Traveling Through Canada: Smokey’s Poutinerie Taking over the Country, and Parts of the U.S.

So recently I took a vacation back up to Canada. See, last year I went up to Winnipeg for about five days and had such a great time I wanted to see more of what our neighbors up north had to offer so this year I went to a different part of the country and explored Saskatchewan!

The first stop on my trip was to the capital Regina. While there I did some research on some unique restaurants and came across a place called Smokey's Poutinerie. Now if you aren't familiar with poutine, it's basically french fries with cheese curds and gravy on top. Pretty much every restaurant in Canada has some form of poutine on their menu. This place though specializes in nothing but poutine and takes it to another level.

According to the company's website, its goal is to "bring the authentic Quebec classic to the rest of the World." With over 25 different menu items to choose from it was a difficult decision on which one to order. I went with the triple pork poutine that has Chipotle Pulled Pork, Double-Smoked Bacon, Italian Sausage. My girlfriend got the country style poutine that consists of Grilled Chicken, Double-Smoked Bacon, Sautéed Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Baby Green Peas. Neither of us could finish our meal and they were only the medium size.

The restaurant chain is so popular in Canada that some restaurants are popping up here in the states. In 2015, the franchise's owners stated that they planned to expand the company internationally and would "open 1,300 restaurants around the world by 2020 devoted mainly to fans of poutine." As of 2019, there are 5 locations in the United States.