BadHappy Poutine Shop

Yes. I know this Poutine Shop is closed and I’m BadSad about it! This review is long overdue and I’m hoping that I wake up from the nightmare of its closing and BadHappy is soon resurrected.
This late-​night oasis is just the type of food-​as-​drug den that Dr. Feelgood would prescribe. It is a hole-​in-​the-​wall dive on a barren strip but that lends to its lure. We ordered The Quebecer Poutine, Da’ Local Poutine, The BadHappy Sauce Burger, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter HappyShake, and some Filbert’s sodas. Thus began the obsession. The specialty poutines were the perfect blend of crispy/​gooey yumminess. After consuming the equally delicious burger and shake, we were food-​drunk. This was one hangover we did not mind.
We met the owners, were charmed by their story, and were ready to give away our worldly possessions and join their poutine cult! Please answer our prayers and come back…

It’s a small restaurant with a handful of tables and an open kitchen where the cooks work with a bar near the pickup window you can eat at. One would say it’s a bit divey… but that only adds to it’s charms.
The food was excellent! The staff was friendly. Highly recommend for anyone digging some yummy poutine or burgers!

^_​^ That is my speechless face. I can hardly move my fingers to type out this review because I am craving BadHappy so hard. In my magical land of Sarah, the food from BadHappy would have negative calories kind of like celery and I could eat it all day long and not only not gain weight… but I would lose weight. Ah yes, this mystical land also has Edward Cullens singing Beatles songs perfectly riding on a unicorn distributing thousand dollar bills like raindrops throughout the land.
Sadly for me, Sarah land is in my head and BadHappy has a million billion calories per bite. Yet that won’t deter me. I’m going to come back here all the friggin time and bring everyone I know.
I went Sunday with a few of my buddies for brunch and— it’s BYOB! On Sundays for brunch, they are BYOV (Bring Your Own Vodka). They provide all the fixin’s for Bloody Marys for $ 5. I stopped at the liquor store and got us some of those mini vodka bottles that worked for us just fine. But ya know, you could bring a big ol’ bottle if you like, too. I saw two chicks in there with a full bottle of V, two craft beers plus one of those big more potent craft beer bottles. So ya know, whatever suits your fancy. If you aren’t down with Bloody Marys, they also have the supplies for Mimosas. I’m going to try that next time I go.
Now for my meal, there were so many things I really wanted to try. The good thing about going with friends, you get to try more dishes. Well, as long as your friends are nice and not greedy meanies.
Poutine Benny - ($ 12) Frites, cheese curds, Poached Egg, Foielendaise sauce, house bacon, truffle mayo — zdflgidflg;kjdflkghj!!! Keyboard smash! This was so friggin good. I ordered this dish, thankfully, and thus got to eat the majority of it. I honestly want this every single time I come, I don’t know how I’ll ever eat anything else here ever. I was the only one of our group who got any type of poutine and I’m so glad I did. Everything was gooey, and together so well, just loved every bite of this dish.
The Lox, Stock & Barrel — ($ 13) Smoked Salmon, Tater Tots, Poached Eggs, Caviar Cream Cheese Sauce, Truffle Crema​— Another really tasty dish. For me the best part of this dish was the truffle tater tots. Holy goodness why does truffle make everything better?
Chicken & Waffles — ($ 10) Chicken-​fried-​chicken, waffles, vanilla crème fraiche, maple-​tabasco glaze — The chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside and really moist on the inside. Truly great chicken and again, loved this dish.
Service was super attentive, friendly and fab & not just because I’m biased because it was a friend of mine doing the serving. ;)
Honestly this was the best breakfast/​brunch/​lunch/​lukfest I’ve had in a really long time. You HAVE to get the poutine here! It’s so friggin good. Worst thing about it is that parking is a radonk to find so allow some time for that or pay for parking. I neeeeed to try one of their shakes. Like super need, life depending on it. One day, BadHappy, one day.

