FAST FOOD in Canada
I wish that we could add our previous posts on here.
For those of us who worked at McD's, does anybody remember the Q-ing ovens? Those super powerful microwave ovens used to heat the food. You had to know the codes for different items. I remember we had to say an item was "Q-ing" when someone at the front was waiting for something and it was in one of these things: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EvxWi0uVIAAEKIb.jpg:large They used to use them for pretty much every burger but now I think they're only used for certain items from what I've heard. |
^ I try to avoid using microwaves as much as possible (depending on food texture), and will patiently use the real oven instead whenever possible.
What do we consider "fast" food anyway? Does it have to be a chain, or can it be a full service restaurant? Where do we draw the line? if I buy a shawarma from my local mom & pop outlet, is that fast food? |
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Then this fucking Q-ing oven came in. Buns were toasted in advance...sometimes 4 or more hours in advance. Meat was cooked and placed in holding steamer cabinets for up to 30 minutes in advance. Burgers were then "made to order" by slapping together the prepared ingredients, and reaheating them in a "Q-ing" oven. Allegedly the Q stood for 'quality'. We were forbidden to call the Q-ing ovens "Microwaves" (even though it said, very clearly on the back of the oven: "This is a microwave oven" in the safety message). I recall having to answer customer queries about our new cooking methods, and doling out the official line about the Q-ing oven...how it wasn't a microwave, etc. ("then what the heck is it??"). |
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Anybody work during McHappy Day? And the parade of local 'celebrities' that would 'work' for an hour in the kitchen, for a photo op? With no training, these celebrities were less useful than a bag of hammers.
The mayor would be there. Sometimes, NHL hockey players...and their wives (some of them had really hot wives :naughty: ). Mitsou once ( :naughty: ). The local mafia chieftain (behind his "front" as the President of a relatively large property development/infrastructure firm). Newscasters from CFCF-12 and CBC-6. Normand Braithwaite from CHUM. Terry diMonte from CHOM. Pauline Marois... |
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Imagine if I could employ some of the most qualified and competent lawyers for example, making great use of them on my fulltime payroll, while only paying them the legal minimum wage year after year, because they believe that the trade-off of having "This Person Worked For Lio45" on their resume is Solid Gold and thus a fair trade! :haha: |
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I mean not quite as extreme but a lot of well respected consultants do the same thing. I knew quite a few very talented people who made peanuts at prestigious planning/design firms as "Assistant Planners" or similar junior positions yet did a massive amount of work. While their wage may have been verging on reasonable on paper, once you factor in hours worked it sometimes meant less than minimum! Generally with the promise that if you suffer through a few years of this you can either be promoted with a significant raise or leverage the experience elsewhere. Experiences in reality varied - some did well and others remain vary bitter to this day. Somewhat on topic - A&W Canada is surprisingly decent for fast food, and is now ubiquitous across Canada. It's become my default road trip meal. Odd since A&W is complete garbage in the US (different parent company I assume). |
A&W is #2 for me, if I'm grabbing a burger from a fast-food place my go-to will always be Harvey's
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They do have good burgers but they don't create a craving for me the way that McDonald's does, ha. The root beer really adds a certain something. I can't remember the prairie town fast food chain tiers I set out before, but it's something like this: The basics: Subway (the most basic, typically part of a gas station) Tim Hortons (or in some cases, Robins Donuts) Dairy Queen A&W Domino's Pizza Advanced: KFC McDonald's (always a big deal when a small town gets a McDonald's) Bar Burrito, Qdoba or some other Chipotle knockoff Burger King Little Caesars Elite: Wendy's Boston Pizza (it may have waiters, but it's basically fast food) Popeyes Pizza Hut (the pizza restaurant of aristocrats) Freshii (demonstrates that your town has a large number of spendy, health-conscious women) |
Interesting hierarchy.
