There’s a new poutinerie in town.
Add the venerable East Bank Saloon to the list of purveyors in Portland. Poutine is now an official menu item, in the appetizer section, at this East Side stand by, at the base of the Morrison Bridge.
In the Portland pub food pantheon, the quality of grub at the East Bank is higher than that at McMenamins but lower than at Kells. Lots of burger choices, solid fries, and some tasty sandwiches.
The poutine, much like you’d expect, is not great, but quite tasty.
Good fries, as you can see. Cheese appears to be shredded mozzarella, not real curds, and the black peppery gravy hinted vaguely at pizza sauce; oregano maybe? We’re not sure. Heather had a fry or two, but I scarfed up the rest. Went well with the seasonal tap, Ninkasi ESB.
East Bank Saloon
727 SE Grand Ave
Portland, OR 97214
Phone: 503.231.1659
Web: www.myspace.com/eastbanksaloon
amy parent
on Mar 18th, 2010
@ 6:35 am:
looking forward to tasting this one but, as a ex-pat of montreral the gravy looks too dark, it should be milkier
laura
on Mar 19th, 2010
@ 12:40 pm:
I second Amy – I’m an ex-pat from Toronto. That gravy does not look right!
I tried out Potato Champion as well… their cheese ‘curds’ seemed to be large chunks of mozzarella. They didn’t melt at all and were rubbery. I had been so excited to try it. It was a terrible injury to my Canadian soul.
I’ll definitely be following this very worthy blog to try to find more Portland Poutine!
Dave
on Mar 22nd, 2010
@ 4:45 am:
Amy, Laura – In my experience all the poutines in Portland are interpretations of the classic. The poutine at The Original probably comest closes to the Canadian diner style, but the gravy is not quite right.