What’s not to love about a place that makes a living off of cheese, gravy, and fries?! Exactly. BadHappy had been on my list of must-​visits for awhile now, and last week when my friends and I missed even the latest of Sunday brunching hours, decided to come here and try Poutine.
Admittedly, I was shocked at how very hole-​in-​the-​wall this place is, but I got over it quickly. It seems to have many regulars, as we were the only table in the place everyone didn’t know. Our server was totally cute and accommodating, and the cooks were all over chatting and making sure we loved our food. We ordered a chicken and waffles (which was my favorite dish at the table, and I wish had been mine), a Quebecer (so amazing. That gravy. Dear god that gravy!) and I got the poutine Benedict, which was heavenly decadent fatty fatness. I normally detest cheese curds, but this was totally different — instead of deep fried balls of elastic weirdness, they were fresh, mild clumps of white salty deliciousness. Had NO idea that’s how curds were SUPPOSED to taste. It was amazing, especially smothered in hollandaise and buried in frites, ham, and eggs.
The three of us spent maybe $ 40, with tax and tip, which I felt was pretty reasonable. I’m coming back soon to try something from the dinner menu — I hear they have pulled pork poutine, and really, I wanted to begin wearing elastic-​waist pants more frequently, anyway.

The people here are great. The cooks were very friendly and talkative and the owner was everywhere making sure people were having a good time and enjoying the food.
I thought all the food was great and the special poutines were well made with interesting ingredients.
I think the spot is a little overpriced for french fries. I know they are so much more than just fries but their classic poutine is $ 10 and they go up from there and I feel like I would need 1.5 orders of the classic one to be full.
The area is also a little small so if you are in a big group be prepared to split up into two smaller groups since their tables do not move and can not be combined.

Never got caught up in the poutine craze, as I had this in Montréal almost 10 years ago and thought as a food, it was terrible. But poutine appears to be here to stay, so I’ve tried to embrace it… and BadHappy does a great job if you stick to the basics.
We were suckered into trying the «tasting menu» as our owner/​manager/​new best friend «The Lumberjack» pushed this idea on us for dinner. $ 25 for three half-​orders of poutine, one of which is basically not poutine, but dessert. Let’s just say that for $ 10, the Quebecer was bigger, better, and BadHappier than the tasting menu. Fact: three of us needed more food after we got two of the «tasting menu» orders plus the Quebecer.
That said, stick to the poutine menu… but don’t get the BadHappy Birthday Cake Shake unless you like old vanilla cake in a shake with the consistency of a glass of milk. (Now, four of my seven-​person group thought that worked well, so again, if you like your shakes un-​thick, get the shake.) The Lumberjack and the two guys behind the counter were cool, and they did give out free candy to kids that stopped by on their Halloween runs, and it’s BYO. But when I go back, I’ll try a burger to pair with a full-​sized order of poutine to make my final judgment!

Short and sweet:
Pros: Simple, delicious food. The Quebecer was tasty and well made. The gravy was spot on and the cheese curds were squeaky. Birthday cake shake was sweet, thick and a gluttonous. BYOB.
Cons: Charged twice on their iPad card swiper even though I was reassured by Ed I hadn’t been. No real communication between the staff and customers. We were the only ones in the joint and the staff didn’t come by to take our order or follow up. I walked the order up and had to eventually ask for a check.
I would consider coming here again but only if I had to or if I was close by. I wouldn’t make a special trip here because of the service.
However if you don’t care about service and like a some authentic poutine, head on over.

