FAST FOOD in Canada

[Loco101]

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.

[Architype]

^ 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?

[kwoldtimer]

^ 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?

Fast food and full service restaurant would be a contradiction, no?

[MolsonExport]

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.

The Q-ing oven was such a crock of shit. My last year at McD's, they overhauled the food preparation. Out was the bin and the old form of production calls: "Give me 12 ham, 6 macs, turn-lay" (which meant a call for 12 hamburgers, 6 Big Macs [the latter also requiring 12 10:1 patties], and once the patties for these were turned, another set of 12 & 6x2 was laid on the grill, and so forth). And then "On 12 ham?"...the answer might have been "On 8" which denoted how many of these 12 hamburgers became cheeseburgers. The prepared burgers were put up for the production manager to wrap and place in the bin, ready for purchase.

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??").

[MolsonExport]

Reposted for posterity:

Given his first-hand experience, it would be great if we could put MolsonEx in charge of teaching Oxbridge College’s “How To Pour Very Hot Used Cooking Oil In The Waste Oil Container Without Pouring It On Yourself, for dummies” class.

I've got some stories about this. Maybe I shared them on here, because lemme tell you, I've got some stories. Here is one of them.

The Waste oil container was 3 feet off the ground, presumably to keep out (some) pests (it was always filled with thousands of maggots, of which each generation was fried...which will become clear in a moment). This required you to hoist the waste oil (which was in a square trolley, piping hot for at least an hour after discharging) up, well past your waistline. Naturally, it was easy to spill some under the circumstances. So you are hoisting this metal bin (weighs 18 pounds empty) filled with waste oil (50 pounds, as each bin held a box of shortening that weighed such, which was topped off many times a day to compensate to losses from coating fries/nuggets/whathaveyou). You can easily slip. One poor guy slipped backwards, and the piping hot grease covered his chest, torso, neck, and legs/feet. He was found unconscious, passed-out from the pain, about 20 minutes after going outside. 3rd degree burns on 30% of his body, 2nd degree burns on another 30%. His acrylic uniform top was partly melted to his body.

There were consequences.

:( I can see that happening. Do you remember McPizza, McD Canada's abortive early-'90s attempt at a pizza pie? (They weren't bad, but eventually went the way of the Dodo due to nigh-nonexistent sales.) The charred pizza racks were cleaned in a metal container full of powerful degreaser that was placed onto one of the breakfast plancher grills. Full, it weighed about 150 lbs. I remember lifting it onto the grill by myself a few times, slipping and sliding on the perpetually greasy floors. Gives me chills to consider it now.
Also, a coworker told me a story of an incident that occurred at another outlet. McDs likes to hire intellectually handicapped folk because it can pay them less (I don't know if that is still true). At any rate, one of these poor clods was huge and strong. A guy in the kitchen was ridiculing him, so this big dude took the other's hands and dunked them for several seconds in the chicken fryer.
Another lovely memory you and I have shared in the past was the periodical emptying/cleaning of the sink's grease trap. By Jove, if there's a worse stench known to man (perhaps a decomposing corpse), I prefer to remain ignorant of it!


ah the grease trap, aka the sump pump. Horrors of cleaning that thing out. A dimwitted manager once told an employee to dump the drained fry vat oil into the sink (she was running late, and wanted to gtf home after a long night as closing manager). Well the oil congealed and set. And "backwash" could not happen, as the sinks all overflowed. The mess was epic...it cost a lot of money to bring in Mr. Rooter.

Man, that hands in the chicken vat story is unnerving. We also had a number of intellectually handicapped people working at my McD's...one of which featured in a commercial for McD's. A lot of people made fun of this guy behind his back (he had some strange eating habits...ordered THE SAME MEAL every single day, 5 days a week, for at least three years: two 'plain ham' [no condiments], + Fries, + Strawberry Sunday) but mostly we were protective of him. I recall a big fight in the lobby between us managers (and a few senior employees) and a gang of shithead teens who were taunting the employee with the "r" word. When we asked them to leave, they laughed and suggested that we were also "r-ds". Back in the day, we didn't exactly hold back. It got physical, but that was a regular occurrence in the McD lobby.

I saw a guy leaning on the fry vat while chatting to a fellow crew member. His foot suddenly slipped out (the floors were always greasy, despite Baldanus's screams of "time to lean, time to clean!!"). His arm instinctively went out to protect his fall...right into the fry vat (425F), all the way past his elbow. The shriek...was bloodcurdling. He withdrew his arm, instinctively trying shake off the 425F oil coating it...and off came his fingernails and the top layers of his skin.

I know all about McD pizza. there were four of us chosen to be the first trainees of McDs pizza for western Montreal. I was one of them. We drove down to Cornwall, spending two days at one of the outlets that had the pizza rolled out (Cornwall was the first city in Eastern Canada to launch pizza). We came back to train managers/employees at different locations in Montreal, and within a month, the product was launched in Montreal.

I know all about that heavy duty degreaser soaking for the pizza grills. They'd go in all covered in grit. They'd come out pristine. We had a big plastic tub where the degreaser was kept along with the grills. I wouldn't want to lift it...yeah about 150 lbs sounds about right.

