but Montreal is the city to get the best.

We visited three famous restaurants,

Ma Poule Mouillée,

La Banquise,

and Au Pied de Cochon,

to find the best poutine in town.

[Herrine screams]

No, my pants are wet.

Based off of the comments last season,

we are in Montreal to find the best poutine.

Erin Kommor: Yes! And if you do not know,

poutine is a Canadian dish

that's, like, fries covered in gravy and cheese curds.

What qualities are we looking for?

Herrine: We are looking for -

OK.

[Herrine laughs] Erin: Sorry.

Herrine: So, we are looking for fries that have

a crispy outside and a nice plush inside,

and the cheese curds should be flavorful and fresh,

nice and melty.

People say that the fresher the curd,

the squeakier it is.

The gravy should be thick and flavorful,

and there should be enough of it

to coat all the fries and curds.

At each location,

we will be asking which poutine we should get

and judge based off of that.

Erin: Let's bundle up and get going!

Herrine: It's so cold. Erin: I got you. I got you.

Come on.

Herrine: So, we're going to La Banquise,

and this place is probably the most associated

when it comes to poutine and Montreal.

And we'll be trying the classic,

but they have, like, 30 kinds here.

Erin: 30? Herrine: 30.

Erin: Of poutine? Herrine: Of poutine.

Erin: I've heard about this one the most

out of all the places.

Herrine: Yeah, I did too,

so let's go see what all the fuss is about it.

Erin: Let's do it.

Customer: I heard about this place from a local

that I met on the airplane.

I think I love the cheese and the gravy.

That mixture together is really tasteful.

Annie Barsalou: A classic poutine is french fries

and cheese curds and a gravy on top.

We use red potatoes because it's sweeter.

We cut them by hand.

Chef: You wanna just, like, blanch them first,

'cause that'll just, like, soften up everything.

So when you drop it in fryer oil after,

it's gonna get all crispy on the outside

but stay fluffy on the inside.

Chef: If you go too thin,

like the little stringy fries,

then there's not gonna be anything

really fluffy on the inside.

It'll just be, like, too crispy.

Annie: And we do the fries and do the precooking.

We need to cook them about six minutes at 285 degrees.

It's very important to keep that temperature,

because it's gonna cook all the inside.

When we're ready to do the poutine,

we're gonna cook them at a higher temperature, at 325.

It's gonna be golden outside, but not too crispy.

And after that, we put the cheese curds.

That must melt.

It has to be at the temperature of the room

and do a squish-squeak in your mouth.

It's very good.

The gravy must be, like, golden,

have some texture in it, not too liquid.

It's got to be

a bit spicy, too.

That's the thing that differentiates us from the others.

We keep it as a secret.

Herrine: Everything visually looks...

Erin: Gorge. Herrine: Gorge.

And the cheese has melted. Let's dig in.

Erin: So melty.

Herrine: I got the squeak.

Erin: I got the squeak too,

and I thought I wouldn't like the squeak.

It was like, "merp, merp."

Oh, look at the steam.

And it's so cold out.

This is so satisfying.

Herrine: So, right off the bat,

we know that the curds here are fresh.

They're melted because of that piping hot gravy.

I'm gonna try the potato by itself.

It's not like the fries that

you are familiar with as an American,

because they're not so crunchy and, like, salty.

I know this is a very poor comparison,

but they taste more potato-y than french fries does.

Erin: No, definitely. Herrine: You know what I mean?

And, like, everything is very much kind of like a

flash-fried baked potato.

Erin: The potatoes are, like, not too greasy at all.

They're just so satisfying.

And it's so warm and soft.

It's, yeah, it's not like American fries at all.

Herrine: They're honestly more like hash browns.

The cheese curds here have flavor.

Erin: Oh, totally. Herrine: It's salty,

it's fatty.

Erin: They provide the salt, 'cause I feel like the fries

aren't super salty at all. Herrine: Yeah, the fries

aren't as seasoned as I thought they would be.

But the curds, I like how they're this, like,

happy medium between, like, completely melted

and kind of like, just, like, sitting there.

Erin: It's so flavorful.

Herrine: So, the gravy itself, it's not so, so thick.

Erin: It doesn't, like, coat your mouth.

It just complements the fry.

Herrine: I disagree.

I feel like I'm not getting, like, a beefy flavor,

or like a hearty, like -

Erin: It is more just, like, salty and fun.

Herrine: I think it is great on its own.

And the cheese curds here I think is the MVP.

Erin: Phenom. Herrine: Yeah.

But the other places we'll be going to

have, like, added elements.

So, we are going to Ma Poule Mouillée.

I think I pronounced that right.

