La Banquise Resto 24h, Montreal (Plateau Mont-Royal)

Posted by nance on 2012/06/09 in Canada, Canadian, French, Montreal, Plateau Mont Royal, Travel No comments

We have two official languages here in Canada – English and French. Poutine is iconic as hockey is. When you are in Montreal, Quebec how could you not scavenge the city to find the best poutine available? It was part of our bucket list of the trip to taste a true French-Canadian dish of French fries, fresh cheese curds that are smothered with brown gravy and sauce. None of that New York Fries quickie from a food court. It has to be something I would feel dirty just thinking about. Something that could match a 10 piece Church’s Chicken late night!

La Banquise Resto 24h is open 24/7 – yes, even at those ungodly hours when your drunk or crave a heart attack! The clubs have just let out and this place can be flooded with high heels, short skirts and cologne the masks the smell of greasy poutine… In the heart of Plateau District, a little off from the Latin Quarter. This poutine joint is easily accessible by the Metro. Take the train to either Station Sherbrooke or Station Berri-UQAM. Their metro system is so convenient and more accessible than Vancouver’s.

La Banquise offers 25 different dangerously delicious poutines. Play it safe with Classic pork larded fries, fresh curds and sauce to the adventurous Superman limits with piles of ground beef, smoked sausages and meats, extra cheese and the works in the Amercanized version by super sizing it; piling on copious amounts of toppings…

Poutine Trois Viandes

ground beef, pepperoni and bacon. Now this hits the spot. This was amazing. I really wanted to try the other variations such as Poutine Kamikaze – merguez sausages, hot peppers, and tabasco… but really I don’t think we could have fitted anymore inside our satisfied tummies.

BLT – bacon lettuce tomatoes

Who was I kidding when I thought to order something “healthier”. I wanted to balance the poutine with some veggies and a side salad. The Sammy was pretty delicious with the juicy fried pork smothered with mayo.

Banquise Burger

Ground beef patty, mushrooms, fried onions, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, spicy sauce on a sesame seed bun. Dave meant business when he asked the waitress to suggest the best tasting burger in house. Not bad. Not bad. Juicy. Sumptuous. Dirty.

Better wash it down with some good old Canadian beer that we don’t normally get in Vancouver.

St Ambroise Apricot Beer – Ok I lied. I like this apricot wheat ale a lot in addition to the Belgium Fruli (Strawberry beer).

Boreale beer – named after Aurora Borealis. The label features a polar bear above the word Boreale. I found it rather bitter. More so than Asahi Black.

The restaurant itself may not be the prettiest, but the staff are friendly. You can expect a fast turnover even though there may be a wait. I wish I tried a few more poutine places so I can compare. But we were pretty satisfied. There is no reason to discount this place.