A Maple Leaf Wondah Down Undah

Earlier today, I was in the Myer Centre, a large 4-story mall that fronts the pedestrian Queen Street here in Brisbane. While in the food court, I came across a New York Fries fast-fooderia. On the menu was "poutine", a Quebec invention involving fries, brown gravy, and white cheddar cheese to which my friend David Pinard introduced me when I was visiting him in Montreal in 2000. Huh? How does a uniquely Canadian cup of cuisine wind up offered in a store named after the Big Apple in a mall located in the southern shore of the Pacific Ocean?

Turns out that New York Fries was started by two Canadians after a trip to NYC in 1984. There are restos all over Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and South Korea. And now, there is a New York Fries in Brisbane -- Australia's first.

http://www.newyorkfries.com/Locations/australia.html

A bit of Warwick, Quebec, Canada, on the other side of the Pacific. Byew-dy, that.

Oddly, there are no New York Fries in the USA. I reckon McDonald's had something to do with it.