One recurring theme about Americans is that they don't automatically try and pronounce French words the French way. "Chalet" is "sha-lay" and "St Hubert" is "Sant-Oobear". Even in Western Canada where we don't speak French, we use the French pronunciation. Probably the easiest way to tell if you're an American in Canada.
I don't think many Americans say Chalet the way he does. I think he knows what a chalet is but just isn't thinking straight because I have heard many Americans in the ski world say it like canadians and nobody ever say it the way he did. Foyer is a much better example.
The Beauty of Harvey's is the topping selection. They have a subway like setup where you can pick from dozens of toppings to load on your burger, Every burger on their menu gets this option even the value burgers (You can get a cheap cheeseburger loaded with any topping you can think of for a few bucks)
NeonVex Do you know which was the first Harvey’s in Montreal? It’s the one on Côte-Des-Neiges and Bedford do you remember about 15 years ago that one Harvey’s employee went in after work and robbed the place and delete one guy and the girl survived and years after she became a police officer.
I love your reaction to A&W in Canada, it became wildly more popular here as where in the us the franchise is almost non existent. it is one of the best fast food burger joints up here. Their priority to commit to Canadian beef and products/marketing has made them super popular here.
Was always one of the tastiest fast-food burgers, and the fries are good too, but I can not get full even after spending $200, which I think is the price of just one Teen Burger meal now! I eat the burgers now in two bites, and I don't stuff my mouth either. I once found half a Moza burger stuck between my teeth. Winnipeggers can not handle tiny little burgers. Two handers that make a thump when placed down is what we like.
Their burger quality has gone down over the years. I remember loving those Teen burgers growing up but now if I want a burger, I'll go to either Wendy's or 5 guys.
@@digitalcurrents I believe it happened when there was a big push on fitness and non-fatty foods in the 80's. I remember those salty fat dripping and so delicious burgers. If I did not see a half ounce of grease on my plate I was not happy. Now they are dry and bland. It took a while to get used to it. I missed the old style unhealthy burgers.😢
Makes me cringe every time he says Cha-let! ouch! my favourite place to eat is Swiss "Sha-lay" [is how it is pronounced]. the restaurant building frontage used to look like a Swiss Chalet which is a wooden house or cottage with over hanging eaves found in the Swiss Alps [when they first opened but most do not look like that anymore.]
OMG……me too! I watched this video last night and as I was driving on the highway today I had a flashback to his pronunciation and actually started laughing out loud! Tyler……think ski chalet….pronounced sha-LAY, not chalet-et😂
One of the thing I love most of A&W in Canada is their focus on environmentally friendly food and materials! They started wayyyy before it was trendy to do so! You can pretty much throw NOTHING in the trash when you eat there and take it home. You drink the root heer out of huge refrigerated beer mugs that they clean up after you’re done and the root beer uses only natural ingredients like real sugar and vanilla etc. Easily my favourite fast food place, i don’t even go anywhere else because I respect them too much and their teen burgers are just perfection.
A&W is definitely fast food, but it's one of the better places to go. Their chicken is good, their burgers are fantastic. Their onion rings have this really great batter on them that like, shatters apart. They serve drinks a bit colder and without ice so they don't get diluted, and if you dine in, they serve the root-beer in a chilled glass mug to keep it cold longer.
A&W started as a burger and root beer brand in California. There are still some locations in the US (I have one near me in WA) , but the Canadian chain seperated 50 years ago and the menu and marketing diverged and it became far more popular in Canada than the US
For the record, A&W Canada split completely from its US counterpart. They literally bought themselves out, and are 100% their own independent company here versus in the US. And for my money, it is probably the best fast food Canada has to offer. Particularly their breakfast. I've had friends from the US say that over there the quality is terrible, the menu and branding are completely different, and it's not thought of well at all. They were pretty surprised at just how good A&W in Canada actually is.
@@K1ddkanuck Sadly their prices are also through the roof. It used to be fine, but these days my order which would normally cost around 20 dollars is now over 30.
If we go far enough back, there was a time when Harveys made thier fries on the spot from fresh potatoes. There is another chain in Quebec not mentioned, called (La Belle Province). And if you ever stop in Brockville Ontario (about (aboot) halfway between Montreal and Toronto (aka Trona) check out (Don"s Fish"n"Chips) near the riverfront. And last but not least, in MTL is Schwartz"s deli for European-Jewish style (smoked meat (beef brisket) sandwiches).
