Poutini House of Poutine, Toronto

Homegrown is the word in this French fry haven, where everything from the potatoes themselves to the restaurant's wooden accoutrements can be easily traced back to rural Ontario. Poutini, in other words is not your regular greasy, take-out spot. Conceived by two French Canadian brothers from Sudbury, Fred and Nick Laliberte, the French fry haven, while affordable, offers an environment that would comfortably cater to more than just the spectacular potato dish. Do not picture a fast food dive; every detail in the space, from the streaming natural light, to the wooden table tops, to the Victorian wallpaper feature-wall is as meticulously designed as any eat-in dining establishment in the city. The good news is: the care and attention to detail that goes into the creation of the Poutini's atmosphere also goes into the food. How do I know this as fact, you ask, gentle reader? Answer: Nick and Fred, along with the help of their contractor and uncle, Paulo Martinez, did everything themselves - they even culled the building materials from their farm in Sudbury.

Having recently earned their University degrees, the brothers Laliberte certainly haven't got the pedigree of many restaurateurs in the city, but at the same time, these boys know poutine. The two have spent a lifetime each studying (some might call it eating) the ubiquitous food and felt the market needed the perfect poutine. Fred's French fry theory runs under the notion that all three items need to have a fine balance: the fries must be crisp and with skin; the gravy must be creamy and act as a condiment; but the real secret, is in the curds. Like the snap a hot dog makes when you bite into it, the cheese curd must have a pronounced squeak when you eat it. Uncovering a squeaky cheese (which is a fresh cheese) curd in the city is not simple, so Fred brings in the product from a variety of local farms daily.