I have a soft spot for Harvey's, which is not shared by my wife (although I have successfully converted my son), so usually it is A&W, and (much) more rarely, McDs. Suddenly fast food is really quite expensive. Have you seen the ridiculous new menus at Subway? I am not paying $22 for a footlong combo from Subway. The new menu prices are absurd. I also worked at Subway in downtown Vancouver for 4 months in 1994-95. Night shift, sole employee. Next door was a big nightclub. The asshole brigade would show up at 230am and test the limits of my patience. Always fun to physically remove drunken asswipes from your store, while being the only employee on duty. A&W USA is a completely different company. Zero affiliation (the association was dissolved several decades ago). Quote:
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$22!?!
I was taken aback at the price the last time I was at Subway and it was like $12. It was a pretty good sandwich though. A value menu double cheeseburger at McD's was $1.79 at that time; a much better choice at preventing hangovers. |
The best way to get deals on fast food today is to download the apps for places you eat at. They all have coupons that are only available through the app and often you earn points that can be used towards future orders. The coupons are usually pretty good too—I'll even download an app just to get a deal for a one-time order. I basically never buy fast food at full price anymore.
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I'm embarrassed by the degree to which people here obsess over fast food outlets. And I've done it - I've had days in the Wendy's drive-through waiting for my Asiago Ranch Chicken Sandwich Combo, silently judging the dozens of other cars in line. "B'ys... there's no need." lol My fave international fast food is A&W. Their veggie burger is delicious. My fave local fast food is Ziggy's poutine - the fries are better than anywhere else - or fries, dressing and gravy from just about anywhere. Taco Bell is, by any objective measure, more desired here than IKEA. People talk/post about it all the time. I genuinely don't get it. I wouldn't even go if it did open? We've a few great Mexican options already. Second: I don't have a microwave in my house. I can't stand them, or the poor cuisine choices they enable me to make. If I have to reheat leftovers, I just put them on a burner on low heat, lid over the frying pan. |
^ I don't often eat fast food but it is interesting to discuss, haha. I have lunch at Subway maybe once every week or two and that's about it. I guess when I'm on vacation with the family the kids want McDonald's so I end up getting pulled in there.
Funny to read about the NL take on Taco Bell... my impression is that Taco Bell is maybe one rung above places like White Castle in terms of super-low end fast food. Some years back when my wife and I were in the US we had lunch at a roadside Taco Bell in Minnesota and we marvelled at the fact that we both ate lunch for a fiver (combined) and still got a few cents change back :haha: |
Wendy's is generally my go to for burgers as I find they taste "simple" enough to not give me hour-later regret. I still eat at the other places but tend to feel worse.
Subway is the only very close AND "cheap" place for lunch where I work so I hit that once a week. Don't love it, generally but it also doesn't make me feel bad. And I've discovered the Stampede Brisket sandwich (I add jalapenos) which is pretty darn tasty. (And terrible for me) |
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For me it's:
1) - A&W (at least 80% of the time) 2) - Arby's (curly fries!!!) 3) - Wendy's 4) - Burger King 5) - McDonald's (maybe 1-2x per year) 6) - Subway (decent enough, but expensive) 7) - Popeyes (recently opened, highly anticipated but ultimately disappointing) 8) - Harvey's NEVER (ate there once in Fredericton back in the 1970's and a horrifying experience which scarred me for life) |
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Fried chicken might need it's own list, it's a huge trend here in Vancouver, lots of asian franchises opening up. Popeye's is great though. Subway you have to find app deals and coupons, then it's decent. I wish there were alternatives when I want something that feels a little more healthy though. |
Best Canadian fast food chain I have been to is the "belle province" chain in Quebec. Awesome burgers and fries, good gyros. Some of the locations would even serve breakfast and free refills on coffee.
Out of the bigger chains I have to go with Burger king. A&W is really good too but they have gotten really expensive. Lots of good chains like 5 guys, fat burger etc etc but they're just too expensive. I stick to Burger king and whopper wednesdays. :cool: |
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