I got burned a zillion times while in the kitchen, nothing major. I once broke a bone in my foot while doing "Brower" (long story...I also worked at Brower for 6 months as a forklift driver). Got a really bad electric shock from a frayed vat machine cable. Another bad shock from a loose wire in the McNugget Cabinet. Good times.

These McD's stories are something else. The deep fried maggots and fryer/grease burns, electric shocks, teenage brawls or brawls with teens, slips, trips and falls which is employment safety 101 etc. I hope things have much improved for the employees from 3 decades or more ago.

I do recall McPizza. It tasted cheap but had a unique sauce with a tiny bit of spiciness. It was served on a tray/stand like an actual pizzeria. I think my mom took us to get it 5 or so times. The advertising campaign probably cost more than they ever made in sales.
Novelty factor more than anything else.

lio, Hamberder University can be the first meme-versity with a fat head cartoon Bolanis on the logo. The diploma can be NFTs that the students pay extra for.

Sorry for the dilatory reply and the renewed digression of this thread, but the car's Wifi (I'm at the cottage;)) was achingly slow yesterday. Good grief, you have more nightmarish stories than I do.
Don't remind me of Brower, the worst shift a kid could be sentenced to. Here, let's destroy your body for three hours by blasting 50-60 lb boxes down a wooden chute at your child-sized arms and torso, and in exchange you get $12. Sounds fair. One time, another kid and I finished early because of diligence, a little over 2 hours in, and this bitch of a manager (one of the only managers I ever disliked; she had the affect of a sociopath, and always refused to drive home "closing" kids, which was her duty, occupational and moral) told us to clock out. We demurred, demanding to be paid for the full three hours we were scheduled. Other coworkers chimed in and gathered around incensed, one saying his dad was a lawyer and would have the virago fired, etc. I don't recollect what happened (she faced no consequences), but I'm sure we were paid for the full three. Miniscule victories.
McDonald's and its fast-food brethren can rot. It's evident you still resent it as much as I do after all these years. I'm only fortunate in that I never worked under or with someone as vile as Baldanus.

Maybe just a general fast food thread would be good.

This discussion has reminded me how much I hated doing the Brower shifts in Winter.

Brower = Martin Brower = Distribution/Wholesaler for McDonalds = unloading trucks full of McD's products

Y'all seem to have some horror stories from your McDs days man - mine was a bit more positive than that. I mean minimum wage aside, it was a relatively positive experience outside of crappy customers. The employer was generally fair to me in the context of a minimum wage job :shrug:

It probably helped that our McDs did blockbuster sales to the owner-operator had some decent margins to throw around and didn't really need to count pennies..

I also never had to do Brower loads, for some reason.

Same. I did two short'ish stints at McDs when I was younger and don't really have any horror stories to share. There was always one mid-aged manager who was power tripping, but other than that everyone else was good to work with. No horror stories on the food either, QC was so strict that nothing bad was making into the kitchen.


5+ years McD's veteran here, worked at three stores (same ownership, West Island of Montreal) and also at Martin Brower (Warehouse, also West Island) , mostly full time during these 5+ years (it paid the bills while I went to CEGEP then University). My McD's years were the 1980s and early 90s. I imagine much has changed since the wild west days.

I was a manager at McD's for more than 4 of my 5+ years.

Yeah, as a manager, you see it all.

https://www.ponctuation.com/images/George_Bolanis.jpg
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61V4s3EG9jL.jpg

In the end, however, and perhaps like a stint in the military, I did learn a lot, and the experience did shape my personality.

Like Molson, I also worked there for more than five years. Talk about squandering one's existence! Only really worth it for the persiflage with coworkers. It wouldn't happen in today's oversensitive climate, but at the time there was much ribaldry and tomfoolery in the back (kitchen, mostly populated by young males), and reciprocal flirtation with the cashiers (mostly young females). Regrettably, I missed out on dating opportunities with a few fine fillies. I was far too shy to make a move, and didn't pick up on their interest, though I recognize it in hindsight.

As to your comment, it's true, as I mentioned earlier, the crew chiefs and entry-level managers were paid only marginally more than us rock-bottom plebeians, and that with much more responsibility. I was told more than once that "McDonald's Manager" was actually considered a substantial asset on one's resume. My conscientiousness and hard work led to the proffering of promotion on a few occasions, but I had zero, zilch, nada intention of investing more of myself in that shitty company. The only reason I was there for 5-6 years was because of my confounded inveterate indecision and inertia, which persists to this day.
Back then, early-'90s, entry-level managers made $7-8/hr, the next level up made a salary of circa $25,000, the third level about $35,000, and store managers about $45,000.

My time was during the mid-1990s. I worked at the main Timmins location as well as at the Walmart one which had the same franchise owner. I really enjoyed the Walmart location as it was much less chaotic and didn't have a drive-thru.

My brother was a McD's manager for about 4 years during that time but they never allowed us to work together which was a wise move lol.

je vais prendre deux cheeseburgers, par exemple, avec des frites, et un milkshake vanille.

[MolsonExport]

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...

