better than the barbecue sauce. I would probably like the classic poutine more than the speciality ones.
POSITIVES
- Friendly staff
- Convenient for those who take transit
- Freshly made frites and poutines to order
NEGATIVES
- Food can be better
- Horrible Montreal smoked meat sandwich (0.5/5)
LITTLE THINGS
- Wanted to order dessert but forgot!
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2.5/5
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