How To Order Poutine At Culver's

Culver's has drawn on its strong Wisconsin roots to inform and guide its menu, with meals reminiscent of the many supper clubs that dot the Midwest's landscape. After all, it's the only major fast food chain that has pot roast on its menu, and it tops every burger bun with just a bit of butter, enough to give it flavor and a decadent, glossy glow. Culver's is truly serving up comfort food, and with its wide and varied menu, it's not surprising customers have found a way to take one or two items and turn them into something off-menu. Case in point? Poutine certainly isn't sold at Culver's by name, but if you order the chain's fries, cheese curds, and a cup of gravy, well, voìlà — you've got DIY poutine.

It's true – the Canadian version (which might as well be declared the national dish) uses fresh cheese curds, rather than fried as Culver's has, but when you're in a pinch, and you're craving that savory goodness from our neighbors up north, this will do splendidly. It does take a little bit of assembly; you'll want to layer the cheese curds over the fries, and be sure to ask for a paper boat in which to create this masterpiece if you're eating in-restaurant. Then, pour the gravy over both. And if you really want your fries and cheese drenched, you ought to order two cups of gravy to make sure that every little nook and cranny is coated.

One of the main ingredients in the DIY poutine is Culver's gravy, of which there are two varieties: beef and chicken. Now, Reddit mostly agrees on the fact that the beef, or brown, gravy is the superior product. One Redditor even wrote that Culver's "should get rid of the disgusting chicken gravy and keep the beef gravy." However, it seems the opposite is occurring because the beef gravy was one of the elements used in the pot roast dinner, which the chain has mostly been phasing out — though a few stores still carry it (the pot roast sandwich, made with a chuck roast, is still widely available, thank goodness). But carrying just the beef gravy, without the pot roast dinner, would not be a profitable move.

So when you order the ingredients to make poutine out of Culver's menu items, and you ask for that cup of gravy, you might ask for the beef gravy specifically to see if your restaurant still carries it (or look at the menu for the pot roast dinner — that'd be a positive sign). If your Culver's only has chicken gravy, that's fine, and it works, and hey, you might even prefer it or, if you have nothing to compare it to, simply enjoy it for what it is.