M & G’s Chip Wagon

Just ordered the chicken strips and fries from M & G Chipwagon. Delicious food served by one of the nicest people I’ve ever met: Mr. Poutine. Thanks Mr. Poutine!

This chip van may look as sketchy as they come, but it’s part of the charm. This place serves very, VERY healthy portions of poutine. Gravy is a very generic, but otherwise solid type, with equally good cheese curds. Although it’s the fries that ties this poutine together. Their fries are amazing, with the right amount of crunch and golden look to seem as though they just jumped out of a McCain commercial.
Stay away from their poutine with chicken, it’s not the chicken breast strips you’d probably expect but it’s actually just slices of cold chicken.
In any case, it’s a great place to go after you had a couple of pops. The guy might not smile, but he’s there to make you food, not entertain you. One of the best poutine places in Ottawa!

I have finally encountered my first rude Canadian. So I am traveling from the states visiting my sister in law in the hospital. We are all craving poutine and I remembered passing this truck earlier so I decide to come by for lunch to take out and bring back to my husband and sis in law. I stare at the menu awhile and then walk up, smile, and pleasantly ask if I can please see what the small-​medium-​large size poutines look like. The older gentleman glares at me and asks, «Will you be ordering or do you just want to know what the sizes look like?» Um WTF. I told him I need help deciding which one to order– having a visual certainly would help, don’t you think? He hands me the 3 cartons, walks away, and then I promptly put the cartons back, and walk away myself. Rude. You lost my business, sorry.

This place is the best. The thick gravy is by far the best gravy for a poutine IMO people say the guy is a grouch and he is but you ask for your order and that’s it I don’t know why people complain about it. Overall the best poutine anyone could hope for

This place is a little sketchy. One time I was waiting for the bus and the man inside the truck was welding something and spraying sparks all over passerbys. Other times, I’ve seen his family peeling potatoes on the side walk next to the giant blue plastic canisters ominously labelled only with the word, «poutine». Also, the man that works here is extremely ill-​tempered (to the point where its actually kind of charming).
All this aside, you’ll get an ungodly amount of delicious poutine for ~$ 8. Its the perfect late night drunk student meal and the sketchiness is a part of the experience.

Great for late night chips and pogos!
The little man that works there was a little grumpy, but he seemed to warm up to our dog!

I don’t get why this is considered the best in Ottawa but it certainly isn’t bad. I can’t remember what size I got (I think a small), but it was more than enough and I ended up throwing half of it out after I was concerned about having a heart attack. This stuff is just awful for you and you can tell. It is so salty that you will need at least 2 cans of coke and so greasy heavy that you walk away feeling like complete crap. I think on my next shift I’m going to steal the defibrilator and stand nearby, you know, just in case.
The gravy was thick, salty, but still delicious. They used SOOOOO much cheese, wow, if I had to guess I’d say it was probably about 1 cup of cheese. I heard this guy was similar to the soup nazi so needless to say I was terrified of him. He really was a grouch but it wasn’t bad enough that I never wanted to go there again.
I hate the sketchy stairs you have to climb up to get your food, I felt like I was going to topple over any second.
–2 stars for those stupid stairs, cranky man, and for the 10 years that will probably come off my life.

I must have tried it out on an odd day considering the other reviews. The fries in the poutine were not hot, and the poutine were far from the greatest I have ever tried. Think I’ll avoid this place from now on.

I wish I could echo the other favorable reviews here, but I regret that I cannot. I waited a LONG time in line which is probably not the owner’s fault, but it was pretty irritating. I ordered a medium poutine. Given the wait I experienced I was surprised how quickly he handed it over to me, and I wonder if perhaps it had been made some time ago (in error, maybe).
The gravy was WAY too thick and had «skin» on it. As in, thick globs of gelatinous gravy (that kind you can easily scoop up with a fork). The taste of the gravy was good but the texture was pretty gross.
Cheese curds were OK. I would have expected a lot more, though. I had enough cheese curds for about half the poutine. I do like a lot of cheese so it might be enough for other people, but even so, I found they skimped on the cheese.
Fries were good but should have been cooked a little longer.
On another day the poutine might have been just fine, but I wouldn’t risk getting globby gravy like this again when there are so many excellent poutine joints in the Ottawa area.

I was pretty happy with the poutine here. A large was $ 8 and was enough to share among four people for a large snack. I was surprised to find the fries a bit undersalted, even with the gravy present, and I can’t say the curds are the best I’ve had. I also could have had the fries cooked a bit longer. So, this was totally fine for emergency poutine, but doesn’t compare to some better options in Quebec, I thought.

*just an update*
I was in the area and figured I would give it a try based on the raving reviews this place has received.
Well, it did not disappoint! great fresh fries with an insane amount of fresh cheese curd with a thick tastey gravy.
What I found funny was the two steps you have to climb up to place your order, lol. Go and try this place out if your in the area!

Perhaps some of the best french fries available in Ottawa can be had at M&G’s chip wagon on the corner of Sunnyside and Bank Streets. A little peckish while waiting for the bus, I opted for a small container of fries, thinking that I could pop them in my mouth before the bus arrived, only to be surprised to see that they are offered in a American style «small» container — think super sized as in McDonalds.
The yellow Ford truck that houses the chip wagon has seen better days and as I was waiting for my fries to be prepared, I wondered how many layers of grease were keeping the metal box held up, that and the layers of exterior paint.
There are 2 benches that offer diners the option of dining al fresco, although in October, everything outdoors is al freezo.

O.M.&G.
This is an institution in Ottawa. M&G’s is to poutine what the Louvre is to art, what Meryl Streep is to Hollywood, what Spam is to other canned meats. It is one of a kind and original.
Yes, it’s dirty, yes the owner is the surliest S.O.B. in Old Ottawa South (think Seinfeld’s soup nazi and you’re not far off the mark) but — dang it! — the dirtiness and the surliness are all part of the experience! So is the cement-​like heaviness in your stomach about 20 minutes after you finish eating. But let’s be real here people: Who goes to a chip truck because they want to feel good about their diet?

M&G’s is a legend in this part of Ottawa. You probably don’t know the name, but the little yellow truck on the corner of Sunnyside and Bank is practically a landmark. I have been coming to this truck since I first started visiting Ottawa many years ago. It is always busy — walk up traffic from neighbourhood locals and especially the tweens from the school across the street means the fries are always fresh. In fact, you can often find the owners slicing up potatoes right there on the sidewalk. They offer fries, poutine and even have a grill for burgers. The prices are good — you get a HUGE bag of french fries for only about $ 4. Not the healthiest of choices, but delish! Be prepared to wait though — this spot is popular.

This place is the devil that lives down the street. The poutine is so, so good, but more so than other poutine, you can feel just how bad it is for you. I often feel like I’ve been poured with ten pounds of wax in every square inch of my digestive system after I’ve eaten here. I’m not deterring anyone from going, but definitely only go on a rare occasion and not everyday unless you don’t want to live past 30.
The potatoes are freshly peeled on the sidewalk or picnic tables by the owner and his family. The gravy is the thickest, darkest and saltiest you can find in the city. They don’t skimp on the curds, although they often skimp on good service. The owner is a huge grump; he makes everyone I know who has gone here feel like they’re supremely loathed for a few minutes. Meh, after that, you get some great poutine. The prices are a bit higher than most chip wagons. It’s $ 7.50 for a medium poutine and pop. The wagon looks a bit less clean than the average too, which says a lot. Again, meh. They’re open until very late into the night.