I had heard that Fameux Viande Fumée et Charcuterie offered up one of Montreal’s best poutines, even better than the often mentioned Rapido directly across the street. And I’m not talking about just your run-of-the-mill poutine; I’m talking about poutine gratinée, which means that after assembly, the poutine is broiled in the oven for a few minutes, melting the curds into a thick, cheesy layer. Well then. I had to check it out.

I have to admit to being both pleased and disappointed at the same time. The grandiose claim is not true, I have had better poutine in this city. So it was a little crushing to have not found the “best” – the search continues. However, this poutine was by no means bad, and was actually quite delicious and different, so points for novelty! The fries weren’t spectacular, and reminiscent of frozen fries tossed into a deep fryer. However, their thickness held up to the gravy very well, making them just absorbent enough to soak it in without becoming excessively soggy. The sauce was true brown sauce, salty and quite nice. And the cheese! A perfect amount of curds melted into a solid blob over the whole thing, with a slight crispiness in some parts. I think I do prefer poutine the standard way, but this was a pleasant change from the usual.
Of course, once there, I got a little sucked in to the whole greasy food thing. If I’m gonna clog those arteries, might as well go all the way. So hello, croque monsieur! I had never actually had this, so I can’t say how it stands up in the world of ham and cheese sandwiches, but I can say that it was pretty good. Lots of Swiss cheese, a couple slices of ham and some slightly wilted tomatoes all baked onto a bun. Really, it must be hard to go wrong with the concept. A side order of dill pickles made the sandwich perfectly delicious.
The “Fameux” sub was a bit of a disappointment though. It was bland, the strongest taste being the smoked meat that was a bit cheaply sprinkled across the sandwich. Combined with pepperoni and the steak, this is one meaty dish. A bit more cheese (as if my meal needed it, really) and some dressing would’ve vastly improved it. The onion rings we ordered were also sub par, again just frozen rings that had been tossed into the oil.

I see such meals like this: not only does it cost $30 (to feed three people, not bad at all!), but it also costs you at least a couple hours off your life. So the question you have to ask yourself is, was it worth it? For Fameux, I’ve got to say I’m not sorry I did it at all, but I don’t know if I’ll give them any more hours.

Fameux Viande Fumée et Charcuterie
4500, rue St-Denis
514.845.8732