The Contender: Deluxe Fish & Chips, 964 Prospect St., Fredericton, New Brunswick
When were you there? Sunday, December 14; 7:15pm
How much? $5.86, (taxes included)
The Experience: I love Deluxe so much. It’s the ghetto-est of all fast food joints. I didn’t know until recently that it was a New Brunswick-only thing, either. I knew it started in Moncton, but I figured it was like Pizza Delight and had outlets all over the Maritimes.
If you take a moment while you’re in there to observe your surroundings, you’ll be instantly transported back to a McDonald’s in 1989. Plus, there’s never anybody in there. Literally. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Deluxe on Prospect and not been the only customer there. I have no idea how they stay in business. My various stints as a Regent Mall wage slave suggests the one in the food court stays afloat relying on old people who are willing to pay $10 for a BLT and fries, but I don’t know how this stand-alone place does it.
Most of the food there comes on cardboard plates. The really cheap ones they also use at every sketchy roadside takeout place on earth. The poutine is an exception to this, however, as it comes in a very special domed containment unit. The base is black plastic with a styrofoam lining, and the lid is clear plastic. Presumably so you can monitor your poutine as it congeals. What a time to be alive, friends.
So anyway. This poutine was definitely the best of the three I’ve reviewed thus far. Granted, one’s expectations of fast food poutine are pretty low, but this was actually good. It had the same chickencow gravy you seem to get everywhere, and the fries were a little over-done. But it also had CHEESE CURDS. Honest to goodness curds. OMGWTFBBQ. So delicious. And the consistency of this shit was absolutely perfect: slightly melty overall, but still maintaining some deposits of cool-ish cheese hiding deep in the greasy wad. Marvellous.
The Verdict: Deluxe loses one point for the (slightly) overcooked fries. They lose another point for the serving size. It wasn’t tiny, but when the going rate for poutine is $4.50 and you’re charging almost $6, I’d expect the portions to be about the same, even if the quality is better. They weren’t. Overall, this was definitely one of the better poutines I’ve had in Fredericton and I will undoubtedly jam this in my face again.
Tags: Deluxe Fish and Chips, food, Fredericton, poutine, reviews
August 31, 2009 at 9:25 am |
There’s a Deluxe in Truro. I think there might be one in a Halifax food court as well.
August 31, 2009 at 9:40 am |
Yeah, I found out about the Truro one a little while ago. MW always made a big deal about going to Deluxe when he came home to visit because he insisted it didn’t exist anywhere else.
November 27, 2009 at 8:30 am |
[...] Verdict: This definitely isn’t the worst poutine I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t great either. Deluxe is right across the street, I suggest going there for your uptown Fredericton poutine needs [...]