FAST FOOD in Canada

[ScreamingViking]

So many good posts here.

My takes:
Subway - while I love being able to add so many veggie options to their meat subs, the bread is SHITE. Has to be "toasted" because otherwise it would definitely not taste better. In Hamilton this franchise seems to be pushing Mr. Sub out, and Mr. Sub is infinitely better in my opinion. That said, going to a more exclusive sub shop has its advantages, if you're willing to pay for them (e.g., Firehouse Subs is good, there are still Mike's Subs in Hamilton...)

For fast food burgers, for me, Harvey's is first then Wendy's and A&W.

They all have some form of chicken sandwich. So does my local pizzeria, and the pizza joint's are better.

My lifestyle has changed this past year, but any time I can order something and customize the toppings for the better (i.e., more veggies! though I love meat), the better it is.

There are some great restaurants near me now that I can order for takeout. Expensive, but good. Way better than the chains, but sometimes cheapness is a sense. (and those of you who recall Seinfeld will understand that reference)

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Wigs

The smell of Subway it's worse than the over chlorinated smell of the YMCA pool as a kid

It is a bad smell. Something about the bread.

I worked at Subways for 4 months full time (1994-95) in Vancouver. The "Bread" comes as frozen cylinders. It is thawed and proofed in something called a retarder (nothing more than a trolley with a polythene cover and silpat baking separators). Once that is done, the bread is said to be "Retarded" (I am not making this up....this is the language used in the training video, which I have seen many times during my training and when I had to train new hires).

Anyways, the smell of fresh baked bread is usually tantalizing...which is why many supermarkets maintain a bakery on site (nothing stimulates grocery spending than hunger, which is (sub)consciously aroused by food odours). For some reason, it does not smell good at Subway.

Mike's subs (Quebec chain) are really good. They fry them on the griddle. Extremely unhealthy, but who fucking cares when you have a craving?

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by casper

For me the best one is Triple-O. (They are a fast-food take on White spot). A number of the Chevron stations in the lower mainland have embedded Triple-O.
The Triple-O sauce is fantastic.

On Vancouver Island, there is Big-Wheel. They grind their beef daily and in house. All beef is hormone and antibiotic free and the cows are given only grass that is organically and hydroponically grown. That is where you go for an environmentally and ethically responsible burger. They also taste good.

Number 3 for me is A&W. I did sit in on a public presentation from the data analyst that helped do the market analysis and planning around the transition to hormone free. Once the market analysis indicated Canadian were willing to move chains and pay premiums for artificial hormone and antibiotic free burgers, they discovered it required almost a year to redesign the supply chain to get that type of meat at volume. I think they have also now switched to grass feed and grass finished beef.

I do like McCafe coffee, it is actually quite good. The rest of the menu I could pass on. McDonalds coffee comes from Mother Parker. Mother Parker use to make the coffee for Tim Horton's until Tim Hortons decided it was to expensive and switched to using a cheaper product.

White Spot indeed makes a good burger. I went there a couple of times a month during my BC days (94-98, 2009). Never did see a Big-Wheel (I went to the Island 1-2 times per year, but maybe it hadn't started yet or did not have locations in the places I would usually visit).

McDs does make the best fast food coffee. Way, way better than Rimmie's. Unfortunately, Rimmie's is usually more convenient.

I also think McDs has the best breakfast sandwiches of the fast food lot. Although A&W's are pretty good now, since they now offer english muffin sandwiches rather than just the bacon-and-egger in a hamburger bun.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by esquire

This is the way McDonald's counters were meant to look

Looks just like one of the outlets that I worked at, except the signage is in English (it was all in French).

[niwell]

I honestly pretty rarely get fast food, mostly during road trips or when a bit hungover. Even more rare that I'll get something that isn't off the McDonald's or Wendy's value menus - combos are absurdly expensive these days compared to a McDouble or Junior Bacon. Like I say I enjoy Popeyes but haven't actually eaten there in 6+ months.

