Long Lost Foods - Found!

Three months may not seem like enough time for something to qualify as "long lost," but for me, that's a long time to go without some of my favorite foods - especially seeing as I believed they didn't exist in this country, and so was going to have to wait a lot longer. 

I have been looking for poutine* in Auckland since before my arrival, and google revealed that the only place that served it closed when the owners moved back to Canada. We spent one last weekend in Ontario before moving, and I ate 4 different poutines in 3 days to get my fill (and I wonder why none of my clothes fit on arrival - just kidding, I know exactly why they didn't fit - and it was delicious!). 

I didn't realize how much I missed poutine until I started looking for cheese curds so I could make some for Canadian Thanksgiving. I couldn't find them anywhere!  Then, at Thanksgiving, our Canadian friend Clare casually mentioned that she'd heard that an American/Canadian deli had opened up in the CBD that serves poutine. I wanted to go immediately (despite being so full from Thanksgiving), but thought it might be better to wait a couple days for my arteries to recover.

Anyway, Friday night me, Rob and the Canadians headed to the Federal Delicatessen to confirm these rumors. There was poutine! And it was delicious! The chef came out to see who ordered three large plates of poutine (me and the Canadians) and a pastrami sandwich (Rob).  

The poutine was a little strange at first because the cheese curds had been cut into cubes, but after being mixed all together, it started to get a bit melty and delicious. It's no Boomer's Gourmet Fries, but I will definitely be back!

Also... Clare told us the saddest story ever. Her parents are health nuts and she wasn't allowed to eat junk food as a kid. When she was about 8, she went to a ski lodge and her parents gave her money for lunch. She bought some poutine (it was to be her first), but before she got to try it, her dad took it from her and threw it away!  And then didn't give her any money to replace it!  So she had no poutine and no lunch.

The other food I have really been missing is Delice de Bourgogne**, which is a triple-creamed brie that is basically like butter. We used it in lieu of butter on bread for eating with things like chili or spaghetti.  We couldn't find an adequate substitute anywhere - until we finally made it to Auckland's French Market. The cheese stand there sells Pierre Robert (it's fate!) and it's very similar to Delice de Bourgogne. It's a bit more pricey, but oh so worth it.

*Poutine is a traditional Canadian dish of french fries smothered with cheese curds and gravy. If you didn't know that before reading this, you should go get yourself some poutine so I don't have to feel sad for you anymore.

**Again, if you haven't had this, go get some now. You can find it at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, and it's not that pricey. Trust me on this one.