[lio45]

As to your comment, it's true, as I mentioned earlier, the crew chiefs and entry-level managers were paid only marginally more than us rock-bottom plebeians, and that with much more responsibility. I was told more than once that "McDonald's Manager" was actually considered a substantial asset on one's resume.Can't help but marvel at the astuteness of those who have pulled this off!

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:

[niwell]

Can't help but marvel at the astuteness of those who have pulled this off!

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:


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).

[Hawrylyshyn]

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

[esquire]

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 has always been common on the prairies... a lot of bigger towns that haven't made it on McDonald's radar have a A&W.

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)

[MolsonExport]

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).

A&W is a fast food restaurant chain in Canada, franchised by A&W Food Services of Canada, Inc.[5] The chain was originally part of the U.S.-based A&W Restaurants chain; locations in Canada were sold to Unilever in 1972, and then bought by its management in 1995.[6] A&W restaurants in Canada no longer have any corporate connection to A&W operations outside of Canada.[7
wikipedia

[WhipperSnapper]

$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.

[stefanYEG]

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.

[SignalHillHiker]

Two thoughts:

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.

[esquire]

^ 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:

[Nashe]

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)

[Kilgore Trout]

Suddenly fast food is really quite expensive.

There's a local place near me that does amazing smashburgers on potato rolls baked in house. $9.5 tax in, which some people find expensive. That's only a dollar more than a quarter pounder at McDonald's.

[MonctonRad]

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)

[WarrenC12]

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)

Nice list. I find BK to be highly underrated. Flame grilled is awesome. McDonald's is disappointing every time. Five Guys is my #1 but might be too expensive for this comparison.

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.

[Luisito]

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:

[MolsonExport]

There's a local place near me that does amazing smashburgers on potato rolls baked in house. $9.5 tax in, which some people find expensive. That's only a dollar more than a quarter pounder at McDonald's.

yeah, that's what I am talking about. The local, non-chains offer much better value (taste, quality) for the money. I'll even take good ol' cassecroute fare over McDick's, Burger Thing, and Wendy's (where everything is named after Dave rather than Wendy).

[MolsonExport]

Burger's Priest is good (not as good as when it was that single location in the Beaches; now it is a franchised chain), but pricey. Ditto for Five Guys.

Shake Shack is the most ridiculously overpriced place. Two years ago, I went to one in Denver. $48USD for my wife and I. This summer I went again, this time in London (England) and it was the equivalent of $66 dollars Canadian for the two of us. For just two combos and one frozen custard. Good but jesus farking christ, it ain't that good.

[kool maudit]

McD's isn't a good place to have an actual meal, but eccentric combinations of low-priced single items sometimes hits the spot if you're busy, particularly given that information on stuff like calories, protein etc. is easily available.

[esquire]

Burger's Priest is good (not as good as when it was that single location in the Beaches; now it is a franchised chain), but pricey. Ditto for Five Guys.

Shake Shack is the most ridiculously overpriced place. Two years ago, I went to one in Denver. $48USD for my wife and I. This summer I went again, this time in London (England) and it was the equivalent of $66 dollars Canadian for the two of us. For just two combos and one frozen custard. Good but jesus farking christ, it ain't that good.

Almost everything in London is expensive! I took my wife and kids to a fish and chips restaurant. Nothing fancy, 2 adult fish and chips, basically fast food calibre, 2 kids meals, one sticky toffee pudding. My wife had wine and I had a beer. $150 Canadian. Unbelievable.

The only exception to extortionate UK pricing are the ubiquitous JD Wetherspoons pubs. Cheap even by Canadian standards, and pleasant with decent food. Not surprisingly, they're popular places. How has something like that never emerged in Canada? Wetherspoons is like what Boston Pizza could be if it tried.

[giallo]

I pretty much gave up on fast food franchises like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC et al. almost a decade ago. I would feel like crap after eating them, so I lost any sort of desire. Having said that, fast casual places like Shake Shack, White Spot, Chipotle and Five Guys still have a place in my heart. They cost a little more, but the food quality is higher.

In Vancouver, there are so many amazing restaurants that the fast casual places to a back seat to regular spots like Ajea Noodle, Lido, HK BBQ Master, Danbo Ramen, The Frying Pan, Juicy Joes and Down Low Chicken.

[Mister F]

A good litmus test for cheap fast food places is their chicken sandwiches. Burger King, Harvey's, A&W, and Tim Hortons all have nasty hyper-processed chicken-derived substance that is barely edible. Wendy's, KFC, and Popeye's have actual real chicken breast. That makes a world of difference if you're feeling like something other than a burger.

[theman23]

Burger's Priest is good (not as good as when it was that single location in the Beaches; now it is a franchised chain), but pricey. Ditto for Five Guys.

Shake Shack is the most ridiculously overpriced place. Two years ago, I went to one in Denver. $48USD for my wife and I. This summer I went again, this time in London (England) and it was the equivalent of $66 dollars Canadian for the two of us. For just two combos and one frozen custard. Good but jesus farking christ, it ain't that good.


$24 USD a person doesn't sound outrageous, but is a bit more than what I'm used to.