I like Harvey's, but there is only one in the city, and it's downtown, I live in the burbs. The choices in my area are 2 McDonald's, 2 A&W's, Georges Burger and Subs, Burger King if I travel a little further I can get another McDonald's another A&W and Juniors.
Tim Hortons is a restaurant, as it is a sit down place, but also has a drive-thru and takeout. I'd say it's more like a coffee shop/cafe, as it's known for not only its doughnuts, but also its coffee. Boston Pizza was founded in my hometown. I've been there plenty of times. I love their ribs. That's usually my go to. Boston Pizza has two sides to it, the restaurant and the bar. As for Swiss Chalet (it's pronounced "sha-lay" as in the ski resort chalets), I quite like their chicken and ribs, and their chalet sauce is pretty good. I do like it a lot. Harvey's is unique amongst the burger restaurants. All the ingredients are laid out in front of you and you choose the toppings you want, including multiple sauces. It's like Subway in a way. The burgers are char-grilled, rather than fried like McDonald's does. Probably my favourite burger place (other than Carl's Jr). I think I've been to Earl's, but I don't remember anything about it. The Keg is quite decent. Great place for a good steak. Never been to Quebec, so I don't know St-Hubert. A&W Canada is separate from the US A&W, and it's quite popular. The menu has evolved to be quite different from the American menu, as well. And I've heard that the American A&W became far less popular. But of course, we have the famous A&W root beer. And one fun thing is that when I was a kid in the 80s, A&W was doing drive in restaurants, where you park and order in your car, and they bring your order out and you eat in your car. It went out of style in the 80s, but I do remember going there. My parents' first date in the 60s was at A&W.
St. Hubert's is almost identical to Swiss Chalet, in menu items. Same rotisserie chicken, ribs etc on their menus. I think it's why you don't see either outside or inside the province of Quebec, they are direct competition under the same owners now.
Bp's still comes from the not best place in Alberta, which has ginger beef, the ceasar (drink), cheezies the best ban mi and pho sate, the best milkshakes at peter's, and of course great beef. What does Dedmonton have? Also, fuck the oilers. Sincerely Calgarian
@@JayDeeMC You can cry about it if you really want, best part of the internet is people can't read the tone. It's in jest (kind of lol). In all honesty Edmonton has plenty of things that make it great, but I just don't think BP's is one of them.
In British Columbia, we use the chalet a lot because we have silver star, ski Hill, big white ski hill, and Whistler/ blackcomb which are well-known worldwide. But we have many more, so there's always people who own a chalet on the ski hill.
A&W makes its own onion rings in the restaurant. They are so good. You can get chilled beer mugs for your root beer. They use real cheese and hormone an antibiotic free beef.
Indeed. I took a small bite of the meat patty, and it tasted just like the meat on the family farm where my parents raised organically raised cattle and chickens ❤❤ I highly recommend A&W to anyone ❤❤
I remember years ago when I was young, I'm 72, they used to bring your order to your car on roller-skates. You would flash your headlights and the waitress would roller skate to your car, take your order and return with it on a tray that would clip to your window that would be rolled down part way. Ahhh the memories. A&W teen burgers were the best with a chilled mug of root beer.
@@peikathryn I remember that. They also had amazing milkshakes with a dollop of real whipped cream on top. A&W was the first fast food burger place in my small town.
"SHA-LAY" Chalet - a small wooden house found in mountain areas, especially in Switzerland, or a house built in a similar style, especially one used by people on holiday.
I was car hop in the 70s at an A&W restaurant. We even wore roller skates in the summer. One A&W in Edmonton was the weekly meeting place for car enthusiasts. So many of the cars that showed up there were amazing!
All the nice car guys love showing off their rides at A&W to this day, here in Regina, SK. Every Sunday during the warmer months, the car guys hang around the A&W parking lot, letting their cars shine in the sun. Its a very retro feel, old school muscle cars and some modern ones.
Tyler, I just love your French words pronunciation! We used to have a few Chalet Suisse (Swiss Chalet) in Québec many years ago, but they were in direct competition with St-Hubert and were never as popular.
A&W had a cool concept when they first opened. There was a drive-thru like speaker that you ordered into, at every parking place. You stayed in your car, and a server on roller skates would bring a tray that clipped to the partially rolled down car window. It was before the days of the drive-thru, so an early version of eating in your car. Today it's just a standard burger joint.