This Month’s Supper Club Chicago, Yr. 2 edition 10, took us to BadHappy Poutine Shop! Here, we explored one of Canada’s favorite meal’s Poutine. Not great for groups because it is the epitome of a Dive diner. (Is that possible? Well, it was there.) Don’t worry, that didn’t stop Supper Club Chicago, from taking over & having a great time!!!
The food was absolutely yummy. Well, let’s just say it was sooooo Bad, it was Good! Please be advised you should share or you’ll be stuffed! Don’t forget to BYOB!!! They do not have a corkage fee. (Hell, we brought beer & wine, LOL.)
We took the cooks’, wait the servers, let’s just say they were a spectacular Duo, suggestion’s and went with the Redneck and the Old Smokey Poutine. And, yes, BadHappy’s take on Poutine was all and more than you could imagine. If you’ve ever traveled to Montréal or Toronto, then you know exactly what I mean. Now, if you want all of this spectacular unhealthy goodness loaded in one meal and close to home, go here!
As for the appetizers, we had all three & they even cut them all up into smaller servings so we could all try them… Although, I can’t remember which was my favorite, I would say ask the cooks.
Let’s move on to two of my favorite parts of the meal: Entrees & Desserts! Can I just share that, I think everyone saw the «Happy Dance» all night long. Maybe, it was the amazingly eclectic playlist they played on their IPod. I doubt it, because I’m certain it was the food. As for our Entrees we decided to go with the chick-​fela & the BadhappySauceBurger. (They split these up for is as well) Now, there was absolutely NO way I could finish one of these burgers on my own but I promise I would have tried. The BadHappySauceBurger was awesome. & the patties were perfectly cooked to your request! As for the chick fe la, it was a burger topped with a frosted flaked battered chicken patty! Can you say, Taste Bud Overload!!! The salty– sweet oxymoron of a sandwich will catch you by surprise but keep the egg because it brings your tastes buds back from yummy confusion.
As for the highlight of the night besides our overall experience, dessert! We celebrated two of our member’s birthdays this month and decided to go with two of BadHappy’s shakes. After reading other reviews I heard the birthday cake was absolutely delightful and it was. However, after probing the cooks again, we decided to try a Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake as well. Unbeknownst, this shake stole the show!!! Think of a nice camp fire where you decided to make s’mores. Before we knew it the cook, big E, came out the back with a shake, a torch, & the result was unreal… A smoldering shake that was unbelievably bad that it was sooooo freaking Good!!!
Well worth the trip to River North.
Rating: 4 NOMS
Serving size: Everything should be shared. (how else can you try it all?)
Ambiance: Total Dive! It’s not for large groups BUT call & see if they can accommodate. Or just go & take over like we did.
Service: They were AWESOME!!! (Took on over 10 hungry & particular women with a smile).
Try it out! Go on a week day. It’s just chill. It’s definitely a diner.

The food is definitely 5 stars. The poutine may have clogged my arteries but it was worth it. I ordered «the good, the bad, and the happy». It was unbelievable. And even though my stomach was bursting and heart was stopping, I rebelled even more and ordered a birthday cake shake. It was so delicious that it was worth the pain of my stomach being mad at me for eating a meal 3x as big as my normal meal. This review may sound discouraging, but it was all worth it. My husband was obsessed with his burger and definitely the peanut butter chocolate shake. I just suggest fasting beforehand.
The loss of the star was from us sitting at the bar and trying to order milkshakes for a good 7 minutes before we were recognized (its a very small place and we were holding the «order paper» up in the air). I think the girl was new cause the guys at the grill seemed to be frustrated with her too. I’m sure its a temporary problem and I can sympathize with the difficulties of training, but I have to be honest in my reviews.

This review is for delivery.
It was freakin’ weird to order from them. We ordered on the phone and the guy seemed drunk. He asked us to repeat ourselves multiple times, asked if we would mind paying with cash (he didn’t want to process a credit card over the phone), and said that he would come over and sit in the bathtub with us. See? Weird.
The food came in a timely manner. The delivery person was different from the guy who took the order. The delivery person was normal, stayed in the hall while we took the food and gave him cash, and did not mention anything about the bath.
We got the Quebec Poutine and the chocolate peanut butter milk shake. Both things were tasty and totally hit the spot. I imagine that we would order from BadHappy again if placing our order was professional and easier. Instead we’re completely torn. We like the food but don’t like the unprofessional and potentially drunk person who took our order.

So here’s the lowdown: this is a tiny little joint that serves up mean poutine. I’m not Canadian, but it was mad tasty. We went with the fattiest thing we could find: «The Good the Bad & the Happy.» With a description that lists: Pork Belly, Beef Cheek, Truffle Mayo, Foie Gras Mousse & Gravy, Frites, Curd, Sunny Egg – how could you NOT choose it? Unless you were vegetarian, I guess. Anyhow, we topped that off with a BadHappy Birthday Cake Shake, which is exactly how it sounds. Fatness, goodness, bad, but happy :) YUM.
Apparently they have a BYOV (yes, that’s Bring-​Your-​Own-​VODKA) Bloody Mary Bar with their brunch… we didn’t get to try it, but it sounds pretty amazing.

