OK, so this one time, I was at this funky vegan joint, and I asked if they could put some bacon on my kale/quinoa salad. Those dudes looked at me like I was a zombie from Mars, bro. But c’mon man, everything’s better with bacon! Case in point: the bacon blues poutine at Let’s Be Frank.

This funky Chinatown joint is right next to the El Mocambo, which is supposed to be reopening sometime this year. And while it looks like a total dive bar, Frank’s got craft beers and vinyl records in ample supply. They were playing some funky southern rock from the 70’s when I got there, which kinda sounded like early Hank Jr.—y’know, back before he started hanging out with Guy Fieri’s homeboy Kid Rock.

And hey, I gotta give ‘em bonus points for presentation—that’s one fine-looking poutine. But while the bacon bits added a nice bite, I wasn’t a big fan of the spicy BBQ sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I would put that shit on some nice baby back ribs, but when it comes to poutine, spicy sauce does not compu-tine.

But hey, when they start doing shows at the ElMo again, I might stop in for a hot dog or something.