Zany Beaver

Oh dear LAWD! Poutine! Where have you been my whole life?!
My mister and I drove down the road to the Oro Valley Farmers Market yesterday to buy honey from our favorite bee keepers and Lo and Behold! A food truck was there! And not just any food truck… it was the Zany Beaver! My mister commented that one of his friends has eaten poutine from them so we decided to try it for ourselves.
First let me state… this is NOT a heart healthy food. And every once in awhile, that’s ok! It was our treat and we dove in!
If you don’t know what poutine is, allow me to describe it. It’s a bottom layer of french fries, topped by cheese curds, and then topped with a beef gravy. AND IT’S DELICIOUS!
My mister ordered poutine with the smoked pulled pork pork ($ 9.00) and I ordered the Spicy Canuck with chicken (also $ 9.00), Misters was the staple of the Zany Beaver, home cut fries, cheddar cheese curds, and beef gravy, while mine was home cut fries, jalapeño cheese curds, gravy and your choice of meat. You can also forgo any meat and just go au naturale.
My guys pulled pork was tender, flavorful, and plentiful as was the chicken on top of my poutine. The gravy was good, but I do believe that what another Unilocaler said about it being from a mix is correct. Though it was still quite yummy, if a bit salty. Like I said, this was a splurge for us!
The portions are a very good size, as a matter-​of-​fact, I couldn’t finish mine and gave the rest to my guy.
Drinks run in the $ 2.00 range.
Verdict…we’ll be visiting the Zany Canadian again, but we’ll limit our consumption to once a month or so. We’re trying to maintain our youthful figures… I almost couldn’t write that with a straight face!
Give poutine a try!

Quite possibly one of the best things I’ve eaten from a food truck. Each component is great on its own — which is important, because there are only 3 or 4 total ingredients, depending on what you order — but they combine to form something magical. The fries are fresh and perfectly done, the cheese curds are really tasty and squeak against your teeth, and the gravy is not too thick and not too salty, so it really ties everything together. The pulled pork is worth the extra $ 2 and adds an extra dimension of flavor with its sweet meatiness.
While it’s definitely possible for one person to consume an entire portion of poutine, you might want to consider skipping all other meals that day. I’ve found that a carbonated beverage helps with digestion, and Zany Beaver conveniently sells bottled Coke made with real sugar. I’m sure beer would be an even better pairing, but alas, I’ve only had Zany Beaver when they came to my workplace for lunch, so I can’t verify that hypothesis. If you find yourself near the Zany Beaver with a large appetite and a fairly empty stomach, it’s not to be missed.
Bonus points because the people working the truck have always been friendly and helpful.

We found this gem during a Second Saturdays event and shared a Hot Canadian poutine (made with pepper jack cheese curds) and pulled pork. To call it delicious would be an understatement. There’s really nothing more to say here. It’s a perfect comfort food!

Amazing food! My family loves the chicken Poutine! Can’t walk past the truck without smelling the delicious gravy and salivating! SO GOOD! And the cheese curds squeak as they should!

At first I was hesitant due my first pountine experience. Once I gave Zany a try, it redeemed pountine in my book, now I know why it’s a big hit in Canada.
Properly cooked fries that are crisp and soft on the inside. The gravy was excellent, was not super salty so you can tell it was not from a can. The pountine is the best I have had. You also get an option of meat to go on top. I went with the chicken and even that was great, not dry and very moist.
The serving size is quite filling perfect to share.
I highly suggest these folks if you want pountine.

I can now say that I have had poutine. I got the pulled pork poutine and it easily exceeded my expectations. I wanted free refills! The poutine had a nice almost smoky taste to it that was amazing. This is the next day and it is all I can think about. This food went really well with the beer inside the Dragoon Brewery. They took the extra effort to bring the food to us inside. It didn’t seem to take too long. The person who brought it was very helpful.

What’s better than warm fries covered in gravy and topped with cheese curds? Warm fries covered in gravy topped with cheese curds and BACON! I love the Zany Beaver’s gluttonous approach to the already decadent Canadian treat Poutine. Like the addition if bacon they offer several different extra add-​ons, all quite delicious!
I will warn you that you do want to split an order with at least one other person lest you wish to recreate Monty Python’s famous Meaning of Life scene. I usually split it between 2 adults and a small child and find we’re all happily sated. If you have not tried them you must!

