Here’s almost everything you need to know about poutine, a favorite dish of Canada

I remember thinking, when I first tried poutine during my decidedly Canadian childhood, that this amalgam of fries, cheese curds and gravy was so good it couldn’t be legal.

Though, once verifying its legal status, it was love at first taste. Poutine, it must be noted, originated in Quebec, but it’s hard to imagine any one dish having a greater cultural impact on the country.

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During summers of my youth, any road trip in any direction could justify a stop at a roadside chip truck for poutine. I also recall, though perhaps with a little less clarity, the late night visits I’d make to Bubba’s Poutine in Kingston, Ontario, during my university days. Quite frankly, if there’s a better dish to indulge in after a night out, I have yet to find it.

Now, if your past wasn’t quite as inundated with poutine as mine, let’s talk about the composition of this Canadian classic. The core of a poutine involves fries, cheese curds and gravy — that’s it. Different establishments swear by the inclusion of twice-fried fries, a certain type of gravy, or a size or preference of cheese curds but, at its heart, poutine is three ingredients, then a lot of preference, passion and debate.

The history of poutine

As with any good coming-of-age story, poutine’s rise to fame started with humble beginnings.

Many argue that the first version of poutine was created in 1957 by Fernand Lachance in Warwick, Quebec, at his establishment, Café Ideal (renamed Lu Lutin Qui Rit at a later date). Monsieur Lachance added cheese curds to fries at the request of a customer and famously exclaimed, “Ca va te faire une maudite poutine!” That translates to “that will make a damned mess!”

While it can’t be completely verified, many say the etymology of this dish being known as “poutine,” which translates literally to “mess,” started with that very sentence.

So, where does the gravy come into play? Well, the Canadian Encyclopedia notes, in 1963, “when customers complained that the fries grew cold too quickly on the plate, he (Lachance) doused the fries and curds with gravy to keep them warm.”

Jean-Paul Roy, owner of Le Roy Jucep, claimed that he was actually the first to serve up the magical trifecta in 1964, after frequent requests from customers. So, it’s hard to know which restaurant first served poutine in the Centre-du-Québec region, but, for what it’s worth, the official patent for poutine by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, does indeed hang within Roy’s restaurant to this day.

Yet, others claim the crown belongs to La Petite Vache in Princeville, Quebec, which served a “mixte” or mixture of fries and cheese, and later added gravy. The restaurant, however, doesn’t appear to have opened its doors until 1966.

The rise of poutine

Poutine was kept a rural Quebec delicacy for quite some time, but when word got out, its allure spread nationally and internationally. At first, this seemingly simple dish was stigmatized as something for the lower class, but the provincial and national pride rose to a point where the stigma was no longer relevant.

In 2007, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired a mini-series called "The Greatest Canadian Invention," and the people of Canada voted poutine as the ninth greatest invention in the country’s history, ahead of standard time, radio voice transmission, the java programming language and basketball.

In the past, I’ve attended poutine festivals across Canada, and the sheer creativity that people are bringing to poutine is incredibly exciting for food fanatics and potentially alarming for cardiologists. I had a lobster bisque poutine at Sparks Street Poutine Fest in Ottawa that still makes me salivate.

To put it in perspective, there were more than 40 variations of poutine at last year’s Montreal Poutinefest, including a General Tso’s poutine.

If you’re looking for the proverbial creme da la creme of poutine, Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon offers a foie gras poutine that sells for about $20, but many feel is worth every single cent.

However, if you’re not a purported poutine expert, you really ought to start with the classic, as it was meant to be eaten. My advice would be to head straight for Montreal’s La Banquise, which is open 24 hours, and needs to be, based on how long the line can get. They’ve got the classic, but also 30 other varieties if you’re feeling adventurous. Chez Claudette, also in Montreal, is another late night greasy spoon, which is very unassuming, but does poutine the right way.

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You can find quality poutine outside of Quebec to be sure, but it’s worth tracing this story and these flavors to their origin in Canada’s belle provence. When you do take the plunge, just make sure you’ve got full-bodied cheese curds on your poutine, as grated cheese is blasphemous, to say the least.

Canadians are relatively confused about what our cuisine consists of, so having poutine gives us a strange sense of national pride. Sure, it’s simple, and the ingredient list wouldn’t take up but half a post-it note but, as they say, sometimes, simplicity is perfection.

This story originally published in USA TODAY 10 Best.