La Belle Patate

La Belle Patate
102 Boulder Crescent
Canmore, AB

With my original plans to go somewhere in the mountains over the weekend changing, and my sister looking for somewhere different to go eat, we'd decided on a slight combination of the two, and a short drive out to Canmore for the elusive poutine done right.   With it being just barely longer than a one hour drive, we figured we'd start out early.   As with any road trip, we started out slightly later than planned, but in all, it was a good thing, since for one thing, it is located in a slightly odd spot, seemingly in the middle of an industrial area, and secondly, as we drove up, La Belle Patate appeared closed.   Luckily, they opened at noon, and we just got there 10 mins early is all.   I will say, it is a strange hour to open during the weekend, when usually the lunch rush will start slightly earlier than that, and you'd like to get your operation up and running beforehand.


Anyways, we waited in the car for a short little while, watching the workers inside prep the business for lunch, and a few cars joined us in the wait.   I decided to hop out just before the others did, so we managed to be the first in line.   That was a good thing, as the line grew very quickly, and the available tables (which were not very many) were full almost immediately.  The decor of the interior is pretty plain, some old quebecois decorations like signed hockey sticks, some old QMJHL jerseys, and not much else.

The menu contains the aforementioned poutines in at least a dozen configurations, plus burgers, hot dogs a la Montreal (steamies), some Montreal-style subs, and of course, the Montreal smoked meat sandwich.   The poutines come in 3 sizes, but with huge differences in size between the small and the medium at the least.   Looks like for 2 dollars more, you could get double.   I however decided on the small, just so I could also get a sub.   My sister chose a poutine hache, which involved the traditional poutine topped with ground beef and onions, plus a smoked meat sandwich, her friend decided to go big on the burger and try La Belle burger, a one pound monster with 4 pieces of bacon, mushrooms, onions, and 'belle sauce'.   For me, the steak and pepperoni sub, plus a poutine 'Ian', that mixed in onions, mushrooms, bacon, and cubed Mtl smoked meat into the fries, gravy, and squeaky cheese curds.

First impression - yum!   The poutine had crispy fries, the gravy wasn't too salty, and the cheese was melty enough to be a bit stringy.   Perfect!   I dug into the sub, which was a bit messy to eat, but very flavourful.   Again, not too salty, with a bit of each of the ingredients in each bite, and the sub bun being toasted but not too hard either.   I tried a small bit of the Mtl smoked meat sandwich, and while it wasn't as good as the ones I've had in Montreal, it was probably the best I've had in the Calgary area.   We just wished it had a spicier mustard on it, but there were a few bottles of hot sauce at the pickup window area.   

I'd have to say overall, the prices were a bit high, with the poutines going from $8 - 14, while the subs and sandwiches around $10, but I'd go back for the food.   Not all the time, it's pretty heavy, mind you, but I'd go back.   

Taste: 9.0 - great poutine, good subs/sandwiches, I need to try other stuff on the menu!

Presentation:  8.5 - this category is somewhat not applicable, due to the type of food being served.

Ambiance:   6.0 - clean, but nothing special here.   Small environment, random decor, but Mr. Potato-head toys for the kids!

Service:   9.0 - very fast service, we'd just finished eating when we were asked if everything tasted ok, and our dishes cleared away for us.  Didn't expect that from what appears to be a fast-food restaurant

Prices:   $8-14 per poutine, $10-12 per sandwich/burger