Gravy is known for its breakfast (and the 30 people out front Saturday and Sunday late mornings waiting to get in), and rightfully so.

But Gravy also has a lunch menu (weekdays only) . . . and Gravy Fries.

Though not exactly poutine, Gravy’s Gravy Fries hold up nicely: great fries, shredded sharp cheddar in lieu of squeaky curds, and country gravy instead of brown gravy.

Call them Portland Disco Fries, if you will.

You can pick at the crispy fries at the top with your fingers, but I recommend a fork (or maybe even a spoon) for the majority of the fries deep in the bowl. Gravy’s Gravy Fries are friggin delicious; it’s all about the gravy.

Gravy
3957 N Mississippi Ave
Portland, Oregon 97227
Phone: 503.287.8800

Astoria is my favorite town in Oregon after Portland. It’s got almost everything I need, including a walkable downtown, excellent coffee, and fantastic beer. In addition it has an interesting history and a gorgeous setting at the mouth of the Columbia River. One thing Astoria is missing, however, is poutine. But I have discovered a pair of poutinesque options in the first permanent U.S. settlement west of the Rocky Mountains.

Fort George Brewery, in addition to brewing fantastic beers (especially dark stouts and porters), also offers chili cheese fries on the menu. Alas, I have not yet had the pleasure of trying them.

However this past Sunday morning Heather and I had brunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Astoria: Bridgewater Bistro. One of the breakfast specials was described simply as chips topped with cheese and eggs. Excitedly I ordered it, as I assumed there had to be some other flavoring – perhaps gravy?

But that was not the case. As you can see in the close up photo above, the special really was just french fries, cheese, and a couple eggs. It was a solid breakfast – the cheese was sharp, the fries were crispy, and the eggs were perfect. And heck, the egg yolks were almost like gravy – rich enough anyway.

There’s also another poutinesque item on the regular lunch menu at Bridgewater Bistro: over-the-top fries, french fries topped with gorgonzola cheese and pepper-bacon crumbles. Perhaps we’ll give them a try on our next visit . . .

Bridgewater Bistro
20 Basin Street
Astoria, Oregon 97103
Web: www.bridgewaterbistro.com
Phone: 503.325.6777

Last night we finally made it over to C Bar to try their poutinesque SE Poutin.

S.E. Poutin: French fries, collard greens, bacon, gravy (chicken or vegan mushroom) (can be made Vegan). $7.75

As you can see the crucial ingredient missing from this menu selection is cheese, hence the poutinesque label.

So what we’re talking about, really, is gravy fries . . . topped with collard greens. The fries, seasoned with salt and smoked paprika (aka vegan bacon), are crisp and smoky. The gravy, blended with the greens, is vinegary tart, and spiked with morsels of bacon. Two other Portland poutines sport tart gravies, that from Potato Champion, and [the now defunct] Fats. Of the three, this was our favorite. Where in the other examples the tartness seems misplaced, it’s an acceptable accent to collard greens, which by the way, were tender and delicious.

My crisp and sweet Chimay went well with the powerful flavors of the poutin. Heather indulged in a Ginger Hot Toddy, and we also shared an order of, that’s right, catfish corndogs!

C Bar’s SE Poutin doesn’t dethrone our favorite poutinesque delicacy in town, Red Fox‘s Gumbo Cheese Fries, but it is a worthy competitor and delicious in its own right. It can also be made vegan!

C Bar
2880 SE Gladstone Street
Portland, OR 97202
Phone: 503.230.8808
Web: www.CBarPDX.com

Having grown up in Portland, I’ve always thought of Papa Haydn‘s as a dessert place. Well apparently since the 80s things have changed. Papa Haydn East, the original location, now has, in addition to brunch, lunch, and dinner menus, a Cocktail Hour menu, which is to say a happy hour menu (3-6pm 7 days a week!). And a report came in recently that upon this happy hour menu (and lunch menu too, sometimes I think), there is an item called . . .

Poutine
Hand-cut Kennebeck fries, pulled chicken, thyme gravy and cheese curds
$6.00

Saturday, you may recall, was a beautiful day. We ventured to Southeast Portland in the afternoon and secured a table on the patio (after getting confirmation from our hostess that indeed, poutine is on the menu). An old friend, Lise, joined us. We ordered drinks, salads, and a plate of poutine.

Papa Haydn serves up one of the prettiest poutines in town.

The menu on the website is a sample menu; it changes up a lot. As you can see the poutine we were served was topped with parmesan cheese, not cheese curds. And the chicken gravy contained spinach. These are unorthodox changes, and we were tempted to relegate this poutine to the poutinesque category. However, upon further deliberation we decided that if the three required ingredients were in play, we would call it poutine. Fries, cheese, gravy. Yup.

And damn, if this wasn’t one of the best unorthodox poutines I’ve tried in a while.

I have no idea what Kennebeck fries are, but I like them. Look at that beautiful golden brown! The gravy, though it could have handled a bit more seasoning, had the right viscosity – it clung nicely to the fries. It also contained chunks of perfectly moist pulled chicken. The spinach was an odd addition, but not off putting. And the zip of parmesan made up for the slightly drab gravy. All in all a delicious, though unorthodox, Portland Poutine.

Papa Haydn (Eastside)
5829 SE Milwaukie Ave
Portland, OR 97202
Phone: 503.232.9440
Web: http://www.papahaydn.com/

I had high hopes for the poutine at Fats, a relatively new NE Portland gastro pub.

Fats has received plenty of press; it’s the latest creation of one of Portland’s most celebrated restauranteurs: Micah Camden, the man behind Yakuza, Beast, and D.O.C. (all of which are within a block of Fats).

The website brunch menu describes the poutine simply:

poutine 10
gravy, bacon, egg & cheese

The menu handed to us at the pub, however, described it thusly (and a dollar cheaper): poached egg, beef gravy, and chevre. Chevre struck me as a strange cheese choice, but then I thought maybe the tartness would serve as a nice counterpoint to the savory richness of the gravy.

But ends up the gravy (though brown, oily, and chock full of bacon and mushrooms) tasted more like sweet and sour American French dressing than beef gravy. The tiny bits of chevre proved not to be counterpoints, but rather tartness intensifiers.

Even with these surprises, though, the poutine at Fats was not unenjoyable. The fries were crisp, the poached egg was perfect, and the bacon added a rich savory smokiness to the proceedings. I finished mine and helped Heather finish hers (she requested the eggs scrambled, on the side). All the while I couldn’t figure out if I liked or disliked the tartness of the gravy and cheese.

What I have decided is that I will have to go back and try it again. Poutine is also available on the dinner menu as a starter: gravy, fromage blanc, poached egg. That sounds about right . . .

Fats
2930 NE Killingsworth Street
Portland, Oregon 97211
Phone: 503.206.8261
Web: www.fatspdx.com