Poutine 66 and the the Angels Chopper Bicycle Club

In one of my previous posts I was a bit badmouthing the Canadian specialty called poutine (fries and cheese curds with gravy). No wonder, the only poutine I had been exposed to till then was on the ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island, and honestly, that doesn’t deserve more than moderate enthusiasm. Poutine, however, can be so much more! There is a place right here in Victoria that takes the notion of poutine to a whole new level. It is called Poutine 66, and has a huge variety of different types of poutine, from Mexican to Italian, and from Vegetarian to Traditional.

Can Poutine be This Rich?

Of course, the sizes vary as well: personal, regular, and monster. What you see above is a “Regular Hot Shot” which includes spicy sausage (actually not THAT spicy) and two kinds of jalapeños. The most popular item, at least from what I have gathered while waiting for my order to be filled, is the Traditional Monster. One day when I’m really hungry (and in the area) I will try it. Until then, however, I’m more curious about the Mexicana. Normally I don’t see the point of eating Mexican food outside of Mexico, but here I would make an exception. Unfortunately they don’t have the curry-tofu poutine any longer, I’ve heard so much about, but it seems like they have poutine for almost every taste-group:

The Place: 66 is the Right Number

Honestly, I don’t know what the 66 stands for. I was going to ask, but forgot, as I was mostly wrapped up in remembering my time in Buffalo, and the movie Buffalo 66. Have you seen it? You should! In any case, the feeling I got from both were about the same as from the poutine joint: cinder-block walls painted in fading pastel colors. Among the other offer food options were pizza (sold in slices) and hot-dogs. And the staff behind the counter reminded me a bit of myself, working at in my early 20’s at “the grease-pit” (not the official name of the restaurant), in Buffalo. Oh, what nostalgia for these places: Cold (or rainy, either way), early nights, beer with wings and pizza, on the screen football or hockey, who cares (some folks always do but they are part of this weird nostalgia). In any case, Poutine 66 got me reminisce in my borderline-canadian memories from Buffalo, as I was waiting for my order, while it was pouring outside.

AC/BC

One of the things I couldn’t help noticing was the weird bike hanging up in the place: something like a classic cruising bike with a horse’s saddle on it, including chaps and stirrups over the pedals. It even said “Shania Twain Edition”. As I later found out, this bike was made by the club AC/BC or Angels Chopper Bicycle Club. These guys make a lot of custom bikes, but do so much more than that: They teach kids bike mechanics. They invite celebrities, such a Snoop Dogg, make bikes for them, have them auctioned off, and use the proceedings for charity.

Apparently, the owners of Poutine 66 are good friends with key members of AC/BC. There are a number of pictures on the wall of the place giving testimony to the tight connection between the food joint and the bike club. Most of the faces on the wall of honor I didn’t recognize, (except for the unmistakable Snoop Dogg), but it suggest regular events, including bikes, kids, and famous people.

If you’re in Victoria, a visit to Poutine 66 (on Quadra St, just off of Hillside Ave.) is certainly worth it. And if AC/BC has an event, I recommend going, if only to see the bikes. So far I haven’t been myself, but one of the mechanics at Recyclistas has told me about them, as he’s built a few bikes for AC/BC, or more exactly the celebrities they invited.