Finally got back to BadHappy since I happened to be passing through the area, and they had the redneck poutine available that night. It was as awesome as I was hoping it’d be. And the more I think about this place, the more I feel it really deserves 5 stars. Also, I could tell they had expanded the menu since my last visit in 2012.
And oddly, I had no clue they had a special Sunday brunch menu, till the visit I just did. Will have to come back for that, besides to eventually see how their burgers are like.

Is this how Canadian’s eat? Sign me up!
I’ll admit, the pictures make BH’s Poutine creations look kind of messy. How can all those ingredients come together to make a delicious meal? But then again, doesn’t everything just sound decadent?
I got to taste a bit of the Zeus and the Old Smokey. Both were just ok to me. (Sorry, my heart will always be in Texas in regards to smoked brisket, Old Smokey. And Zeus my be god of gods, but the Olive Tapanade was a little too much olive for me)
But my meal, the Good, Bad and the Happy dish won me over right away and in so many ways. Frites, Pork Belly, Cheese curds, Foie mousse and gravy, truffle mayo and Sunny egg. What a mix, what a wonderful tasty mix! It was rich, it was filling, it was amazing.
If the Poutine wasn’t enough, the bro, the sidekick and I got milkshakes as well. Because nothing is more fun than to drink your calories. I got to try the Birthday Cake Shake (delicious), the yellow cake equivalent to Portillos Chocolate Cake shake. The Strawberry Pop Tart shake, yes it tastes as good as it sounds. And the Cinnamon Maple (which isn’t on their usual menu yet, but I got to try it as a taste tester) was also a rich and delicious shake.
The folks at BH were so kind as to make just a plain frites and curds dish for my sidekick so I got to try the frites solo. They do frites justice for sure! I would come back just for frites and ketchup. Or maybe frites and their truffle mayo. Whatever, the dip, the frites are awesome.
Friendly staff, Funny staff, it was a great way to spend a late Saturday afternoon! They do a special brunch menu and I’m already recruiting folks to come with me.
**For the stroller set**There are no highchairs here. The seats are all bar stools. It can also get pretty busy and crowded in here if all the tables are taken. So you may want to reconsider if you’re with your little one. I planned especially to go before the dinner rush (5pm) – it was almost empty and we took the table right inside the door so my sidekick could sit in his stroller out of the way when he wasn’t perched next to me on the bar stool. Any later and it would not be a good place for the toddler set.

Went to Badhappy on a Saturday for an early dinner. I ordered the Good, the Bad, and the Happy, their signature poutine. It’s loaded with egg, pork belly, fois gras mousse, and truffle mayo.
It was delicious. The belly was plentiful, crispy, and melt-​in-​your mouth fatty. I could have wolfed down the fries, curds, and gravy without any toppings. The extras like the yolky egg and the mousse really took it over the top. It was served piping hot and I loved every bite.
They were happy to make my girlfriend the Quebecer, their standard poutine, with vegetarian gravy.
We also got two shakes. Birthday cake and chocolate peanut butter marshmallow. Both were excellent, but the chocolate peanut butter marshmallow was the best. Hell, it was served with flaming marshmallows on top.
Service was excellent and everyone was happy to chat, even the chefs. I’d definitely go back if I was ever in Chicago.
Word of advice: we went there early and it was pretty empty, but this place is SMALL. I imagine that during peak hours it gets very, very full.

