O Canada! Canadian Food (or apparently "Why I Love French Fries")

As you all may or may not know, I'm from Canada.

Yup, I'm Canadian.

And since my partner and I are such food fans, I often get asked about Canadian food.  "What is Canadian food?" is usually asked quite casually.  But then the question usually results in a perplexed look and an instant follow-up question: "wait, IS THERE EVEN Canadian food?"

Short answer: yes, there sure is.

I was thinking about this today, and thinking about my childhood and some of the meals I ate that one would consider "Canadian".  So, here's a very short list of some of my favorite Canadian foods.

(I used Wikipedia for a lot of this).

#1 POUTINE
Oh dear goodness, this is absolutely the most delicious meal you'll find once you cross the border.  I will say that there is "good" poutine and "not as good" poutine, but probably not much "bad" poutine out there.

It's simple:  french fries + cheese curds + brown gravy = salty, delicious goodness.

courtesy of http://notcanadian44.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/poutine.jpg

# 2 LES ROTISSERIES ST-HUBERT

Next of course there's Les Rotisseries St-Hubert.  The secret's in the sauce here.  It's sweet, spicy & tangy.  And of course a common theme is french fries.  Dip the fries in the sauce and you're all set.

Rotisserie chicken, FRENCH FRIES, St-Hubert sauce and cole-slaw (choice of either vinegar or mayo based).

(You can purchase the St-Hubert sauce in powdered form, I've made it a point to have a steady supply since I moved to the U.S. about ten years ago).

#3 CHALET SUISSE

This was the next best thing to St-Hubert.  My parents actually stopped here a lot, not sure why - I assume either proximity to home or cost effectiveness.  Either way, not quite the same as St-Hubert sauce, but simialr premise: rotisserie chicken, FRENCH FRIES & Chalet Suisse sauce!  Once again, the same is true: dip fries in sauce and it's delicious.

http://www.swisschalet.com/our_menu_rotisserie.php

# 4 TOURTIERE

 This one doesn't include fries!!!  This is my grandmother's finest dish - a savory meat pie consisting of beef, pork & veal.  Usually eaten during the winter holidays, it reminds me of being a kid.

http://www.walnutinfo.com/upload/95_recipes.jpg

 # 5 BEAVER TAILS (or QUEUES DE CASTORS)

Yup - that's what they're called - Beaver Tails!  A tasty pastry, especially good on cold days!

http://fruttodellapassione.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/img_2287.jpg

# 6 DECARIE FRIES (& HOT DOGS)

This is the last one the list, but definitely a fond food memory!  Once again, french fries - douse 'em in salt & vinegar and dip 'em in ketchup and you've got yourself the perfect afternoon (after school!) snack.

 

http://citynoise.org/article/5051

 

Well, that's all I got so far.  I know there's more, I can feel it.  It's just that it's late and the last thing I need is to have french fries on the brain when hitting the sack.

G'night.