Canadian Retail Thread

[MolsonExport]

Being the home of Boston Pizza is not something I would be proud of. Terrible, overpriced microwaved entrees of things I could easily make at home. The pizza sucks too.

I lived out West for years. I will say that White Spot does make great burgers. But Earl's and Cactus Club are no better than Kelsey's and Milestones. Hence all four sort of suck.

[WhipperSnapper]

Boston Pizza is Edmonton. All things considered, it's preferable to Ontario's Pizza Pizza acid on cardboard. Of course, Pizza Pizza is a take out/ delivery establishment than a sit down restaurant.

[MolsonExport]

Pizza Pizza is also Terrible. I call it Cardboard Cardboard.

There are no good pizza chains. You gotta get your pies from dumpy-looking family run places like this (to illustrate, in London):
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9088...i8192?hl=en-US

[casper]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Pizza Pizza is also Terrible. I call it Cardboard Cardboard.

There are no good pizza chains. You gotta get your pies from dumpy-looking family run places like this (to illustrate, in London):
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9088...i8192?hl=en-US

Yes, this is the one I order from:

https://goo.gl/maps/KdhfFRqoA7ag8Asb7

Small, likely family owned Pizza. Common theme across the country.

[WhipperSnapper]

I agree there aren't any good pizza chains or at least I haven't found one. There still a worst of the worst. For example, I find Papa John's considerably more palatable than Pizza Pizza.

The dive bar I call my second home makes a delicious thin crust pizza. The next dive bar makes a decent pizza too.

[thewave46]

Chain pizza is chain pizza. Local shops = best pizza.

At least Little Caesar's has cheap pre-made stuff so stoners don't have to wait the interminable minutes to sate the munchies.

[hipster duck]

You can eat good - even really good - pizza from chains, but they’re local chains with a handful of locations that grew out of one successful store. In Toronto, there’s Pizzeria Libretto and North of Brooklyn pizzeria, for example.

But, no, you’re not going to get good pizza from corporate chains that are owned by venture capital firms or listed on the TSX.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

You can eat good - even really good - pizza from chains, but they’re local chains with a handful of locations that grew out of one successful store. In Toronto, there’s Pizzeria Libretto and North of Brooklyn pizzeria, for example.

But, no, you’re not going to get good pizza from corporate chains that are owned by venture capital firms or listed on the TSX.

Agreed. I like Gabriel Pizza personally. They only have locations in the Ottawa-Gatineau area as well as a few others in Kingston and Eastern Ontario. Little Ceasar’s is the worst imo, but at least it’s cheap. Pizza Pizza is close to the bottom too.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Harvey's is a time machine back to 1992. You go in, and it's just....1992 all over again. Most of the stores haven't been renovated from that time anyway.

The burgers are OK, IMO slightly better than McDonald's or BK.

I think there is only 1 original Harveys location in London from my youth and it was renovated recently. All the others are relocated from nearby old locations or new locations entirely. They were my favourite burger chain from the 80's but I'd rather McDonalds now if it was a choice of the 2. I'm not actually much of a fan of burgers of any type anymore anyway so I don't really miss the old style.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by le calmar

Are there any BC-based chains specializing in rotisserie chicken? Swiss Chalet pretty much has a monopoly in Ontario, but here in Ottawa we have a few St-Hubert and Benny & Co thanks to being a border city. I prefer those to Swiss Chalet.

I have fond childhood memories of the the St-Hubert in St. Catharines. The gravy was so good too!

Wish they would come back.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by casper

We have higher standards out west. A&W and Triple-O are far better than McDonald's, BK or Harvy's.

Triple-O is the fast food counter service from White Spot. Menu limited to burgers, served on wax paper instead of proper plates. However with the same sauce. The only think I don't like about it the fries. I find they are consistently under cooked. But the burgers are great.

As for Harvey's. The texture of the meat is just wrong. That said, a few weeks ago I had a burger in Montreal at a Sheraton hotel and it was terrible; a Harvey's would have been better. I am just coming to the conclusion that central Canada may have high standards for rotisserie chicken but not when it comes to burgers.

A and W seems to have plenty of locations in the east and BK and McDonalds seem to do just fine in the West, so I’m not sure where you’re seeing the evidence for the more discerning taste. Harvey’s is substantially cheaper than Triple Os, whose burgers are merely good at best bust mostly mediocre and generally twice the price of a traditional fast food place. There are premium fast food burger in the east that are just as expensive as Triple Os and make an equivalent burger (Burger Priest and Hero Burger are the first ones that come to mind).

[thewave46]

Eh, best fast-food is similar to tallest midget competition. I had some In-and-Out in the Southwestern US and it was decent, but would I rave about it? For the price, pretty good, sure. So amazing as to make it a marker of the sophistication of Kingman, AZ over New York City?

I mean, if Vancouver wants to be hoity-toity, throw the equivalent to Michelin star restaurants down as the marker, not the fact that A&W (yes, we have them here in uncultured Ontario too) is the marker of discerning taste.

Maybe my soft spot for Harvey's is just a fond remembrance from being younger.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

But Earl's and Cactus Club are no better than Kelsey's and Milestones. Hence all four sort of suck.

The Earls or Catcus Club experience is a dime a dozen across this country. I would probably throw in the Pickle Barrel and the Keg as other examples of chains offering essentially the exact same product. The type of place you go to because you want to eat some place nice but forgot to make reservations at a place that actually is nice

East Side Marios is probably more similar to an Olive Garden or Spaghetti Factory.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Eh, best fast-food is similar to tallest midget competition. I had some In-and-Out in the Southwestern US and it was decent, but would I rave about it? For the price, pretty good, sure. So amazing as to make it a marker of the sophistication of Kingman, AZ over New York City?

I mean, if Vancouver wants to be hoity-toity, throw the equivalent to Michelin star restaurants down as the marker, not the fact that A&W (yes, we have them here in uncultured Ontario too) is the marker of discerning taste.

Maybe my soft spot for Harvey's is just a fond remembrance from being younger.

Actually, Shake Shack is probably the best fast food burger place. In and out is merely good for the price. NYC wins.

[Jalapeño Chips]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Boston Pizza is Edmonton. All things considered, it's preferable to Ontario's Pizza Pizza acid on cardboard. Of course, Pizza Pizza is a take out/ delivery establishment than a sit down restaurant.

Acid on cardboard! Reminds me of my youth.

[WhipperSnapper]

Hold on. Michelin has discovered Canada?

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Hold on. Michelin has discovered Canada?

Yep, they recently awarded stars to some restaurants in Toronto and Vancouver.

[SpongeG]

I must be the only one but I really like Boston Pizza's Pizza. For the record Costco cheese Pizza is the worst thing I have ever eaten, the pepperoni however is not bad.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by theman23

Actually, Shake Shack is probably the best fast food burger place. In and out is merely good for the price. NYC wins.

Love shake shack. Their fries are the best, can't beat crinkle cut. Sometimes make the trek to Seattle when desperately needed.

[yaletown_fella]

Pizza Pizza is still far better than Dominos which is completely inedible.

As far as good chains, I'd say Pizzaiolo wins, although it's quite a bit pricier than Pizza Pizza. But still better quality & value than a soggy Pizza Nova pie.