I finally made it to Cheese Curds Gourmet Burgers and Poutinerie. It opened in January, and when we’ve tried before, the line has been out the door and down the shopping center. This time it was only to the door, so we decided to wait it out.

As the name implies, Cheese Curds does poutine. Real poutine, with homemade gravy and curds, not with grated mozza like you find so many other places. And they don’t skimp on the curds.

The problem I find all too often with these “gourmet burger” places- the ones with a million topping options and combinations, is a weak burger. Places like Cheeburger Cheeburger (yech!) seem to assume you’ll be piling so much stuff on top of the burger, that the patty itself doesn’t have to do anything. Not so at Cheese Curds. The burgers are thick, juicy and flavorful. I got the triple bacon burger, and even through all of it, the flavor of the beef shone through.

Anna, my girlfriend, got the bacon wrapped cheese curd topped hot dog.

The inside of the shop. It’s pretty small, with most of the floor space occupied by the grill. Grill showmanship isn’t dead. While they have a huge variety of items on the menu, the base items (burgers, poutine) are pretty limited, which means they can keep the quality up and the wait times down.

Cheese Curds is located at 380 Pleasant Street, Dartmouth, NS