If you stand on the corner of 87 avenue and 109 Street in Edmonton, you can hit a coffee shop, a bakery, a sushi joint, an Italian bistro, and a couple of diners all in spitting distance. Spit a little farther and you’ll hit a pho place, an Indian spot and a little store that sells some of the best olives in the city. Thankfully, the Walterdale Hill is right there too for those who like to work off the calories after stopping in at all these little eateries.

Speaking of calories, the latest food floggers to join the Garneau district is La Poutine, a tiny cubbyhole that offers (you guessed it) poutine, poutine and nothing but poutine.

Fifteen different combinations of poutine with toppings of peas, onions, mushrooms, sour cream, bacon, pepperoni, and more…you name it. You can get it loaded with meat (Meat Lovers with beef, bacon and sausage) or you can get it Vegan style, made with vegan cheese and vegan gravy.

The gravy. Well, it ain’t grandma’s that’s for sure, but its not lumpy, clumpy or KFC-plastic either. It’s “aight”. A bit thin, far from home-made, but it does the trick.

The cheese curds come from Whyte Avenue’s Cheese Factory, home of the squeakiest cheese this side of the Laurentians, and that’s a good thing. The Cheese Factory definitely makes good curd.

Prices at La Poutine range from about $6 for a small container up to $11.50 for a meat-loaded large. I dare you to get a large. I dare you to get a large, eat it all, and then run up and down Walterdale Hill. You are definitely going to need the exercise after eating one of these carb/fat/salt-loaded bad boys.

For me, having poutine once every four years is enough. But those cupcakes from Whimsical Bakery next door…now that’s a different story!

My CBC Edmonton AM Radio review of La Poutine can be heard here.