In Seattle, a pop is $3.50 USD, and most burgers go for a bit less than $10 USD. I usually get the shake stack, which is the priciest option at $12.50. $12-16 USD for a burger and a drink isn't bad, and its far superior to any other burger chain. The locations I go to are usually packed, so they clearly aren't struggling to find people willing to pay those prices. By comparison, a burger and pop at McDonalds is around $8-10 USD now.
A good litmus test for cheap fast food places is their chicken sandwiches. Burger King, Harvey's, A&W, and Tim Hortons all have nasty hyper-processed chicken-derived substance that is barely edible. Wendy's, KFC, and Popeye's have actual real chicken breast. That makes a world of difference if you're feeling like something other than a burger.

The McDonalds chicken burger introduced a few years ago in the USA is made of real chicken breast and is actually quite tasty, although the quality does seem to vary greatly by location. They seem to announce a new chicken burger here in Canada every few months and I'm always disappointed to find out that it uses the same processed chicken crap that you can find in the regular McChicken.

[jonny24]

I love A+W :D going as far as stopping there pre- wedding ceremony for some burgers and pics:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc_X1FNfuAc7fQuZGCC0yFZQlMQ5F8AKS2aehtk-R-nRrHdS0NdXC5PnW4v7_YH2B2tFyHz00O3wtK70NOmgIGTTRNROhn9dMWAaBl6zDueOGqL7w-S25ECxEOZwVBUaDY0k2wCQGRbRJicHpQXUFF0z=w1365-h1014-s-no?authuser=0

I'll also regularly have a Wendy's Baconator when I want a greasy hangover cure. McDonalds I don't love the full-size burgers but I like the small cheeseburger paired with an order of nuggets for when I can't decide. Five Guys is very good, but expensive.

I don't really like flame-grilled fast food burgers, like Harvey's/BK. To me it's too much the exact same thing I could have made at home with a frozen patty on the grill (which I enjoy for quick supper, I just don't wanna pay $11 for it)

Got sick of Subway (the smell specifically) when we had one in my college cafe. If I don't want a burger or pizza I tend to go for a local shawarma. Also been really diggin the fried chicken sandwiches at Mary Browns, although A+W just released some new ones that seem more like real meat, I enjoyed the one I had.

[Wigs]

I pretty much gave up on fast food franchises like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC et al. almost a decade ago. I would feel like crap after eating them, so I lost any sort of desire.

With McDonald's I feel like absolute garbage usually within 30 minutes of eating it so I haven't consumed it since pre pandemic days.
A&W, I feel fine afterwards. Difference in food quality? Apparently.

A&W and Swiss Chalet/Harvey's are the only fast food I eat and that's maybe once a month. Pro tip: you can get a whole chicken at Swiss Chalet and have them cut it into quarters. You get 4 sides with it, rolls and chalet sauce. Cheaper than 3 quarter chicken dinners!

[Wigs]

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

[Hawrylyshyn]

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

I know someone that lived in an apartment above a Subway during school and it sounds like it was a living hell from that smell 24/7

[Wigs]

That sounds awful.

I feel bad for the workers. Even after coming home and having a shower that smell probably continues to permeate from their pores.

[SpongeG]

I went to Five Guys on Saturday, The fries were great, but the burger was awful, the bun fell apart, it was soggy and the lettuce they used and put on it was so skimpy and useless, Quality has definitely dropped.

I really don't mind Mcdonalds, my go to is the 1/4 pounder. Fries are good if hot, can be meh if they have gotten cold, I will add the fries in the USA McDonalds taste different imo taste better, I think they use different oil down there.

There is a new McDonald's commercial, the restaurant looks so fancy.

The ones we go to just over the border have really basically eliminated the counter order spots, and you don't see any machinery or into the kitchen at all anymore, and there are never any staff at them so you order at the screen, its very minimal now. Also on the screen ordering they have a special section where you order food as "seen in movies" such as Coming To America or Loki etc. Its also apparently in Canada but I really don't go there much other than the occasional drive-thru drink.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/16611502_web1_IMG_0488.jpeg?crop=1
reviewjournal.com

[le calmar]

I had some Mary Brown’s fried chicken tonight. Decent chicken but they should tone down the salt. Way too salty for no reason.

[Wigs]

That McDonald's photo is depressing. Might as well be a ghost kitchen

[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.

[Architype]

Fast food and full service restaurant would be a contradiction, no?

It would seem by definition, but not necessarily, if you can get the same dishes at a take-out that you can get at a dine-in restaurant.

I've never worked at a fast food place, but my family had a couple of fish & chips etc. restaurants before I was born.

I think Wendy's is the healthiest of the popular burger chains, but most people still want McD's special sauces.

@ Casper - White Spot is arguably a unique experience, where I like to take visiting relatives; too bad they aren't all across Canada.
However, the last one I went to (Georgia Street) was sold for $245 million to put up a condo.

[Berklon]

Fast food is ridiculously expensive nowadays. I went a while without eating at fast food chains, and the was shocked at how much prices have increased the last few years.

There's a pizza place near me that has a pick-up deal for an XL pie with 1 topping for $11.99 and 3 toppings for $13.99. Sometimes 1 topping is enough for me.
An XL pizza can last me 3 or 4 meals. Go to McD's, Wendy's, etc. and you're paying that much and you're only eating once.

