350th Blog Post: Go Global for Your Sunday Brunch: Canadian Breakfast Poutine with Tots!

Happy Easter (or Happy Sunday) LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

This my 350th blog post!  When I started this blog on December 18, 2010, I would have bet money that 3 1/2 years later I would NOT be still writing in it.  I have been the reigning Queen of Lazy and Procrastination for 4236 years now; so to be at "Blog Post Number 350" I am just floored!  Perhaps my cats have been ghost-writing some of the entries.  

A small renegade contingent of you have been reading from the very start.  Aren't you bored, yet?  Whoops I mean- thank you so much for reading!  

One thing that hasn't changed in 350 blog posts is that my cats still give me the stink-eye when I break out into a spontaneous dance number.  When will they learn to appreciate high art?  

Between dance numbers, you would think I would have run out of subjects to write about by now … but evidently I still keep blathering on and on and on!  Thank you for coming along for the ride!  Have a chocolate bunny and some marshmallow peeps in honor of this glorious day!

Now let's get back to business ...

I wrote this blog post in advance, in case I happened to be passed out in a bag of jelly beans by Easter Sunday.  The week before Easter is always treacherous for me as stores start marking down prices on their Easter candy to get it off the shelves.  "Fifty percent off?  Well I'd be a fool not to buy 300 packs of Reese's peanut butter cup eggs and 900 bags of jelly beans … oh and don't forget the MARSHMALLOW PEEPS!"

Then later I am found in the gutter, covered in crinkly green Easter basket grass with headless chocolate bunnies all around me.  Oh the shame, the mighty shame!

I basically have to barricade myself indoors and think about celery to keep me from running off and filling my entire car with Easter-themed sugar.  

In honor of Easter and Sunday brunches in general (I love breakfast food almost as much as I love sugar), today's post is about a dish I had in Vancouver, British Columbia.  

My job is a global role, so on a daily basis I am talking to people from all over the world.  However I take particular delight in chatting with my Toronto colleagues - especially about the antics of their Mayor.  I have spent the majority of my life living in states that border Canada.  During three years living in Buffalo, New York, I basically ran to Canada any chance I could get.  

But one thing I had never eaten in Canada on my many, many, many trips there was poutine.  For those of you unfamiliar, poutine is a dish that originated in Quebec.  It is a base of French fries, covered in brown gravy and topped with cheese curds.  I'm pretty sure whomever created this dish was insane or had a major case of the munchies.  I like Fries.  I like gravy.  I like cheese curds.  But all together?  Come on Canada, sober up!

I had poutine once in the States and was like "what the heck is the appeal?  This just looks like a pile of nasty covered in gravy."  (Now let me say that there are MANY plenty of "train wreck on a plate" dishes that I do enjoy.)  So when I traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia for the first time, I decided I was going to sample some hopefully "authentic" poutine and see what all the fuss was about.

On my trip, I had regular poutine, a short rib poutine and then a "breakfast poutine."  My favorite was the breakfast poutine - which technically is not a poutine at all (and probably why I liked it so much.)

I was staying at the Vancouver Four Seasons - a lovely, centrally located hotel.  The restaurant in the hotel is Yew Seafood-  a smart, chic eatery with good customer service.  On their breakfast menu, they had the "breakfast poutine" and I knew I had to try it.

O' Canada and Your Breakfast Poutine!

     
Instead of French fries, the base of the breakfast poutine was sweet potato tater tots. (I love a good Tater Tot.  Search for "tater tot" on this blog and get ready to be frightened when you see how many of my posts are dedicated to the beloved tot!)

Hello Sweet Potato Tater Tots!

Sliced free range chicken sausage, back bacon (I'm just going to call it ham), cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce topped the "mock poutine."

This breakfast food lover declared it: "100% Amazingly Delicious!"  It had the sweetness of the sweet potato tater tots with the saltiness of the sausage, back bacon and goat cheese.  It had the richness of the Hollandaise sauce and poached eggs with the acidity of the tart cherry tomatoes.  And it was all served up in a cute little iron skillet.

The portion size was super huge.  I ate and ate and ate and only finished half.  I needed a "Poutine Buddy" to finish off this breakfast!  Is there a "Woman Seeking Poutine Buddy" section on Craigslist?  

The breakfast poutine all around was very good.  The goat cheese was nice, but this dish would have been just as good without it.  Although I suppose it would not be a "mock poutine" without some cheese on top. 

