If I were to ask myself, "What is the difference between poutine and loaded fries?" I could then annoy the heck out of myself by answering with a similar question like "What is the difference between sirloin and steak?" This is one of those irritating logic problems so beloved by standardized test developers: If A = B, then must B = A? Not if A is a subset of B, which is the case with poutine and loaded fries. You can't just call any loaded fry dish "poutine" to sound fancy. Poutine evolved in Canada's Quebec province in the late '50s or early '60s and features cheese curds and gravy as toppings.
Its Canadian history sets it apart from other types of loaded fries. Cheese fries and chili fries are the ancestors of American loaded fries. Both of these dishes, like poutine, have murky origins, but they were also a mid-century phenomenon.
Dairy Queen may have been among the first restaurants to catch on to the possibilities of loading up its fries with extra toppings, but over the years, numerous other fast-food chains have jumped on board the loaded fry train. Some of the best-known loaded fast food fries of the modern era include , which have been re-introduced to the menu at least 10 times to date (at some point, they should just stay on the menu, right?), and that suck somewhat less than its standard ones. Some poutine variations blur the lines Over time, even the most traditional dishes may be tweaked by clever chefs.
The venerable Le Roy Jucep, the Drummondville, Quebec, re.