I still prefer to just cook. Saves me a ton of money.

[esquire]

That McDonald's photo is depressing. Might as well be a ghost kitchen

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

https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/internal/media/dispatcher/1822645/preview

[casper]

It would seem by definition, but not necessarily, if you can get the same dishes at a take-out that you can get at a dine-in restaurant.

I've never worked at a fast food place, but my family had a couple of fish & chips etc. restaurants before I was born.

I think Wendy's is the healthiest of the popular burger chains, but most people still want McD's special sauces.

@ Casper - White Spot is arguably a unique experience, where I like to take visiting relatives; too bad they aren't all across Canada.
However, the last one I went to (Georgia Street) was sold for $245 million to put up a condo.

White Spot is the sit-down experience with table service. Triple-O (https://www.tripleos.com/) is their fast food small form factor outlet. Menu is reduced to just the burgers and you pickup at the counter. Generally the same burger but without proper plates and table service. The Triple-O show up mostly as an add-on glued to Chevron convenience stores.

I agree it would be idea if they were across the country.

[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. :cheers: (and those of you who recall Seinfeld will understand that reference)

[MolsonExport]

The smell of Subway :yuck: 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]

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]

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

https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/internal/media/dispatcher/1822645/preview

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]

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]

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 (https://www.max.se/).

[niwell]

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]

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]

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 (https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/221676-Harveys-burgers?) 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]

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 (https://www.cantinedelagare.com/). 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.

[kool maudit]

Pizza Pizza is grim. It's one of those chains where a meal there makes you feel like you just ate a pound of gummi bears or something -- it doesn't register as food to the body.

A few months ago, I tried this "New York Pizza" place here because they sold by the slice, which is really rare in Scandinavia. It was so gross, and it took me a second to recall where I remembered that exact strain of grossness from.

It was Pizza Pizza.

It's just not food.

[giallo]

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).

It's the perfect mix of sweet and savoury. I guess I can understand why someone might be put off by a McGriddle, but for me, it's perfection in two pancakes.
It can be too much of a good thing though, so I too limit it to road trips.


Since moving back, I still haven't found a really, really good burger in Vancouver. Sure, there are a bunch of decent spots, but nothing like this place in Seoul. Best smash burger on the planet. They basically aped the McDs' double cheeseburger concept, and made it taste 10x better. There's something about the beef they use in Korea. It tastes so good.

No Stress Burger

https://mp-seoul-image-production-s3.mangoplate.com/1991439_1632116777050946.jpg

[niwell]

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 (https://www.cantinedelagare.com/). Drink 13 beers first for optimal results*.

(*and be 22)


I had something that sounds identical to this in Kapuskasing while travelling through for work once. Shortly after we ordered there was a power outage but the very Franco-Ontarian chef powered through without a hood vent and came out to serve our food absolutely soaked in sweat. 10/10 would absolutely eat again (though nowadays it would definitely hurt).

I checked and sadly the restaurant is no longer there.

[MonctonRad]

No one has mentioned DQ in their fast food list (me included).

We have four DQ's in Moncton, and they are all "grill 'n chill" hamburger outlets too. I usually only ever get a milk shake or a blizzard at the drive-thru, but their burgers are half decent.

What do you guys think?

[Hawrylyshyn]

I've never had their food (ice cream only), but I've heard it is actually better than expected.

[niwell]

Pizza Pizza is horrific - was baffled at it's popularity when I moved to Ontario after high school, particularly since there were much better options readily available.

The only times I've voluntarily gotten it has been very late at night (early morning) when nothing else was open/would do delivery. This was a longggg time ago because there are definitely better options now. Even Dominos blows it out of the water.


That smashburger above looks amazing. There's quite a few good options here that are relatively affordable thankfully. Interestingly though my absolute favourite has been from Leemo Han's Korean inspired bar/restaurant called Seoulshakers whose chef only does the burger for street festivals and other special occasions. Their food and cocktails are great all the time though.

[WarrenC12]

No one has mentioned DQ in their fast food list (me included).

We have four DQ's in Moncton, and they are all "grill 'n chill" hamburger outlets too. I usually only ever get a milk shake or a blizzard at the drive-thru, but their burgers are half decent.

What do you guys think?

For a value option, $8 cheeseburger, drink, fries, and sundae combo is pretty solid. Burger is decent. Fries are only good when hot.

[WarrenC12]

Shout out to Wendy's breakfast. The croissant options are pretty good. Beats McD for me now.

[suburbanite]

For whatever reason the Pizza Pizza at the Bud Stage in Toronto hits different. It's something I'll usually grab after pre-drinking and waiting for the show to start since it's easy to carry around on the lawn. I was lulled into a false sense of security and grabbed a slice at a regular Pizza Pizza location late one night and was instantly reminded that it is indeed terrible.

[Hecate]

No one has mentioned DQ in their fast food list (me included).

We have four DQ's in Moncton, and they are all "grill 'n chill" hamburger outlets too. I usually only ever get a milk shake or a blizzard at the drive-thru, but their burgers are half decent.