Sadly, the breakfast menu for Yew Seafood Restaurant no longer contains the breakfast poutine.  Perhaps Canadians are not as fond as I am of this "breakfast bastardization" of their national appetizer.  However this breakfast-loving American thinks it is pretty darn tasty!  U.S.A.!  U.S.A.!

One of these days I am going to recreate this dish at home for my own brunch event.  It is a relatively easy dish to throw together, but has a "slaved away in the kitchen all day" taste. Plus it would give me an excuse to buy some baby iron skillets … I LOVE BUYING KITCHEN STUFF!  

So Canadians, I'm still not 100% sold on poutine but I am 200% in love with breakfast poutine.  Baby steps to international diplomacy and peace … through breakfast foods!

P.S.  Here are some pictures of Yew Restaurant - if you're in Vancouver, check it out!

I love any place that draws in my cappuccino foam and serves a biscotti on the side

Yew Restaurant - Vancouver

Yew Restaurant

Yew Restaurant

RAIN WON'T STOP US! Food Truck Recommendations for the World Record-Breaking 200 Food Truck Rally

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

I have been eating light all week, so even though we heard it would be most likely raining the first day of the two day 200 Food Truck Rally - I was NOT going to let that stop me!  Luckily my Food Truck loving friend felt the same way!

First, a little annoyed because all the publicity for the past MONTHS for the event said it started at 11 a.m. on Saturday.  So I didn't double-check the times released in the newspaper yesterday.  Um yeah they changed the time to Noon.  So we got to sit at the Fairgrounds - when it was NOT raining - for over an hour before the gates opened.  Two seconds after we walked through the gates, it started raining.  Such is life!  

We weren't going to let a little water stop us from enjoying the day!  Plus there were covered beer tents and a covered band tent plus the shelter of the expo hall with plenty of tables to enjoy your food.  Rain or shine, my stomach was ready for some good eats!

As you may know from previous posts giving "tater tot duels", I love a good TATER TOT.  (See my posts:  Dueling Tater Tots and Tater Tot Duel: The Sequel.)  So we had decided to first hit the "Hott Mess" truck as our very first food truck of the 200 Food Truck rally.  And those smart food truckers at Hott Mess, they had tweeted where they were located in the fairgrounds so we were able to find them FAST!  (Thank you for that!)  

We went up and ordered an original "Hott Mess" and a Buffalo chicken Hott Mess.  I gave my name "Lily" with the order and a gentleman who I am 98.9% sure was the Hott Mess Food Truck Owner said "My wife wants to know if you are @SouthTampaLily from Twitter."  

I'M FAMOUS!  

Outed at the Fairgrounds!  Shush, don't tell the paparazzi!  "Yes, yes I am @SouthTampaLily - NOW GIVE ME MY TOTS!"  OK maybe I didn't say that second part.  ;-)

Hot Mess Menu

Whether you are a Hott Mess or not, these TOTS are good!

Buffalo Chicken Hott Mess and the Original Hott Mess- yes, that's BACON!

Both tater tot dishes were fabulous but the Buffalo Chicken was my absolute favorite!

Next to the Betty Rocker food truck - bourbon bacon brownie and the "Lunchbox" special - vanilla cake with peanut butter, jelly and a Dorito (yes Doritos tortilla chips!)  My friend and I both unfortunately did NOT like the bourbon bacon brownie - dry brownie, rubbery bacon bits inside and to me it tasted like cough syrup.  Sorry!  But we LOVED the Lunchbox special - it was like all the best parts of grade school in a cupcake.  Delicious!

Get the Lunchbox special - how often do you have a Dorito in your cupcake?

Next it was on to The Big Cheese Food truck.  Which I swear was hiding - we kept saying "Big Cheese!  Big Cheese!  Where are you?"  Finally we found it on the other side from where we started.  You are NOT hiding from us, Big Cheese!

My friend had the pizza grilled cheese which had these thin, savory, non greasy discs of pepperoni that were to die for!  I took a big piece out of my friend's sandwich and chowed down!  Hey, what are friends for?  I liked their POUTINE specials (so delicious looking, had to put it all in caps), the Mac and Cheese Pork grilled cheese and the make your own grilled cheese selections.  Yum, yum, yum!

Pepperoni Grilled Cheese!

Then on to the truck I was really looking forward to - The Twisted Iron.  I had their chicken & waffle.  My friend had the S'mores waffle bites.  DELICIOUS.  The chicken was crispy, juicy, fresh and flavorful.  The waffle was dense and held up to the chicken.  The waffle bites were slathered in chocolate and marshmallow sauce - a gigantic decadent mass of s'mores delight - you need like 4-6 friends for this naughty dessert!

