Oct 19 2008
Potato Champion
Location: SE 12th and Hawthorne
Description: Ahh, 2am and you’ve had a couple of beers. Now what? You could stop on by any one of the late night 24hr fast food joints for “4th meal” and pay for it in the morning, or you could head on down to SE 12th and Hawthorne and get some Frites. Yep, I’m calling them Frites instead of fries because they are that good.
Potato Champion is Portland’s only late night fry cart and from my experience, the only cart in town specializing in Belgian style frites. Belgian style frites are potatoes that are peeled, cut, washed and then blanched with a first fry before frying them again. This makes them crispy on the outside while staying fluffy on the inside. I don’t know about all that techno mumbo jumbo, I just know that they are just what the doctor ordered after a few beers at the local microbrew.
When I visited, it was pretty quiet on the corner, so I walked right up. The owners are very friendly and kind as I assume they get a few of their share of drunkards rolling by. I ordered a large cone with the Rosemary Truffle ketchup. Plenty for one person and I barely got to the ketchup as I was devouring the hot yummy fries without really thinking to pair them with anything. Next time I will try the tarragon anchovy mayo or maybe Poutine.
Yep, they have traditional Poutine, and even a vegan version. Cuisine Bonne Femme loves Poutine so much she writes,
Ah, how can I explain my love of Poutine? It’s simply trashy, French Canadian comfort food. Je t’aime la Poutine! See, Poutine is considered the national dish of Quebec, Canada. Much to the chagrin of the “real French” who consider the French Canadians a bunch of backwoods redneck idiots when it comes to cuisine. Sacre Bleu! Still, I dare you to not love anything with crispy fries covered in a rich brown chicken gravy and cheese curds, especially after a night of imbibing. I fell in love with Poutine while an exchange student in Quebec one summer, and I still crave it. It’s nice to see a place in Portland serving it.
Sample Menu:
Small cone: $3.50
Large cone: $4.50
Choice of sauces: Horseradish Ketchup; Rosemary Truffle Ketchup; Mayonnaise; Pesto Mayo; Tarragon Anchovy Mayo; Remoulade; Dijon Mustard; “Harder” Hot Mustard, etc.
Poutine: Small: $4; Large: $5 (Vegan and Vegetarian available)
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday: 8pm – 3am; closed Sunday-Tuesday
Phone: Unknown
Email: Unknown
Website:www.potatochampion.com
Glad to see one of my favorite carts here, definitely try the anchovy mayo! the salty fish flavor + (wonderfully) greasy fries is a magical combo.
The Frites are as close to a spiritual catharsis I’ve had in awhile, but that could be saying more about me than the spuds. However, having watched Mike and his potato mill pump out thousands of pounds of fries, he’s definitely doing something right…
The stumps are kewl too….
Had the poutine a while ago. Divine. In a really artery-clogging sort of way. Plus, it is the food of my people, those suspicious French Canadians.
[...] the real wild card: our quirky tastes. Someone bright eyed and better organized than me will open a french fry cart or vegan donut shop or gourmet salt store and suddenly an overlooked neighborhood will be wildly [...]
Great frites and poutin! We also had the remoulade, which is just terrific. I wish they were open all day (though my arteries are grateful they are only open late). Rumor has it they are looking for a store with a heavy emphasis on all things Belgium (frites, waffles, beer…)
So good.
The Poutine is wonderful, and I like the Low Countries so it’s great to have someone kicking it frite style in Portland. Nice people, too.
[...] Potato Champion Located at the NE corner of SE 12th and Hawthorne Blvd wed – sat > 8pm – 3am – LATE NIGHT POUTINE YOU GUYS sun/mon/tues > closed [...]
[...] pm – A handful of us end our evening with fried pies and frites at the food cart cluster at 12th & Hawthorne. I eat the BBQ brisket pie, and it is excellent; I [...]
its disgusting the way they just pile the pre cooked fries against the wall not very sanitary
I’m certain they clean those first-cooked fries – at 300 degrees, in oil.
POUTINE, baby!! I didn’t ‘get’ what the cheese curds were trying to add to the deal, so will skip them next time, but the fries were great and the gravy on top was perfection. YUM!
When friends asked if I wanted to go get fried pies at Whiffies, I was all for it. I was immediately sidetracked upon walking into the cart area by the Poutine sign. I was not at all disappointed, and have told every Canadian ex-pat I know about this place!
(I also caved in and went to Whiffies too! Poutine and a BBQ meat pie: Heaven!)