Erin: You did.

Herrine: And this place is a Portuguese restaurant,

and we'll be trying their fusion take on the poutine.

Erin: I'm so excited. It looks so good.

Herrine: It's supposed to be a lot of bold flavors

going on here, so I'm excited.

Erin: Let's do it!

Michael Antunes Alves: Ma Poule Mouillée is a takeout

restaurant with the grill of the charcoal.

We work mainly with chicken.

The most popular at Ma Poule Mouillée is the poutine.

The poutine is the mixing of Quebec and Portuguese,

with the fried chicken in the charcoal

and the local cheese.

And I'm mixing with the São Jorge from Portugal.

Virgilio Rodrigues: We have to stock a lot of potatoes.

Our potatoes are presliced.

We cook halfway.

We put it on the fridge.

When they are cold, we fry them.

We season our fries with the homemade spices.

We know that the fries are ready

because they make a little music.

[fries rustling]

We're gonna top the fries with a local cheese,

then the Portuguese cheese São Jorge.

Michael: It's very strong.

I put just a little bit.

Herrine: See, but I don't think that that's like...

I like it.

Cameraman: Yeah, it smells good.

Herrine: Oh, but it has a scent.

Virgilio: Yes. Yes, yes.

This is a charcoal grill.

It's a Portuguese chicken,

and we grill it around half an hour.

The seasoning, it's garlic, paprika, and salt

with also black pepper.

The charcoal gives the chicken a smoky flavor,

and inside it's very tender.

And now we're grilling the Portuguese sausage, chorizo.

Michael: The meat is different.

It's not like just cheese.

The meat is delicious.

Put some life in the poutine.

Virgilio: We chop the chicken and the chorizo

fresh to order,

and finally the gravy.

Herrine: Oh, my God.

Virgilio: It's a homemade sauce.

It's another secret.

And the fresh parsley.

And it's the best poutine in Canada.

Herrine: I'm very excited to try this one.

The gravy looks so much more dark.

Erin: Thick.

Herrine: And thick and viscous.

The meat, I'm a huge chorizo fan.

Erin: Me too, I love chorizo.

And the chicken looks so good.

This looks epic.

Herrine: I know. It's, like, loaded up.

This is honestly a bit much.

I just drooled.

Erin: Oh, my God.

That is a lot of flavor.

You wanted flavor in the gravy, and that,

my friend, Herrine: This delivers.

is flavor. Herrine: Delivers.

Herrine: I can see - Erin: And the spicy sauce -

Herrine: Yeah, yeah, that's what I was gonna say.

Erin: I want to drink that spicy sauce.

Herrine: I think it really does serve a purpose of,

like, cutting through all that richness, that spice.

Erin: Yeah, a little kick.

Herrine: Also, these fries are

a lot crispier than La Banquise.

Erin: Oh, and I didn't realize how much,

how important that would be,

because the crispiness of the fries with the gravy,

like, that's a perfect duo.

Herrine: Because the chorizo and the chicken

is, like, cooked on that charcoal grill,

you get that nice smokiness.

Erin: And the char.

Herrine: That paprika seasoning

really does shine through.

And you do get this lingering heat

that's, like, very nice.

This visually looks

very overwhelming. Erin: Like a lot.

Herrine: But, like, flavor profiles are very bold,

but it's not too much.

Erin: I don't think so either.

Herrine: Like, everything works together,

and I think there obviously is a reason why

Michael wants to keep everything a secret,

because if secret got out, like....

Erin: I would take over the world with this.

Herrine: Yeah, exactly.

Let's see if the cheese curds squeak.

Erin: Squeak, squeak.

They squeak.

Herrine: Not as squeaky as La Banquise, though.

But the Portuguese cheese here,

I'm not gonna even pretend to pronounce it,

has that nice little pungency and, like, sharpness to it

that I think, honestly, I would want more of.

Do you have any qualms?

Erin: My only qualm, I liked how melty

the cheese was at La Banquise,

and this cheese I feel like could be a little meltier,

but I don't really want more of it,

'cause there's so much going on.

I feel like with more cheese, I would be overwhelmed.

Herrine: I feel like we haven't done the hot sauce justice.

We haven't done the spicy sauce justice.

Erin: We haven't.

That's the best spicy sauce.

Herrine: So, what is your favorite part of this dish?

Erin: I think this is definitely my fave grave.

I should be a writer.

I don't know.

Herrine: It's gonna be very difficult to beat this gravy

and beat the proteins here,

but we have one more place,

and they're supposed to have a very rich topping.

Erin: I'm pumped, 'cause this blew my mind.

Herrine: I know, this is gonna be

a really hard one to beat.