I saw this about ten minutes before I hopped a bus to go to Quebec for the Winter Carnival, and so promptly forgot to put anything up about it. I’m talking about the front-page National Post article of course, the one that muses at length if poutine has what it takes to brave Manhattan (in the form of trendy/expensive Quebecois-themed restaurant, The Inn LW12).

Poutine has a special place in my heart, since the first time I ever tried it was in a Canadian bar in the middle of Tokyo (so, yes, in some odd way sea urchin and poutine will always be inextricably linked in my mind since I got to savor both in the same week). The first bite of gravy-laden cheesiness left me a bit indecisive over poutine’s merits, but by the end of the bowl I was scraping gravy with my fingers. And Quebec poutine is even better than its Japanese doppelganger!

Anyway. So. Will poutine take Manhattan? Feelings appear mixed. But shoot, what with sushi being all haute cuisine, I have news for New Yorkers: the sea urchin didn’t hold a candle to the poutine. I have faith in Canadian food making inroads into the U.S. They are selling Labatt Blue for $9 a glass in Japan. That alone is enough to make one have faith in any and all things Canadian.