Junk in the Trunk
Or Exploring Food that Isn't Good for Me, Part 1
At this point, I admittedly am running out of articles to write about the transition to being in Canada without actually BEING in Canada and experiencing it and deciding if I want to make it long term.
However, I think we’ve ALSO established that I am a woman who loves to eat. Given that 4/7 of my articles so far has made some reference to food (if it also hasn’t just been the sole subject of the article), I feel we can measurably prove this point with data.
But I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that I never said I have good (or even wise) taste (and YES, we’re still talking about food and not my dating life THANKYOUVERYMUCH). This brings me to today’s article and new ongoing series.
I grew up with fast food. Makes complete sense looking back. I’ve mentioned my large family and sometimes it’s just easier for my parents in particular to have taken us to the drive-thru after both working their jobs and sitting through whatever extra-curricular activities us 4 kids were involved in (and there were a LOT - this may explain why I have SO many creative passions/interests) than it was to cook for 6 people. And when you were making the roadtrip back and forth from Rhode Island to Ontario multiple times a year? You bet my family and I became a type of fast food critic.
Was it the healthiest choice? Absolutely not. Was this also predominantly during the 90’s when we didn’t entirely know better? Absolutely yes.
So in less than two weeks I’ll be traveling up to Toronto with my parents and you can bet we will be indulging in some fast food en route. So while future articles will be abut the types of food I will be finding while there (healthy or not), here are the fast food places I already am looking forward to experiencing again.
Harvey’s
Ahhh Harvey’s. The last time we went to Canada, while we had an wonderful time with family in western Ontario, my dad did get a little wistful, saying, “Well, it was a fine trip. …But I didn’t get any Harvey’s.” Harvey’s is basically Canadian burger royalty in Canada - aka their Burger King. It’s a SOLID burger and knowing the restaurant started in 1959, this was probably one my dad enjoyed even before he was having to feed an entire family so the nostalgia factor is likely strong.
Sorry not sorry but also, the US can NOT do poutine properly. 99.99% of places that advertise “poutine” will serve cheesy fries with gravy.
It’s all about the cheese CURDS people! And the gravy - the GRAVY! The right kind is much darker, thinner yet richer than the THICK, light-brown gravy typically found on these recipes.
Now I will not say Harvey’s poutine is the BEST but I will say it beats any US “poutine” in a brawl any day. I know we will be making this stop along the way!
Swiss Chalet
The first dinner any time my family and I had upon landing at my Baba and Gigi’s house in Toronto was ALWAYS Swiss Chalet. Known most for their rotisserie chickens, I always compared it to Boston Market down here in the U.S. - a kind of chicken-based homecooked-feel fast-food (if that makes any sense). To be honest, I can’t even remember exactly what I would order here. I think we just order a bulk order of a little bit of everything and knew whatever we had would be exactly what we needed after a 10+ hour car ride. And as Dad always says, you can always tell if a company is doing well if you see them on the boards during Hockey Canada and/or NHL games.
Tim Horton’s
Ok ok, admittedly I am NOT a coffee drinker. I know - shocker. But I am aware that while Tim Horton’s is an international company, it is a STAPLE in Canadian fast-food. It’s basically a religion. I would say that it’s comparable to Dunkin’ Donuts here in New England with its fandom and cornerstone in cultural identity but I also don’t want to create riots as the two duke it out.
So while I won’t be writing home anytime soon about their coffee (literally - I won’t be drinking ANY - Tim Horton’s or otherwise) I do look forward to just grabbing some Timbits on the go and seeing what else the menu has to offer.
Silks Country Kitchen
Technically this isn’t a fast food place but I’m going to include it because 1) It was more of a diner and I feel like that counts and 2) What we ate came out quickly and definitely wasn’t good for us.
My family and I stumbled upon this while going wine tasting in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Yes we were older at this point so relax - we weren’t drinking as children. But we were starving and had wandered outside the downtown area so were looking for a place to eat and quick. And while googling I gasped - Silks advertised they had Ukrainian food. Well that was a quick decision!
We went in and it felt like we had stepped back in time - admittedly it was a little run-down looking at this hole-in-the-wall but the waitresses were very warm, loud and conversational. We’d fit right in. And it was like we had found the holy grail after having been away so long - not only were there pierogies but also cabbage rolls, verenaky and while not Ukrainian, peameal bacon. We ordered EVERYTHING and my god. Not sure if it was the wine, the nostalgia or just INCREDIBLY good food, but we feasted. It was such a great experience and I think we were in and out in less than an hour for everything. We have already made plans to go back once we cross the border.
I KNOW I missed things so tell me dear reader, what do YOU recommend? Where should I go to eat once I am up in Toronto? What is worth the trek? Health or not, where should this foodie go?
Let me know in the comments below! And until next time, happy feasting!