Generally speaking when we're feeling lazy I'll get takeout from a local restaurant which often ends up being cheaper than a full meal from a fast food place, especially now that we've tried to cut out uber eats. There's an excellent Shawarma place that rivals anything in Ottawa, roti options, smash burgers and Tibetan momos for examples of nearby fast takeout that are tastier/cheaper. A plethora of Asian options near my work (I don't even know most of the restaurant names) also cheaper than fast food.

Anyways, here's my very subjective ranking of Canadian chains. Price is no option in this:

S-Tier: A&W, Popeyes, McDonald's *breakfast*
A: Wendy's, McDonald's regular menu, Mary Brown's
B: Harvey's, Arby's, Mr. Sub
C: Subway
D: Burger King, Tim Horton's

I want to try Triple-O as I hear it's fantastic. Also not Canadian but when I'm in the Midwest US again Culver's sounds like it may be one of the best options out there. Deep fried cheese curds and frozen custard.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I also think McDs has the best breakfast sandwiches of the fast food lot. Although A&W's are pretty good now, since they now offer english muffin sandwiches rather than just the bacon-and-egger in a hamburger bun.

In my earlier post I mentioned that I haven't eaten from fast food restaurants in almost a decade. I should have added an asterisk. Fast food breakfast is something I'll definitely eat during a road trip or long morning commute.

My and my wife's favourite is the McGriddle. I don't think a better, more consistent fast food breakfast item has ever existed.

A&W makes a good sausage and egg biscuit.

Triple Os Sunny Start breakfast sandwich is killer, but I think it's like 1000 calories.

[kool maudit]

I always found Harvey's really uncanny, the patties tasted a little like sausage patties, it never felt like 100% pure beef, although apparently it is.

Weirdly, burgers in the Balkans also had that vaguely pork-like Harvey's quality to them. Really not sure where this comes from.

[kool maudit]

For the first time in years, I found myself near a McDonald's a few weeks ago before 10:30 so I stopped in for breakfast. Insanely, the menu here doesn't come with a hash brown -- it's the sandwich, coffee AND juice, not sandwich/hashie/coffee OR juice.

Had to hold up the drive-thru and get the hash browns added. It's the best part!

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Insanely, the menu here doesn't come with a hash brown -- it's the sandwich, coffee AND juice, not sandwich/hashie/coffee OR juice.

That doesn't seem right.

[hipster duck]

Count me in as another person who doesn't really eat at fast food restaurants, not for health or moral superiority reasons, but because if you need cheap food, fast, you can get much better options in most major cities.

But if you're doing a road trip through rural areas, sometimes it's better to just get a McShits where you know what you're going to get than to try your hand at the local greasy spoon.

[kool maudit]

Of the chains I miss, Harvey's isn't among them but Wendy's and Popeye's are. Fried chicken in general -- KFC is very rare here, and of course that's the shittiest one. I have heard rumours of an African American expat running a food truck in Uppsala, but have not been able to confirm.

I miss Mr. Sub, too -- non-Subway sub places in general, actually.

On the plus side, we have Max.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by giallo

My and my wife's favourite is the McGriddle. I don't think a better, more consistent fast food breakfast item has ever existed.

.

Hell yeah. I find a lot of people claim these are gross, but it's the perfect indulgent breakfast sandwich. Hence one I very rarely get, but greatly enjoy it when I do.



Also I like to add my hash brown to the sandwich (whichever type I get).

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

I always found Harvey's really uncanny, the patties tasted a little like sausage patties, it never felt like 100% pure beef, although apparently it is.

Same here. I like the toppings concept, but the patty reminds me of something you buy in bulk at Costco and cook from frozen.

I love Popeye's chicken sandwich. The sides are meh to gross aside from the biscuits which are awesome. But $35 for 2 combos is... brutal.

