7.8.06

Popularity of Poutini cocktail surges


A Poutini cocktail craze seems to be taking off amid buzz over the projected launch of a chain of poutine and chicken restaurants in the United States this fall.

Poutine Queen, a reader of this blog, submitted the photo of the Poutini shown above.

"I took Bob the Bartender’s advice and here is my latest version of the classic Poutini," she said, referring to an online chat with the bartender about the challenges she faced while mixing the drink, which is made of beef-flavoured vodka, gravy schnapps and Irish-potato liqueur.

"I garnished mine with crispy fries instead of a cheese curd. You can see that I did NOT overblend," Poutine Queen said.

Their conversation is documented in comments below the blog entry titled "Recipe reveals secrets of the Poutini."

Poutine Queen did not stop with the Classic Poutini, but also created a more tropical variation of the cocktail.

"We were finding that the poutini was a bit heavy in this hot weather so we developed a summer version," she said.


"We replaced the beef-flavoured vodka with a more refreshing Stolichnaya potato-lemon vodka, the gravy schnapps with Crème Hollandaise and the potato liqueur with the D’Abruzzo Bocconcini liqueur.

"We’ve garnished the drink with small bocconcini, a variety of summer berries and floated the traditional cheese curds on top."

CURDS 'N' BIRDS

A friend in Washington, D.C. says the first Curds 'n' Birds restaurant is set to open at the intersection of Wisconsin and M Streets in the upscale neighbourhood of Georgetown.

"We’re trying to get Celine Dion and William Shatner to come for the grand opening," he said in an instant message this week. "We’re after people who can eat a bite of poutine."

Rumour has it that former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien may cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony.



POUTINE PITFALLS

In 2000, George W. Bush, at the time a U.S. presidential candidate, was duped into answering questions on camera about Prime Minister "Jean Poutine" by Rick Mercer, a Canadian comedian.

Mercer used the footage for the weekly "Talking to Americans" segment of his program "This Hour Has 22 Minutes." The segment mocked Americans by making them look ignorant about Canada.

Bush was asked by Mercer to comment on an endorsement by Canadian Prime Minister "Jean Poutine," as well as the "traditional visit to the U.S." of the "King of Canada," Lucien Bonhomme (a.k.a Lucien Bouchard, former premier of Quebec), according to Wikipedia.

Bush told Mercer that he looked forward to working with Chrétien and to the king's visit, the online encyclopedia says.

On his first official visit to Canada in 2004, Bush quipped: "There's a prominent citizen who endorsed me in the 2000 election, and I wanted a chance to finally thank him for that endorsement. I was hoping to meet Jean Poutine."


As he plans the opening festivities, my friend is also mulling over the feasibility of opening a small offshoot Birds 'n' Curds poutine stand where Avon Place and Cambridge Place meet near the intersection of 30th and R Streets in leafy Georgetown.

"You could get carry-out and take it over to eat at the Oak Hill Cemetery on a nice afternoon," he said ~

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