Delicious, but what I can a «gut grenade.» Poutine may be the best beer munchies EVER; unfortunately, I finished college 20 years ago and no longer need beer munchies, but by 6yo LOVES this stuff! Can’t go wrong, but get one to share before committing to a whole boat alone!

Yummy but obviously a little heavy if you plan on eating this all by yourself. The best plan of action is to grab a friend or two when you see this food truck and share one order of these bad boys. So delicious, I just ordered the original, but wish I had ordered the one with bacon or other meaty delicacies. next time Zany Beaver. next time.

Whoever decided smothering French fries and cheese curds in gravy is a genius! This was my first encounter with poutine, but I brought my French-​Canadian friend along so I could get her opinion on it. She said this is the real deal! The fries were cut with the potato skins still on, the beef gravy had a slight sweetness to it, and the cheese curds were WISCONSIN cheese curds that SQUEAKED when I bit into them! (For those of you who are unfamiliar with cheese curds, the freshest ones will squeak against your teeth as you bite into them.) I will definitely be tracking down this food truck again!!!

My family is from Canada, so I’ve grown up loving poutine. I always wondered why it was so hard to find in the USA, especially since it’s something I feel most Americans would love. Thank you, Zany Beaver, for bringing this delicious comfort food to Tucson! Only complaint is that the price is a little high for poutine, but worth it!

Poutine is obviously French for «you’re going to need a bigger belt if you keep eating this stuff». Fries are covered in gravy and topped with cheese curds. Ain’t nothing wrong with that… unless you are Jenny Craig. The Zany Beaver takes it a step further and adds more stuff like bacon and pulled pork, if you dare.
Some comments in the other reviews for the Zany Beaver kind of stuck out to me… mostly because I had the same experience.
The comment about the spice level on the Hot Canadian (your standard poutine amped up with jalapeño cheese curds) failing to cause spicy food pain was spot on.
A couple of comments about the salt level being just this side of ocean water were right on as well… and I am not sensitive to salt. I haven’t seen too many comments on the gravy, but I thought the consistency and flavor of it was really good. Quite possibly, they use beef base to make their gravy, which can be pretty salty as well.
I, too, took one look at the price level and said, «$ 9.00? For potatoes, gravy and cheese?» They do however give you a piping hot, good-​sized portion and it does fill you up.
It’s a guilty pleasure, for sure, and I am glad I tried it but between the salt and calories it’s probably a good thing there is no nutrition label.

Love the Food Truck craze and love the Zany Beaver! Very unique and a must! French fries with bacon, flavored cheese curds, smothered in gravy! AMAZING and great comfort food.

I have been wanting to try Poutine since watching Anthony Bourdain up in Canada on a bit of drinking binge in one of his shows. I must say I was not disappointed by the treat served up by the Zany Beaver food truck a few nights ago. I had the Spicy Canuck. How can you go wrong with a base of crispy fresh cooked fries loaded with like a pepper jack cheese curd and delicious brown gravy smothered in crunchy cut up bacon chunks not bits mind you. Want to hunt these very nice people down again this weekend to feast on another dose. Service polite and friendly, any questions answered right off. Food excellent I can only vouch for the one serving. Will return definitely, can’t wait. Price good serving is a meal for one or a great appetizer for 2 to 4 people depending on the piggy status of your group.

Absolutely great tasting food. awesome cheese curds that are so fresh they sqeak against your teeth, good quality gravy and good size portions for the price.
my only complaint is that the spicy canuck (and the pepper jack cheese curds) had absolutely no heat at all. given I bought them because I wanted something spicy was a bit of a let down, but the flavor was enough to make up for the disappointment. it mightve been spicy in the white-​bread-​and-​mayo-​midwest sort of way, but we’re in the southwest where (depending on where you go) pain is a flavour. I’d hate to change the flavor by adding some sort of hot sauce, just to get the spice level I want, so until the spicy version gets brought up a bit I’m giving it 4 stars.

Gravy, fries and cheese curds what is not to like?
This truck specializes in poutine. If you dont know what that is then I suggest you re read my first statement.
OK I could stand it to be a little less salty, but I am salt sensitive.
They also have a version with bacon and a special version with pulled pork, haven’t tried those yet it just seems too hot to load up on such a heavy dish when it is still 100+ degrees out but this winter ohh boy I cant wait.
And for all of those of you who didnt know poutine is like the national dish of canada and as you might gather form the name it is french canadian in origin so thats what makes it an ethnic food truck, assuming you believe that canadian is an ethnicity (which I dont) vs a mentality/​nationality (which I do).