@@dbadilotti You still can buy A&W rootbeer in glass bottles at grocery stores in my area, and even at times at A&W stores (and sometimes even buy their mugs... leave them in the deep freezer for a couple days, and chill a 2L in a fridge for atleast a couple days, and can have the frosty mug at home). 4-packs (each 355 mL) were on the shelf yesterday.
I remember the drive-in days. They had stopped the roller blades some years before, but the speakers were still in use and the food came on special trays that hooked onto your almost fully rolled -down window. They quit doing the outdoor service thing about 30 years ago now.
decades ago, the A&W Restaurant chain and Root Beer brand were one and the same before they split off in the US and subsequently Canada. I would argue that A&W is not "nicer" than most fast food chains (particularly the 24 hour locations in urban centres). I would argue Harvey's is nicer than most fast food places. Harvey's main charm is having fresh toppings presented behind the glass counter and placed on your burger customized "your way". Like at a Subways.
White Spot is probably the most popular BC-based restaurant chain, with over 100 outlets. Famous for its Triple O burger sauce, Pirate Pak children's menu, 100 percent local beef burgers, and its pies - fruit pies and chicken pot pies - the chain has been around almost a century.
I've gone through waves with White Spot through my life. There was a long time where I couldnt eat there, because something in their cooking style didnt agree with he, regardless what I ordered. But then I was going there quite a lot for the last decade...... till this year, when they decided to see all the other food places gouging, and thought "what if we tripled the gouging"?
I grew up in California but I have lived in Canada for almost 2 1/2 years. A&W restaurants are still a thing in California, although it’s not as popular as it was when I was a little kid. However, there is a huge quality gap between the two. A&W here in Canada is incredible.
@@canadianguy-nl1xwNot really? Their buddy burgers and portion sizes are hard to beat price wise (the only place with cheaper burgers is usually wendys). Not only that but the meats all grass fed and you dont feel like crap after eating it compared to the likes of mcdonalds and other burger joints
A&W was a fast food restaurant in the U.S. in late 1950's or 1960's. They invented the car-hop service where the waitresses brought trays of food to cars in parking lot and hung them from car windows! Don't know when they disappeared from States but are still going strong in Canada!
Root Beer is very popular in Canada; more so than the US or anywhere else in the world. The difference between Root Beer and products like Coke is that they use caramelized sugar instead of regular sugar. This taste is very popular in Canada and is also present in 'Brown' Sugar and Maple Syrup; two very popular products in Canada.
Also in Canada, only colas or soft drinks marketed as energy drinks an contain caffeine. Whereas in the States they put caffeine in everything. So regular American Mountain Dew is Dew Fuel here.
@@atraxisdarkstarThat's not true. There is caffeine in Mountain Dew and Coke in Canada. It says it right on the packaging. A 500ml bottle of coke has 48mg of caffeine in it.
@@user-xj9vf4xb9p Coke is a cola, and thus does contain caffeine. I haven't had Mountain Dew in years, but if it has caffeine now, that's a relatively new development, because when they still sold Dew Fuel, the caffeine was the only difference (Dew Fuel didn't contain Taurine or Guarana)
I work at a Boston Pizza, and yeah, we get a lot of families coming in together, most restaurants have split sections, one for families and the other a sports bar. We get a LOT of people in for games and stuff. And we do a ton of takeout. About the name, the original owners just wanted something people would recognize, and picked Boston at random.
@@marinesinspace6253 After I typed that I realized I was wrong and the Dragons Den RCMP guy bought it from them and made a lot of frickin' money franchising BPs.
With A&W in Canada the Americans who owned it sold the ones in Canada because they thought they would lose money on them. Turned out to be the opposite . A&W in the states has died off over the years but the one in Canada keeps going strong. I like A&W for its old fashion type of burger place . There are still some in Canada that you park and someone will come out and take your order
I'd be interested to find an A&W with people coming over to your car. I've seen pictures of this in lots of A&W but none of them offered the service anymore.
A&W in the states was terrible. Coworkers from the US were skeptical when I said A&W here is one of my favourite fast-food places. But surprised it was good when they tried it.
What is special about St-Hubert is that most of their kitchen and serving staff are in their first paying jobs; in other words, they hire people entering the workforce for the first time, and train them. It is a policy of the restaurant. My nephew’s first job was at St-Hubert (Montreal) where he worked in the kitchen. He was taught how to properly cut up a chicken, serve clients, etc., something he will always remember as he now owns and operates his own micro-brew pub in downtown Montreal. 👍
@@anjaleax My nephew’s brew-pub is called Boswell brasserie artisanale. It’s on Mount-Royal street, east end. Food is good and the terrasse in summer is awesome. He is the main brewmaster and has owned it for 6 years. He also operates a cafe (Boswell rive-sud) in St-Bruno. Most of his beers are available there as well as well as sandwiches, etc. You can buy his beers at both locations to take home.