I am so conflicted, even as I write this I’m clicking back and forth between three and four stars. I think, at the end of the day, I would like to go back and try their more traditional poutine before potentially upgrading them to 4 stars.
This is another spot that’s been on my list of places to visit for a long time. I love me some poutine, even if it has gotten trendy now, so any place that can do it well will be much appreciated. Bad Happy is a little out of my way, but I finally got a visit in. I selected their «Greek» poutine, which came with feta, gyro meat, tsatziki sauce, and kalamata olives. It was a pretty good combo — fries are well done, which I like, as it helps them stand up to the sauces they’re covered in, and the gyro meat was grilled a little with crispy edges. But either the gravy or the tsatziki sauce had a sweet taste. I couldn’t even identify positively what that sweetness was, but… it wasn’t right with the savory, salty, and bitterness in the other ingredients. Kind of threw me off a little bit on what would otherwise have been very good.
They get their curds from a dairy in Wisconsin with which I’m familiar (although the name is escaping me right now) so I’d like to make my way back and try something traditional, as I said, with those curds instead of feta. Unfortunately, this spot is not near my house or my office, so it might be a while. But it’s definitely worth returning.

An out of the way location, but I’m glad we made the trek. The interior is very crowded, and you order from laminated menus, marking your selections.
Looking at their menu, there didn’t appear to be anything I could eat (being vegetarian). Luckily, I had contacted them in advance, and they said they had a vegetarian gravy. They prepared this gravy from scratch, so there was a bit of a wait time. I’m not sure how often they get this kind of request because he seemed a little uncertain about the taste/​quality, and he eagerly watched as we took our first bites to see if we were satisfied. He was concerned it would be too salty, and it was maybe a touch salty but not so much that it negatively impacted the quality of the dish. We shared one order of poutine between three people. It was perfect for a «light lunch», since we still had other places to go.
My only suggestion would be that they indicate somewhere on their menu that there is a vegetarian option!

Fifty shades of gravy.
That’s not a scene out of book or erotic film but what I think when I see the plethora of ways to do gravy covered frites.
The décor is nothing to text home about but the service is dope. They’re known for that concoction from America’s hat POUTINE. Canadianese for fries with gravy and cheese curds. But since we Americanized it the menu offers a bunch of other stuff on top.
We ordered:
The Good, the Bad, & the Happy
Frites with Pork Belly, Beef Cheek, Truffle Mayo, Foie Gras mousse and Foie Gravy, Cheese curds, and sunny egg.
Very rich and very good. A touch salty. Quite filling. The shining star.
The Quebecer
Frites with Cheese Curds and Gravy.
Have to try it traditional style once. The taters and the cheese (for that matter) could stand alone– it must be an idiom for a reason. They have special ketchup and secret sauce at the table to dip the frites if ya run out of the topping. My partner favored it.
Birthday Cake Shake
A vanilla shake with a birthday cupcake blended in and covered w whipped cream and sprinkles.
Yummy, but I could only handle a bit.
BYOB!!! Yea!
Being hedonistic feels so good.

If you’re not sure why it’s named BadHappy, you will as soon as you finish your meal. That is, IF you can finish your meal. And my recent trip here with FNDC was both the best and worst dining experience of my life. Allow me to explain.
I’ve never had poutine before, and being from Minnesota and so much closer to Canada, many people assume I’m a poutine connoisseur. I am not (I am a hotdish connoisseur, so ask me about that sometime). However, I love trying new foods, so I felt I should hop on this bandwagon so I could actually answer people when they ask me about poutine instead of staring at them blankly.
First I was afraid. I was petrified… I mean, I love fries and gravy and cheese curds and eggs, but would I love them all together? I ordered The Good, The Bad & The Happy and watched a petite Asian man take on the Triple Double Challenge while we waited (He didn’t win, but he put up a good fight). I was mostly scared that my meal would be a soggy mess, but Chef Tom perfectly crisped the potatoes and it held up quite nicely for the entire hour it took me to eat that thing. It was so good that I focused almost solely on the food and only had two little cups of wine even though they are BYOB and we brought multiple bottles.
I should explain exactly what I ate. It was the monster of all poutines. They brought it back for Canada Day and I hope it sticks around for a while. It was fries covered in foie gras mousse and gravy similar to a very, very decadent, falling apart pot roast. This splendid combo is then covered in truffle mayo, garlic cheese curds, and sprinkled liberally with beef cheek and pork belly. If that isn’t enough to send you into cardiac arrest, they throw a sunny egg on that bitch. All of this is served in a pie tin to give you an idea of just how massive the meal is. Honestly, it’s the Northern-​palette version of chili cheese fries.
I am both ashamed and proud to say that I ate the entire thing. It took me sooooooo long to finish it, but I’m anything but a quitter. Part of me wishes I had stopped, because I ate so much that I actually made myself sick. Instead of going out with friends afterward, I immediately went home and curled up into the fetal position. It took two hours before I felt comfortable enough to move again. They should really call this poutine The Coma Inducer.
The Good, The Bad & The Happy + Birthday Cake Shake set me back just under $ 20 before tip. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Even if I run the risk of stopping my heart with its deadly deliciousness.

Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of poutine. But I happened to stroll by the shop one day and had my curiosity piqued by their cute little devil-​smiley logo (I know, I’m SUCH a girl sometimes). So when my favorite half-​Canadian date suggested that I needed to expand my culinary horizons to the great white north and check this place out, I happily obliged. Hell, I had worked out twice that day.
Simply put, poutine is good, old fashioned, comfort food. Fries, cheese curds, and gravy is the basic, and then BadHappy has a half-​dozen variations on that theme in the menu. I decided to go with the classic Quebecer, and he went with the Good, Bad, and Happy. Holy heaven in a basket. If I didn’t feel like my arteries were going to choke up and die halfway through, I would have finished off every last bite. It’s rich stuff, but so totally worth it for an indulgence.
Despite being stuffed, we had to finish with a Birthday Cake Shake. Do it. I don’t care if you don’t have room and are a step away from a heart attack, I would die a death by that shake 10x over.
On a Tuesday evening around 8, we were only one of two parties in there. I had heard that the place was teeny-​tiny (6 4 top tables and a bar?), so it was nice to hit it on a slow night. The server (singular) and cooks were friendly and welcoming, and we got a discount on our bill for bringing the chefs a sixer of PBR.
Final note: spicy ketchup. I love all things ketchup, and while definitely not necessary for flavor, it was a great addition to the poutine.

I met Bill Murray today.
That really has nothing to do with this review. I just thought you should know. And for the sake of posterity, I posted photographic evidence on my Unilocal profile… just in case anyone would like to see my brush with extraordinary greatness.
I also stepped in dog poop. Again, nothing to do with this review, but funny just the same. Some of it’s still caked in there, but I didn’t take a photo of that… yet.
After I met Bill Murray and stepped in dog doo I was looking for a place to grab some grub but also be able to get some work done while I waited out the heavier traffic times to get back to the burbs. Enter BadHappy Poutine Shop.
I actually tried going to BadHappy this past Sunday but failed to set my Unilocal mobile app to filter places that were already closed for the day so my 5 o’clock arrival and their 4 o’clock end of day business hours didn’t mesh very well. But today… Today was MY day.
First off, I should confess that I was initially drawn to BadHappy after seeing Johnny T post a picture of the birthday cake shake to Facebook. Once I saw that I had 2 items on the agenda– #1. Unfriend Johnny on every social media outlet we share as retribution for not inviting me to partake in B-​Day cake shake with him. #2. Get my ass to BadHappy for that friggin BDay Cake Shake!
How was it, you ask? Honestly, it was really just kind of… THE SINGLE MOST DELICIOUS THING I’VE EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH! And I have to thank my dining partner Ed S for not only buying me this B-​Day Cake shake (and the rest of lunch) in celebration of my recent birthday, but also for being patient while I buried my head in my laptop and the cake shake in my mouth. Ooh– and for tolerating my dog pooey shoe smell.
I should also mention that I didn’t really know what poutine was, and that I mainly interested in ordering so I could call it poontang… because I am a child.
I know my bud-​man loved his ‘One hot Asian’, and my veggie was good, but not stunning. I didn’t really taste the BBQ but the cheese curds (which mentally, for the most part, really gross me out) were outstanding.
Beyond the B-​Day cake shake, what really made BadHappy a Happy experience for us was the service. Smiles for miles. That plus the B-​Day cake shake will keep me comin’ back fo mo.