What do you guys think?

I enjoy Dairy Queen burgers, they’re like a better Burger King. but here in Winnipeg we have a local chain called nuburger and I love them. They make a burger called the Shang awesome, with some Asian coleslaw, goat cheese, and spicy mushrooms and it’s so good. Like ridiculously good. And they have amazing fries too. And in winter they make warm potato salad it’s sooo good.

[hipster duck]

Pizza Pizza is horrific - was baffled at it's popularity when I moved to Ontario after high school, particularly since there were much better options readily available.

The only times I've voluntarily gotten it has been very late at night (early morning) when nothing else was open/would do delivery. This was a longggg time ago because there are definitely better options now. Even Dominos blows it out of the water.

I think that one reason that Pizza Pizza is so bad is that it's a franchise, with all of the quality and consistency issues that come from mom and pop-owned franchises, but 6% of a store's earnings have to be paid to a royalty fund (https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/quote/PZA.TO/) that then distributes dividends to shareholders. I'm not exactly sure that the takeout pizza business has fat margins, so you know they're cutting corners when it comes to ingredients, working conditions of staff, etc.

I avoid Pizza Pizza wherever possible, but one time Pizza Pizza saved the day. It was during the blackout of 2003, I had nothing to eat, and all the stores and restaurants were closed. But the Pizza Pizza near me had a gas oven and they were still hard at work making their cardboard pizzas and selling them to customers for cash.

[MolsonExport]

For good reasons have I called Pizza Pizza "Cardboard, Cardboard".

Remember those old radio commercials with Pat Finelli (pictured)? How many times did he say the word "Fresh"? At least 5 times in each ad. It is almost like he has to hypnotize you into believing that anything from Cardboard Cardboard will be fresh.

https://i.imgflip.com/7ycb5a.jpg

[Innsertnamehere]

Pizza Pizza is horrific - was baffled at it's popularity when I moved to Ontario after high school, particularly since there were much better options readily available.

The only times I've voluntarily gotten it has been very late at night (early morning) when nothing else was open/would do delivery. This was a longggg time ago because there are definitely better options now. Even Dominos blows it out of the water.


That smashburger above looks amazing. There's quite a few good options here that are relatively affordable thankfully. Interestingly though my absolute favourite has been from Leemo Han's Korean inspired bar/restaurant called Seoulshakers whose chef only does the burger for street festivals and other special occasions. Their food and cocktails are great all the time though.

I think Pizza Pizza survives on competitive pricing - it's generally cheaper than competitors. About a decade ago when I was living with roommates in Uni we would order a $10 XL pepperoni pizza with BBQ sauce from the Pizza Pizza down the street that would feed all 3 of us some nights. We couldnt make a home-made meal for that price. Fresh-ordered isn't quite as awful either, where Pizza Pizza is truly terrible is walk-in slices which tase unbelievably bad.

[1overcosc]

No one has mentioned DQ in their fast food list (me included).

We have four DQ's in Moncton, and they are all "grill 'n chill" hamburger outlets too. I usually only ever get a milk shake or a blizzard at the drive-thru, but their burgers are half decent.

What do you guys think?

I grew up in Embrun, Ontario which in the 2000s had an odd quirk: the only fast food hamburger place in town was a DQ. (There was a Timmies and a Subway, but no McDicks or BK or anything like that). So my high school years were dominated by DQ burgers. When I moved out of town to to school, my classmates were utterly confused when they drunkenly announced "let's go to DQ!" after a pizza meal, and I responded with "really? You want burgers now?"

In 2022 Embrun got a McDonalds and an A&W so it's no longer a DQ only town.

[esquire]

I don't mind Pizza Pizza. I consider it a step up over Little Caesar's which my kids adore... the only thing that LC's beats is frozen pizza from the supermarket.

To answer MonctonRad's question, I like DQ burgers but I seldom ever have them. It just never occurs to me to go to DQ. But I have enjoyed them whenever I have tried them.

[Mister F]

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...)

It's a mystery. Mr. Sub is far better than Subway - the bread alone makes a huge difference. And Subway doesn't even have roast beef anymore. Yet Mr. Sub is getting more rare while Subway is ubiquitous.

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

Yeah I don't get the love for Harvey's either. I share the sentiment that there's something odd about their burgers. And their "chicken" sandwiches are gross.

[HomeInMyShoes]

No one has mentioned DQ in their fast food list (me included).

We have four DQ's in Moncton, and they are all "grill 'n chill" hamburger outlets too. I usually only ever get a milk shake or a blizzard at the drive-thru, but their burgers are half decent.

What do you guys think?

DQ is a pretty decent burger. Not great, but way better than McDonald's on that front. I still like A&W for a burger from the usual suspects, but I really like the chicken sandwiches at Popeye's and Fat Burger. I'm not a huge fan of Popeye's fries, but my kids love them and it's a nice option when available.

[MolsonExport]

Little Caesars is so terrible. I got food poisoning last time I ate one of their substandard pizzas

[Nashe]

DQ burgers USED to be pretty good, but they changed their "recipe" last year and we don't like them as much.

