POUTINE -- A Staple From Quebec, Embarrassing But Adored

(From The New York Times -- By Kate Sekules)

During the 2000 Presidential Campaign, the candidate from Texas fielded a question from Canada -- "Prime Minister JEAN POUTINE said you look like the man who should lead the free world into the 21st century. What do you think about that?"

When GEORGE W. BUSH pledged to "work closely together" with Mr. Poutine, Montrealers fell off their chairs laughing.

It wasn't so much that the Canadian leader was, in fact,
JEAN CHRETIEN, but that the "reporter" -- RICK MERCER,
a television comedian -- had invoked the city's emblematic, problematic, comedic junk food dish -- POUTINE.

A gloppy, caloric layering of French fries, fresh cheese curds (a byproduct of Cheddar making) and gravy, poutine goes deep into the Quebequois psyche.

Somehow, Quebec's rural roots, its split identity (Acadian farmers or Gallic gourmets) and its earthy sense of humor are all embodied by its unofficial dish.

Poutine -- A Staple From Quebec, Embarrassing But Adored

[CBC revealed the results of a viewer poll on the greatest Canadian inventions of all time. Granted, poutine came in only at No. 10. but it beat, among other things, the electron microscope, the BlackBerry, the paint roller and the caulking gun, lacrosse, plexiglass, radio voice transmission and basketball.]