The Twisted Iron Food Truck

Chicken & Waffle with Maple Syrup and Honey Mustard - delicious!

S'mores Waffle Bites with Graham bits, Chocolate & Marshmallow Sauce

The rain and the winds started picking up harder, so we ate our Twisted Iron delights in the shelter of the Expo Hall.  Rain was NOT going to stop us from trying as many of the great food trucks at the 200 Food Truck Rally that we could!  

Luckily it is a two day event - tomorrow we want to try and check out:

- Disco Donuts - a local Tampa Bay DELICIOUS institution

- PAO food truck - Filipino food truck - their pancit noodles are the bomb!

- Heart & Seoul - 100% vegan Korean food truck -where else can you get Vegan Bulgogi?

- Fry Daddy - they have deep fried Oreos, Snickers, Twinkies and Rice Krispy Treats!

- Ninja Noms gourmet eggrolls - we are DEFINITELY having these!

- Mobile Munchiez - little stuffed rice balls are calling out your name!  It's Latin-American-Italian fusion and they have pictures of Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in the window of their truck!  That alone seals the deal!

- Cake Bus - A CHICKEN & WAFFLE CUPCAKE - yes, you heard me!

Cake Bus Food Truck

- Wine Not from Western NY and their wine slushies and ice cream!  I lived in Buffalo for three years - I need some wine ice cream to make me forget all the snowstorms I lived through!

There are TWO Wine Not trucks at the 200 Food Truck Rally

- Hip Pops - pick a gelato popsicle, a dipper and a coating - 1-2-3-FABULOUS!

Everyone wants to be near handcrafted awesomeness!

And there are so many more great food trucks - Killer Sammich, The Dude and His Food (best food truck name EVER), London Fish & Chippy, the ultimate pizza Humble Pie Wood Fired Pizza from Gainesville, Macarollin' gourmet mac & cheese, Lolo Ono Hawaiian Shave Ice, Not Your Ordinary Food Truck ($5 for kangaroo on a stick- I had kangaroo in Cairns - it's actually pretty delicious!)  

There is also a stand that does drinks in hollowed out pineapples - I'm sorry I forgot your name - just look for the long line because they are majorly delicious and majorly popular!  Curbside Chef has a red velvet pancake skewer with a quail egg!  Come on people, that is crazy delicious sounding!  SO MANY AWESOME FOOD TRUCKS!  

The food truck rally goes through 8 p.m. Saturday March 29 and 11-6 on a much dryer, sunny Sunday March 30 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.  (Parking $6 for cars, $12 for larger vehicles.  No cover charge to attend the Food Truck Rally).  I really hope you check it out.  The food is great, supporting small businesses is great - it's just a Happy Belly Awesome time!

Tater Tot Duel - The Sequel!

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

Happy Friday!  Last November, I wrote a "Tater Tot Duel" post comparing Merchants Restaurant of Nashville, Tennessee's tater tots against Anise Global Gastrobar of Tampa, Florida's tater tots.  (Read more about it here.)  But just like a good tater tot, one tater tot blog post is just not enough!

So ladies and gentlemen -- I give you … Tater Tot Duel - The Sequel.

In this corner … The Jumbo Bacon and Onion Tater Tots from Rise Kitchen & Bakery at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino!

And in this corner … The Cheesy Tots from The Canopy Roof Top Bar at the Birchwood Hotel!

First let's start off with the Jumbo Bacon and Onion Tater Tots from Rise Kitchen & Bakery.  They were not kidding when they advertised them as "jumbo."  They are about two to two and a half times the size of your normal tot.  More of a tater log, if you will.  

Each order comes with four tater (logs) tots and a side of smoky balsamic ketchup from the Hard Rock's Council Oak steakhouse.  

The tater tots were crisp with a breading that you do not find on your "classic tot."  It reminded me more of a potato croquette than a true tater tot.  The inside was moist and packed with potato, bacon and onion.  

However when you advertise a dish as "bacon and onion" - I want to taste intense smoky bacon and onion flavor.  Although I could clearly see the bacon and onion, I wasn't getting a strong taste of it.  The bacon pieces lacked that smoky meaty taste that is bacon.  I wondered if they would have cooked the bacon crisper before blending it with the potato and onion and rolling it in breadcrumbs, would the bacon taste have been stronger?  It tasted more like bland ham bits than bacon.  