[Wigs]

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.

That's a great name :haha: because McDonald's does not agree with my body at all. I feel like total garbage after and sometimes have gotten the dreaded upset stomach gurgle "oh no, gotta get to a bathroom soon". This happens within 30 minutes of consumption.

If I'm on a roadtrip and stop there because of lack of other options I'll just get fries as I view non meat items as the safe option. :haha:

Pizza Pizza is definitely cardboard cardboard. :yuck:
Pat Finelli is right up there with the Spence Diamonds guy for most annoying spokesperson in Canada.

The one that disappointed me where the hype was built up to my child and teen brain was Toronto chain Pizza Nova, in business for 60 years!
I used to love to their tacky but unrelenting brain worm commercials and radio ads for years "4-3-9 Oh Oh Oh Oh Pizza Nova" but when I finally tried it in my late teens was so underwhelmed.
How do they have so many locations in the GTA and beyond? (haven't reached Niagara yet)
KGXpNpS9aTY?feature=shared

[Wigs]

DQ burgers USED to be pretty good, but they changed their "recipe" last year and we don't like them as much.

That's a shame. I liked DQ as a kid (they used to give kids meals a token to redeem later for dessert and it felt kinda special :D), and later the food became better as an adult in the past say 15 years.

[SignalHillHiker]

I've gone through phases where I need a Skor Blizzard once a day, and tried their burgers back when I still ate meat. They were good.

But since Skip the Dishes came on scene (BTW, there's a guy on Grindr locally whose username is Skip the Missus and it kills me every time), I've had to stop. I once hit "Place Order" on a $46 bill to get 6 cookies from Craig's Cookies delivered lol

Can't remember the last time I had proper takeout. I've had junk food downtown, lots of course, but to actually go to a fast food place, or order from there... it's been a while.

*****

Chatting with Ayreonaut on FB, and he shared the new fines for CGY:

https://i.postimg.cc/dQjR7MVP/373422326-1034831201206879-7616325283182065682-n.jpg

*****

And jeddy1989 reminded me how sleazy fast food places here can be, where if you pay with cash, some won't give you a receipt even if you ask :haha: I always forget how... developing world... we are with a normal, Canadian facade.

[esquire]

I wonder if any chains will come to dominate the shawarma market? It feels like up until about a decade ago it was mainly mom and pops but now there are some bigger players like Osmows, Mezza and Paramount (my personal favourite of the chains).

(BTW, there's a guy on Grindr locally whose username is Skip the Missus and it kills me every time)

:haha:

[jonny24]

For whatever reason the Pizza Pizza at the Bud Stage in Toronto hits different. It's something I'll usually grab after pre-drinking and waiting for the show to start since it's easy to carry around on the lawn. I was lulled into a false sense of security and grabbed a slice at a regular Pizza Pizza location late one night and was instantly reminded that it is indeed terrible.

Pizza Pizza at a franchise location = :yuck:

Pizza Pizza at some sort of music venue / sports stadium.... sometimes just hits the spot :shrug: It's probably the food I eat most at Ticats games ever since they got rid of Saltlick in the endzone.

It's weird.

[giallo]

I wonder if any chains will come to dominate the shawarma market? It feels like up until about a decade ago it was mainly mom and pops but now there are some bigger players like Osmows, Mezza and Paramount (my personal favourite of the chains).



:haha:

The Halal Guys just opened in Vancouver, and they're now a worldwide shawarma chain. The local spots are way better though. Better prices too. My favourite in Vancouver is Mediterranean Grill on Denman Street.

[esquire]

Pizza Pizza at a franchise location = :yuck:

Pizza Pizza at some sort of music venue / sports stadium.... sometimes just hits the spot :shrug: It's probably the food I eat most at Ticats games ever since they got rid of Saltlick in the endzone.

It's weird.

I would agree, Pizza Pizza at Canada Life Centre is markedly better than what you get at one of their stores, at least when you're talking pizza by the slice. Is it just fresher with more turnover at the sports venue?

The Halal Guys just opened in Vancouver, and they're now a worldwide shawarma chain. The local spots are way better though. Better prices too. My favourite in Vancouver is Mediterranean Grill on Denman Street.



Interesting, I've heard of that chain but never tried it. I didn't know they were that big. There seem to be a lot of regional chains with 5-25 locations but few really big, dominant players the way that Tim Hortons owns the coffee and donuts segment.

[jonny24]

Other than very local chains (like, 2 or 3 locations), I try to avoid chains for shawarma.

My longtime favourite in Hamilton is City Shawarma on Rymal, near where I work so it's a pretty frequent lunch choice. He has these curried onions that are a fantastic, as well as pickled beets and pickled cabbage. a lot of places are more limited in their toppings. And the garlic sauce is made in house and sooo good. Plus the guy who runs it is super friendly and you can tell he cares.

Then there's a new place that opened up on King near my house, it's their second location but I've never been to the original. "Shawarma N Grill". Limited in toppings, but the chicken and sauce are delicious.

[GeneralLeeTPHLS]

I don't really get fast food much these days. During the pandemic, I'd be more inclined to McD's, but very occasionaly, and usually for breakfast. Even then....I think I only went ten times or so to McDonalds during the pandemic, and maybe twice this year.

