Canadian establishments of past and present - Restaurant Edition

For some reason the 'May two-four weekend' has me thinking about food. For the uninitiated, this is in commemoration of Queen Victoria's birthday which was May 24th. It is generally a holiday in Canada and is marked on the Monday before the 24th.

It also marks the beginning of the summer season, opening cottages etc. I link this time of year to memories of going out to eat. You know, the time of year when you feel free to move in the outdoors - generally being able to do things without being bitten by frigid cold.

This was a time when we would drive over to the local Dairy Queen, park the car and enjoy treats with the windows or top down. My Baba would like to do the same with me- taking me in her car to Harvey's for an ice cream cone. Sometimes we'd get fries or onion rings there too. Personal opinion, Harvey's had the BEST onion rings!

I guess you can't talk Harvey's without talking Swiss Chalet these days as they seem to have partnered up in various locations and must share the same parent company.

I have so many great memories of Swiss Chalet. If I go straight to a superficial memory of that place- I'd say it'd be memories of having their Super Sundae. Vanilla ice cream in a tall ice cream cup, chocolate or caramel syrup, whipped cream, with cherry on top! And they equipped you with a long spoon to get the last bit of syrup out of the bottom of that tall cup. I was a lucky kid having many of those to myself!

Of the more sentimental memories at Swiss Chalet- the Sunday family dinner night that was usually held at my Baba's house, (where the whole of my dads side of the family would come together Sundays) seemed to move into Swiss Chalet I'm sure for conveniences sake. That would have been 8-10 or more of us, depending on who was willing and wanting to go. It was affordable, and offered water set out on the table, buns/rolls- the little extras that the family looked for.

A Swiss Chalet was in the same mall that my dads jewellery store was in, so there were times we'd close shop, put up the back in 30 sign up, and have lunch there. Actually, even closer to my dads store (right beside it) was a Pizza Pizza. Its the cheap but good pizza chain in Canada. I don't remember them offering pizza by the slice there at that time- but maybe they did, it was a long time ago. I do remember later on them being big on pizza slices and a can of coke as a lunch deal that was very popular. 737-1111 was the phone number in my area, other areas kept the 1111 (eleven-eleven) part, and through the magic of tech routed calls to the closest shop for the particular area number.

Thinking of fast food outside the realm of 'burgers'- you come to think of Subway. But I don't think this was Canadian in particular. For sure we went there, and it was popular for a long while. However, Fat Alberts which I think had 2-3 locations in Ottawa stands out as the first place I had heard of a "submarine sandwich". As I remember, the early locations were all about subs, but later tried to unsuccessfully branch out to other foods. They had tables with - graphics of some kind I cannot remember- under glass, and wallpaper that had the look of old newspapers.

Who else do we have to call out here under Canadian chains? Tim Hortons, Country Style, Zellers and other retail shops in-store restaurants or 'cafes'. Licks, Ponderosa, St Hubert, and... do random chip wagons count as chains??

Lets talk donuts a sec, before Timmies, we did have Dunkin' Donuts in Canada, and I'd say it was the top choice shop for fresh made donuts. There was a Dunkin's close to home where I recall having MANY a 'tractor wheel' donut! Dad liked the 'Boston creme' ones, which at the time I didn't like but came to appreciate.

Timmies, what can you say but - getting that multipack of Timbits and coffee of choice was always a comfort food combo that was especially appealing if you only had a few loonies or toonies to your name.

It wasn't a uniquely Canadian thing, but department store cafeterias! Zellers, Sears, Eatons, The Bay, Kmart- all had those in store cafe's. Where most of the time the lunch special was a club sandwich, cut into triangles- of course skewered with fancy toothpicks. Some held onto the idea of having a waiter/waitress to take your order, some were more cafeteria style- grab a tray, pick your food, pay and seat yourself.

I'll end with burgers at Licks: err... Homeburgers as they called them. Famous in my opinion for the thick, fresh burger patty, and their special burger sauce called guk. Guk sauce was mayo with garlic, spices and relish.

Also famous for the sometimes ad-lib singing as they cooked. I can't imagine singing all day as you cooked. The order taker also shouted out your name and order to the cooks (and everyone else to hear). It was the only place I knew of that played 50's music all the time. Unique experience and amazing burgers!