The accompanying ketchup was OK - I longed for more tomato and less barbecue-ish flavor.  Overall these tots were decent - I give an A for concept but a C for execution.

Now on to the cheesy tots from The Canopy Rooftop Bar at the Birchwood Hotel in St. Petersburg.  I apologize for repeating the photo here, but these tots were so good I didn't take any other pictures because I was too busy shoving them in my mouth.  

These tots contain cheddar cheese and fresh, vine-ripened shishitso peppers.  They were topped with what I believe to be feta cheese and green onions.  

These tots are from heaven - crispy, spicy, cheesy, pure potato-y, fried pillows of goodness.  Forget the spectacular view from the open rooftop bar.  Forget the swank fireplaces, couches and pretty servers.  Forget all of that!  Just stick me in a box on skid row with a bowl of these tots and I would be in heaven.  I physically had to stop myself from eating the entire bowl, they were that good!

They are on the rich side.  They soaked up more oil than I would have liked, but the taste was so decadent and flavorful!

The Canopy also serves a dish called "Tots, Tots, Tots!" which are tater tots with herb salt and lemon garlic aioli.  They also sell truffle fries, fresh cut fries and sweet potato fries if you are anti-tot (heaven forbid!).  Their menu for these items is titled "Fried Potato Specialities" - which might as well say "Deep Fried Love Messages From Jesus."    

I wanted to try the "Tots, Tots, Tots!" too but I was afraid of Tot Overload (as if there ever could be such a thing?!)  So next time I will have to go to The Canopy to try the non-cheesy tots.  (If I can stay away from those delicious cheesy tots!)

This tater tot duel was an epic battle of tot additives - bacon and onion versus cheese and peppers.  I commend both restaurants for offering the potato in my most favored "tot form."  However in this battle between Rise Kitchen & Bakery versus The Canopy - I have to say that The Canopy's "Cheesy Tots" wins hands down!

Congratulations to The Canopy and their delightfully cheesy, spicy tots!

And I have to say - you can't beat the rooftop view at the Canopy - here are some pictures …

Do you have any tater tot recommendations?  Please write them in the comments below!

Dueling Tater Tots!

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

My name is Lily … and I am in love … with tater tots.

Seriously, there is rarely a tot I don't like.  They are perfect little rounded cubes of potato-ey goodness.  If you hate tater tots, chances are I probably will hate you.  I'm sorry, but it's true.

So when I see tater tots on a menu, I have to have them.  This past weekend was a Two-Tot weekend.  I went to two restaurants with tater tots on the menu.  Had I died and gone to Tater Tot Heaven??

For LilyOnTheLam, I have done comparison posts on pot pies, strawberry shortcakes, pumpkin pies and other delights … so it is about time I did a "Tater Tot Duel" post.

Ladies and Gentlemen … in this corner of the ring … the duck fat fried Tater Tots from Merchants Restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee …

The picture above is a half-order of duck fat tater tots with chipotle mayo, béarnaise sauce and good old classic ketchup.  The chipotle mayo was my favorite.  A chipotle ketchup would have been a nice addition as well.

I enjoyed these tater tots, but when you tell me something is fried in duck fat I expect a lush, rich, slightly greasy mouthfeel.  I am a fan of duck fat French fries, so for better or worse I know my duck fat fried foods.

These tots were definitely missing that full-bodied, fried richness. They tasted like tater tots cooked in canola or vegetable oil.  Clean and crisp tasting.  If the menu had just said tater tots, I would have been really happy.  But by saying "duck fat tater tots," I was somewhat disappointed with the flavor.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the opposite corner of the ring … Anise Global Gastrobar of Tampa, Florida's very own Truffled Tater Tots …

First off, I have to make a confession that I love anything that comes in its own basket.  There's something "doll house cute" about a mini fryer basket full of truffle oil infused tots.  

Next, Anise Global Gastrobar serves these yummy little creatures with a lemon parsley creme fraiche that is AMAZING!  The citrus and the richness go so well with the hearty indulgent truffled tater tots.  

The rich, lush mouthfeel that I was missing from Merchants' duck fat tater tots was here in the savory truffle oil tater tots from Anise Global Gastrobar.  Total winner.

Both orders of tater tots made my stomach happy, but if I had to pick a winner in this tater tot duel - I would have to give the prize to Anise Global Gastrobar.  Between the yummy tot and the awesome dipping sauce, their truffled tater tots are insanely good.

If you have a tater tot recommendation, please comment below!