I generally go for Popeyes since it's so close and on the way to work, but once again, only once a month (or more) or so since I'm barely making money nowadays. I had Subway when I was in Hamilton because I was starving, and while it wasn't terrible, it was just, typical subway. I think I had Subway 3 times in the last three years...I just avoid it usually.
I generally cook at home because it's cheaper, and because the local fast food options are either crap or way too pricey to make sense for what they offer.

[Wigs]

I love me some shawarma. My current city doesn't have any :( but nearby St. Catharines has about 15-20 places to get one, including a few chains. My fav local place in St. Kitts was run by a recent Syrian immigrant family. Haven't been since pre pandemic to see if it's still the same.

I just noticed a new to me chain, Sultan's Grill.
They have 5 locations in Toronto, 1 in Waterloo, and 1 in St. Catharines.
Anyone been here?
https://www.sultansgrill.ca/

[Wigs]

Little Caesars is so terrible. I got food poisoning last time I ate one of their substandard pizzas

Jeezus
Hot-N-Ready...with listeria, e. coli, salmonella, campylobacter or combination thereof!

[esquire]

Jeezus
Hot-N-Ready...with listeria, e. coli, salmonella, campylobacter or combination thereof!

How can you say that about the primary source of sustenance for my children?! :D

[le calmar]

The worst slice of pizza was at the Pizza Pizza in Saint Isidore just off the 417. Holy Christ it was bad. I had to throw it away after a few bites.

[stefanYEG]

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.

They stopped using the folded eggs a couple years ago—at least here in Alberta. Interestingly, about 5 or 6 years ago I signed up for a market research group where if selected you get brought in to test potential new products/offerings, fill out a survey and get paid $50-100 for the hour of your time. I was actually in the group that was tasting McGriddles with different types of eggs. They didn't tell us what was different about each McGriddle we were brought, just to taste them and then fill out the survey. I figured out pretty quickly it was the egg that was different in each one. Anyway, we were told we didn't have to eat the whole thing and could just take a single bite—I ate 5 McGriddles in a row and didn't regret it one bit. LOL

[stefanYEG]

The worst slice of pizza was at the Pizza Pizza in Saint Isidore just off the 417. Holy Christ it was bad. I had to throw it away after a few bites.

I've only had Pizza Pizza once when I was a child visiting family in Ontario in the 90s. Pizza 73 was our equivalent here and I know it was sold to Pizza Pizza some time ago. I have no idea how their pizzas compare now, but I find Pizza 73 to be fairly good for what it is and at the very least is extremely consistent quality. The one thing they have that is a game changer for me is sesame seed crust—it's so good.

[Gresto]

Pizza Pizza at a franchise location = :yuck:

Pizza Pizza at some sort of music venue / sports stadium.... sometimes just hits the spot :shrug: It's probably the food I eat most at Ticats games ever since they got rid of Saltlick in the endzone.

It's weird.
This is true. P.P. can be pretty decent if you know which outlets to patronize and which to avoid like the plague. For instance, I haven't been there for several years, but the one at the Toronto Zoo was downright respectable, after a fashion. Not that one has much choice if one didn't bring a bag lunch.

Fast food in general has become far too expensive. We eat it maybe once a month at most. I'm not paying 50-100 bucks for a sack of grease and plastic.

[O-tacular]

Anyone tried South Street Burger before? They cook the burgers fresh. It's expensive but it tastes great and as an added bonus for my family it's celiac friendly. They have separate prep areas for gluten free food.

[Hecate]

They stopped using the folded eggs a couple years ago—at least here in Alberta. Interestingly, about 5 or 6 years ago I signed up for a market research group where if selected you get brought in to test potential new products/offerings, fill out a survey and get paid $50-100 for the hour of your time. I was actually in the group that was tasting McGriddles with different types of eggs. They didn't tell us what was different about each McGriddle we were brought, just to taste them and then fill out the survey. I figured out pretty quickly it was the egg that was different in each one. Anyway, we were told we didn't have to eat the whole thing and could just take a single bite—I ate 5 McGriddles in a row and didn't regret it one bit. LOL

Lol, that’s awesome. Sampling all those delicious McGriddles. The perfect blend of savoury and sweet. I would have been in heaven!

[jamincan]

Anyone tried South Street Burger before? They cook the burgers fresh. It's expensive but it tastes great and as an added bonus for my family it's celiac friendly. They have separate prep areas for gluten free food.

It's definitely good, but I don't know if I'd consider it *fast* food.

[Wigs]

How can you say that about the primary source of sustenance for my children?! :D

Hey, I've never gotten food poisoning from Little Caesars. Besides poking fun at you and by association your wife, I just recommended the deep dish pizza if you're going to go the LC route. But that defeats the purpose of feeding kids on the cheap. :D

[Wigs]

Anyone tried South Street Burger before? They cook the burgers fresh. It's expensive but it tastes great and as an added bonus for my family it's celiac friendly. They have separate prep areas for gluten free food.

That's great that you're now able to find GF fast food or fast casual options for your fam :cheers: