I'm giving out five stars because Chez Ashton is everything a poutine should be. However, keep in mind that I'm severely biased on this one. Why? Saint-Louis-de-France is the neighbourhood I grew up in, and this particular Ashton location has not changed since 1997. Hence the nostalgia.
I have actually never eaten anything but poutine at Ashton. It's not a fancy place, so the only toppings available are hot-dog, Dulton (grounded meat), extra cheese/sauce and whatnot.
I suppose that if I was more objective, I would say fries are average and taste a bit oily (they recently started using smaller ones to get more crisp, but I'm not sure I agree on the decision). The cheese is proper (squeaky = fresh). The gravy is great, but many non-locals are not used to how thin it is. In fact, it should probably be called "sauce" (it's meant to soak the fries).
So, Ashton is basically the most endearing comfort food for locals, and just generic fast-food for many outsiders. I call it my own favorite, but it also made my quest for poutine very difficult in Montreal...
Tip: In winter, there's rebate if temperature fall lower than -20'C. So -34'C means 30% rebate. read more