Canadians and poutine enthusiasts are very particular about what goes into great poutine: Thick beef gravy on hot chips, topped with fresh cheese curds. Some might add bacon or brisket as an extra topping.
But a local Burger Fuel branch has come under fire for its 'atrocious' take on poutine after a photo of the serving was posted online over the weekend.
The fast-food outlet bought back its limited-edition 'Vladimir Poutine' in May, promising on the website: "Poutine fans, we got you."
"For a limited time only, our famous Burger Fuel Spud Fries are available coated in rich, hot gravy, fresh cheese curds, tasty bacon and grated parmesan," the website reads, accompanied by a delicious-looking image.
But the poutine dish Reddit user 'CocaColaVeins' received over the weekend was very different from the one pictured, leading to them questioning whether Burger Fuel was guilty of "false advertising".
The image shows a small portion of fries drizzled with a little gravy and a small sprinkle of bacon. The poster wrote that it had cost them $9.
Commenters dubbed it "atrocious".
"Looks like they nailed the first syllable," one person joked.
"Burger Fuel's 'poutine' is like the [McDonald's] McRib... you hear about it and you think it's amazing, and then you go and get it and it's just so mediocre," wrote another.
"Poutine? A f**king TRAVESTY... it's not even the notion of poutine, it's the malformed sperm of imitation poutine," raged another.
"As a Canadian, I'm somewhat of an expert on all matters poutine," one ex-pat wrote. "The first year Burger Fuel did this it was fantastic. The second it was atrocious. I complained and got a refund, ordered another thinking it was a one-off. Nope. The second and third (what can I say, I'm an optimist and an addict) were just as bad. The third was even from a different store."
But another leapt to the defence of the fast-food outlet.
"Weird, my local Burger Fuel is always on point. I'm guessing you struck a staff member having a bad day. I'd have taken it back rather than plastering it all over the internet, but that's just me."
Burger Fuel has been contacted for comment.