[hipster duck]

Also, it's been a while since I've eaten at some of these, especially the bad ones, but:

S-tier: Popeyes, A&W
A: McDonald's fries and Filet-O-Fish, Harvey's, Triple O's, Country Style Donuts
B: McDonald's everything else, Wendy's,
C: BK, KFC, Subway
D: Pizza Pizza, Tim Horton's, Starbucks' sandwich and wraps

[niwell]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

But if you're doing a road trip through rural areas, sometimes it's better to just get a McShits where you know what you're going to get than to try your hand at the local greasy spoon.

It's usually not worth the gamble and the amount of time it takes, but small town local places can be absurdly cheap. There's a couple diners in Napanee that generally do the same thing - all-day breakfast, basic lunch/dinner options, non-licensed and close by 7pm. They're all decently tasty and somehow a full (large) breakfast for 4 people ends up costing less than $50 with tip.

[esquire]

A lot of love for Triple Os in this thread and I have to agree, although I am more familiar with the sit-down restaurant counterpart, White Spot, which occupies a bit of a sweet spot where you get a fairly nice restaurant environment but at a low price. As with most family restaurants it's a crowd pleaser too, my kids like getting their meals in a boat while my wife and I find menu items to our liking.

I have to echo MolsonExport's comments regarding Subway bread odors, normally fresh baked bread smells heavenly but it is so off-putting at Subway and I don't understand why (the sandwiches themselves are pretty good). Also kool m. is right regarding the somewhat strange taste of Harvey's patties. Maybe some people love that taste, but I have never been fond of it.

[kool maudit]

I just googled "why do Harvey's patties taste different" and found this forum thread from some Canadian car hobby board where a poster says his Muslim friends won't touch them because they swear there's pork in them.

Just to add to the lore.

It's funny, though, because the only other time I have come across that Harvey's weirdness was during my years in (the largely Muslim) Kosovo, where pork is hard to come by. Pretty much every burger there, from fast food to restaurant, had a bit of that Harvey's quality. Pljeskavica in Serbia does, too, although that is an actual mixture of beef, pork and lamb.

Maybe it's a spicing thing?

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Also, it's been a while since I've eaten at some of these, especially the bad ones, but:

S-tier: Popeyes, A&W
A: McDonald's fries and Filet-O-Fish, Harvey's, Triple O's, Country Style Donuts
B: McDonald's everything else, Wendy's,
C: BK, KFC, Subway
D: Pizza Pizza, Tim Horton's, Starbucks' sandwich and wraps

very close to my own hierarchy (see below, using same chain options)
S-tier: Popeyes, A&W, Triple O's,
A: McDonald's fries, Harvey's, Country Style Donuts
B: McDonald's everything else, Wendy's,
C: BK, KFC, Subway
D: Pizza Pizza, Tim Horton's, Starbucks' sandwich and wraps

Fourfuck's cellophane-wrapped 'food' is terrible and expensive. and the insanely chipper: "What can we get started for you? Room for Dairy??"

[kool maudit]

The greatest fast food-style burger I ever had, though, is the "Interfromage" in Rimouski, where your cheeseburger is topped with a high-walled onion ring into which a generous portion of poutine is ladled.

I just checked and it's still there. Drink 13 beers first for optimal results*.

(*and be 22)

[Innsertnamehere]

The McGriddle was the one item that I was grossed out at working in the McDs kitchen in high-school.

The folded egg comes pre-frozen, or at least it did 15 years ago when I was working there. From what I remember they are literally microwaved and then put on the sandwich.

Personally I've always enjoyed Harveys - the patty is meh, but their toppings are superior to most other chains. Tastes much less greasy than most of the other big burger chains.

My personal ranking of the major burger chains:

1. A&W
2. Harveys
3. McDs
4. Burger King
5. Wendys

Pizza Pizza is simply the worst fast food chain on the planet. I have no idea how they survive. Unbelievably awful pizza.

Burger chains are a once to twice a month indulgence for me, generally speaking, but it's a real treat for me which I often look forward to. McDs is at the bottom of my street so I end up there most often out of convenience - A&W second most. The others are more infrequent as locations are harder to find and I just generally dislike them more.