FAST FOOD in Canada

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Loco101

One fast food restaurant I really like in Quebec is Valentine. Their breakfast selections are really good and very reasonably priced for a full breakfast meal.

https://www.valentine.ca/en/

Has anybody else here been to Valentine? I'm sure that the Quebecers on here have. That is a chain I could see moving into parts of Ontario and New Brunswick in the not too distant future. It is part of the MTY Group which owns the rights to Scores, Mikes, Bâton Rouge, Country Style, Mr. Sub, Pizza Delight, TacoTime and many others.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Has anybody else here been to Valentine? I'm sure that the Quebecers on here have. That is a chain I could see moving into parts of Ontario and New Brunswick in the not too distant future. It is part of the MTY Group which owns the rights to Scores, Mikes, Bâton Rouge, Country Style, Mr. Sub, Pizza Delight, TacoTime and many others.

Never been believe it or not. There was one close to my place for years and I went by it hundreds of times.

It's now closed and another one has reopened in Les Promenades our big regional mall.

[lio45]

Valentine is nothing special, I’m sure most Québécois are familiar with it, I rarely go (true of its competitors as well, I try to not eat junk food ) It’s decent for what it is, about on par with La Belle Province.

The drugstore my gf used to have to go to for her methadone and legal dilaudid pills (morphine) during our “Great Insanity” period is in a mini-mall with the only food option being a Valentine, so I’ve eaten there many times during that period (when one hasn’t eaten or slept for days and I have a little break while we’re waiting on the pharmacist and it’s right there…)

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Has anybody else here been to Valentine? I'm sure that the Quebecers on here have. That is a chain I could see moving into parts of Ontario and New Brunswick in the not too distant future. It is part of the MTY Group which owns the rights to Scores, Mikes, Bâton Rouge, Country Style, Mr. Sub, Pizza Delight, TacoTime and many others.

been to Valentine, but it has been a long time. They used to (maybe still do) exist in the smaller centres, e.g., Richmond, QC, and some of the working class suburbs (e.g., Verdun).

Not bad (I have a soft-spot for Cassecroute-style food), but I prefer Lafleur's and Belle Province.

[kool maudit]

I used to get the fifty cent steamies at the Joliette/Ontario location when I was broke.

[Kilgore Trout]

Valentine has all but disappeared from Montreal (although to be fair, so have most Belle Provinces and most of the independent casse-croûtes). It's perfectly unexceptional.

The best Quebec fast food is always from a little family-run casse-croûte in the countryside, but Ashton is great in Quebec City and Fromagerie Victoria is a good chain with locations in some smaller cities. In Montreal the best chain for that kind of thing is Lafleur, by far.

This reminds me of one of the most surprisingly healthy things I've eaten at a Quebec snack bar: guédille aux oeufs. Basically an egg salad with lettuce in a hot dog bun. Delicious.

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

London had a King’s Buffet as well. It looked really sketch from outside, it was by the Greyhound station.

I believe you're thinking of Grand Harmony Buffet (which looked questionable from the outside but actually wasn't too bad). King's Buffet was on the far east side of the city and was quite terrible.

Chick Fil-A is currently building a new restaurant in London. I think that makes 4 in Canada now - Toronto, Kitchener, Windsor are the others.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Never been believe it or not. There was one close to my place for years and I went by it hundreds of times.

It's now closed and another one has reopened in Les Promenades our big regional mall.

Both La Belle Province and Valentine are almost completely absent from the Gatineau market (one location for each), which is unusual for a city this size in Quebec. Most mid-sized cities in the province have about 3-5 times as many of each.

Edit: is it possible the number of Belle Province is now zero? I don’t even see it on the map anymore.

[mxg308]

Originally Posted by le calmar

Both La Belle Province and Valentine are almost completely absent from the Gatineau market (one location for each), which is unusual for a city this size in Quebec. Most mid-sized cities in the province have about 3-5 times as many of each.

Edit: is it possible the number of Belle Province is now zero? I don’t even see it on the map anymore.

There is a Belle Province in Orleans in Ottawa. Same owner as the one in Rigaud. Love the gyros, steamies and smoked meat. Gatineau is in that position where not only does the Quebec government not believe it's Quebec but Quebec fast food chains believe the same

[harls]

Originally Posted by mxg308

Gatineau is in that position where not only does the Quebec government not believe it's Quebec but Quebec fast food chains believe the same

It's true.

Instead we have this weird cross-breeding of stuff from Ottawa infiltrating Gatineau and vice-versa.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by mxg308

There is a Belle Province in Orleans in Ottawa. Same owner as the one in Rigaud. Love the gyros, steamies and smoked meat. Gatineau is in that position where not only does the Quebec government not believe it's Quebec but Quebec fast food chains believe the same

I knew about that one but I always assumed it was not the legit thing due to the “poutinerie” in the name. It probably makes it more marketable in the Ottawa market. Anyway good to know. It looks like the one on Gréber in Gatineau closed in about 2010. Sure took me a while to notice.

Edit: based on what I’ve seen, both the one in Ottawa and Rigaud are knock-offs of la Belle Province. I bet they’re probably indistinguishable from the real thing though.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

been to Valentine, but it has been a long time. They used to (maybe still do) exist in the smaller centres, e.g., Richmond, QC, and some of the working class suburbs (e.g., Verdun).

Yep, they're often the one-and-only burger-fries chain option in small towns too small to have McDonald's, Burger King, A&W, Harvey's, etc. (The other places you could get burgers and fries in such towns are all not chains.)

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.57317...8192?entry=ttu

(Richmond was a good example too.)

Nearby Danville actually has an A&W, but it's mostly there to serve through traffic on Rte 116, it's not there mostly to serve the locals.

[MolsonExport]

^I figured that Danville was too small for an A&W, but it makes sense given the thru-traffic.