Cantine Chez Paul

Pépites d’Or (way up in St.-Georges) does not start serving poutine until 11. Heathens! So that left me with just 8 poutineries at the end of the weekend, and I had really been hoping for nine. Fortunately, my friend left me with a recommendation as I left him at the bus stop.
Enter Chez Paul. Right on the main drag in Magog, you wouldn’t know just what is served here by passing by. Peer in the window, and it becomes clear they are all about world-​class poutine. I parked right outside, hoping meters were free on Sunday (no signs, but everyone else’s time had expired), and ran in. I tried the one item I didn’t yet have on the trip — smoked meat poutine.
Paul, whoever you are, your smoked meat earned that 5^th star and then some. Very generous portion of what I think Americans would call «corned beef». I have eaten similar, of equal quality, on St. Patrick’s Day (so it’s Irish-​style, not Jewish-​style). It was a great complement to the squeaky curds, crispy fries and delicious gravy.
The staff do speak English here — this is a historically English-​speaking part of Quebec and quite close to Vermont — which is a plus for the casual traveler. I ended up speaking French to their English, just to test my limits.
The man at the counter said I would find this to be the best poutine I ever had. Well, Chez Ben in Granby has won that title with such a huge lead it’s like watching Usain Bolt at a middle school track meet, but Chez Paul is neck and neck with the ranks of the other elite poutineries. My friend did not steer me wrong, and I will not steer you wrong. Visit here.

Great diner style poutine! Lots of cheese and swisschalete type gravy. Oversized portions. Not gourmet, but a really good diner style.

We stopped at Chez Paul on our way back to Montréal. The service is fast and very friendly. You know that Poutine is not real Cuisine, so no great expactations about the food, still it’s better than any Poutine I had in several months.

Chez Paul is your typical quebec diner with coffee, burgers and poutine. It is located on the main, which means it is easy access from little shops, bars and restaurants located on main street. When we sat it (a Wednesday at 16:30), the place was entierely empty except for the owner and his son (I believe).
The place itself is very tiny, with 6 – 8 bar stools from which you can observe the owner/​cook do his thing, and about 6 – 8 tables that can host about 20 people. It must be the same furniture from when it opened, a long time ago.
We had a medium poutine and I had coffee. The coffee was watered down big time, but it was with free refills. The poutine had fresh fries, but the sauce was your typical powder based BBQ sauce that you could do yourself at home except that it looked very orange and that it was way too salty. The curds were of the right kind, but did not seem fresh.
By the time we left, 10 – 12 more people had sat in. The owner was joking around with his regulars, and friendly conservations that were yelled from one side of the place to the other seemed like the most common thing. A+ for atmosphere!
I wouldn’t say that I was super excited about the food, but it was definitely worth a little stop on the main, amidst all the snow and the oh so trendy little Magog shops. I’d go again, but not expecting too much when it comes to the actual food. I wish I could give it 2.5 stars (2 food + .5 for atmosphere), but it’s christmas and I feel generous :)