All day, the cinetrix has been dragging her heels, knowing that, objectively, a story like Sharon Waxman's about "what do girls want?" from Hollywood "after a string of disappointing results for movies aimed at girls and young women this year" should be right up my street. But it's a rainy Monday and my heart just wasn't in it.
Then I read the real Cinderella story: the ascendancy of poutine pride in Quebec. The charge is being led by none of than Montreal's own Prince Charming de cuisine, Martin Picard, the owner of Au Pied de Cochon, perhaps the 'Fesser's favorite restaurant in the world.
Quebec's signature dish, made of fried potatoes covered with melted cheddar cheese curds and gravy, is slowly spreading beyond Canada and winning fans as far away as New York City and Florida. But the really big culinary news is that poutine is becoming haute cuisine.[snip]
"People were ashamed to say, 'I want to go to a restaurant to eat poutine,' " said Mr. Picard recently in an interview at his restaurant. "You'd eat it at 3 in the morning when you are drunk or after a party. I didn't like the hypocrisy."
[snip]
As for Mr. Picard, he has bigger thoughts about poutine than its calorie count.
"When you go to a restaurant for a salad, you have a problem," he said with a stern look. "I just love foie gras. I think I was born with a foie gras in place of a liver. And when you eat poutine, it makes you happy."
Vraiment.
