Poutine Battle Embroils Canada

Residents of Montreal were in an uproar today as news of a Toronto-based poutine-eating contest spread throughout canada. Montreal, after all (according to those in Montreal), is the birthplace of Poutine.

The Canadian dish, poutine (French fries topped with fresh cheese curd and covered with brown gravy), is a diner staple that many believe was developed in Quebec in the 1950s and is now popular throughout Canada.

However, the dish did not become international news until MLE announced that it would team up with Smoke's Poutinerie in Toronto on May 22 for the World Poutine-Eating Championship. The event will be held at BMO Field prior to the Toronto FC/New England Revolution Soccer game.

Multiple Canadian news sources ran stories on the event, causing instant outrage among a segment of poutine aficionados who believe Montreal is the true home of the Canadian national food. The contest literally was the top trend on Canadian Twitter on the evening of April 13, 2010.

MLE, always diplomatic, has vowed to organize a Montreal/Toronto Poutine battle. Where Quebec stands in all of this, no one knows.