Montreal’s been without a Major League Baseball team for the past two decades.
But if our beloved Expos were still around — and they might be soon — you can bet real poutine would be on the menu at the concession stands.
To be clear, poutine is three things: fries, gravy, and squeaky cheese curds. That’s it. There are plenty of variations out there, and most of them are fine, but the foundation is non-negotiable.
The Boston Red Sox apparently missed that memo. This week, Fenway Park announced it will be serving a “lobster poutine” throughout the 2026 MLB season.
So, what’s in it? Well, it’s basically fries, lobster meat, clam chowder, and bacon, served in a boat-shaped tray. No cheese curds or gravy in sight.
While the dish is clearly Massachusetts-inspired, folks online took issue with the Red Sox calling it a “poutine,” sparking various debates on social media. Naturally, many people were upset (or at least pretending to be).
One user called it a “crime in Quebec.”
Another asked where the staple poutine ingredients went.
Vice co-founder and political commentator Gavin McInnes was especially shaken by the team’s liberal use of “poutine,” insisting that this is actually a serving of Disco Fries.
A self-proclaimed “poutine expert” weighed in with their own harsh analysis.
The English-language account for Tourisme Montréal also issued a comment, jokingly claiming to have contacted their lawyers to denounce the new dish.
While things got a little heated, at the end of the day, nobody’s flying to Boston to protest outside Fenway.
The lobster poutine will probably sell well, tourists will eat it up, and life will go on. But if the Expos do make it back to Montreal one day, let’s just make sure whoever runs the concession stands knows what actually goes in Quebec’s signature dish.
