I'm too far from the Canadian border for it to show up on menus, so it fell to me to make my own. While the fries and gravy didn't give me any trouble, it was blastedly difficult to find cheese curds here. No grocer or farmers market seemed to carry them. I searched for over 6 months and had resigned myself to an hour drive out to Amish country once spring hit in search of the curds. But then, today, a miracle! While shopping for the ingredients for falafel, I spied the elusive curds. . . I made the decision that if I were to make poutine, I was doing it all from scratch. . . 30 minutes later, I had crispy homemade fries, judiciously topped with cheese curds and lovingly smothered with fresh beef gravy. It was salty, crisp, savory, melty and everything else I hoped it would be. The dish lived up to all of my dreams and I thank you both for setting me on this quest.