Boston Pizza's Boston actually comes from the name of the guy who lived upstairs from the founders. They had to submit three names when submitting for a business license... And their first two picks where already registered! (Acropolis Pizza and Parthenon Pizza were the other choices.)
I exist because of Harvey’s . My parents met at a Harvey’s while they were out cruising around and hanging out. A&W gained popularity by opening in smaller towns that McDonalds or Burger King deemed too small and it has served them well. There are 600 A&W restaurants in the US but it is a different company than A&W Canada
Harvey's is hands down my favourite burger place. Simply because you can top it however you like. They have a station with every possible topping you can think of, and once your burger or whatever you've ordered comes out, it goes to that station and you tell the worker what toppings and condiments you want.
@@soyentak5076 you must go to a faster harvey's than i do... i went there a few times, they were so slow... it took almost 15 minutes... i can get other fast food much quicker at Mcdonalds, A&W, and Wendys
Yes, Boston Pizza is named after the American Boston. Other popular Canadian restaurant chains include Montana's Steakhouse, East Side Mario's (named after NYC's east side), Baton Rouge Steakhouse, Dixie Lee Fried Chicken, St Louis Bar & Grill and New York Fries. Oh and Hawaiian Pizza was actually invented in Canada not Hawaii.
Harveys used to be in BC. Before Covid we used to have one across from the store I worked at. It was a 2 in 1 Swiss Chalet Harveys. My Coworkers and I used to go there for lunch breaks. Deep fried pickles were a popular thing. It was a sad day when it closed.
Those meat pies are a traditional French Canadian Holiday dish called Tourtière. Minced veal, beer and pork along with diced onions, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper. Some people also add potatoes. The crust is made of lard
I hate that stuff veal and pork are 2 of the worst meats and if i had to decided ,they would only be eaten as a last resort. Obvioisly bacon is the only good pork meat to eat at all times
He has 3 channels... Tyler Bucket (reacts to Canada), Tyler Rumple ( reacts to UK) and Tyler Walker (reacts to Norway). I'm pretty sure he can afford his own ticket. 😋
Chalet is pronounced "Sha-lay" and is an alpine house/dwelling. Swiss Chalet is often paired with Harveys either in a same location or building because they are owned by the same company (that also owns The Keg). Swiss Chalet is reasonable priced and is very often the dining choice of seniors.
My wife and i grew up in Canada . The winner is ......... AW by far . Real beef burgers and the best tasty fries of them all . Very modern clean and affordable .
Not trying to sound rude but Nobody cares. You reminded me of the time when I randomly said McDonalds was founded in 1940 when eating at McDonald’s one time.
and now owned by the same outfit that own's Swiss Chalet, but thankfully they still are seemingly independent of each other (having their own unique items and such)
It failed miserably in Southern Ontario but if you go into a grocery store you can find canned Saint-Hubert's gravy and other seasonings in pouches etc.
Fun fact - Wikipedia doesn’t have it listed, but Earls started in Edmonton as well. I was born and raised there and remember both restaurants well. The first orientation of Earls was a much more casual with wings, burgers and nachos. There was a related restaurant called Earls Tin Palace , which was a little fancier .It morphed into the version of Earls that exist today.
I remember when they first expanded their restaurant in Saskatoon location took over an old industrial bakery and the MA Gavins sign was on the building for years
I was at one of the OG locations in Edmonton when my brother lived there in the 80's and when they expanded to Saskatoon I would go as often as I could
It should be noted that there is no real order to this list. Some don't exist in Eastern Canada (Quebec and the Atlantic Canada). A prime example is Earls Kitchen; I've never ever heard of it!
I'm dying at the pronunciation of Swiss Chalet 😂 you're so wholesome, Tyler. Their chalet sauce is to die for; I would drink that shit. My chicken, fries, and roll get dipped in it lol.
A&W was originally a US drive-in restaurant famous for its root beer. By the late 70's, people no longer went to drive-in restaurants, and A&W had to rebrand itself as a mall restaurant, then as a stand alone restaurant with drive throughs. Its root beer was so popular that it is bottled just like you can now buy Tim Horton's coffee in the grocery store to brew at home yourself.
In the rural parts of Quebec, St-Hubert is most often the "fanciest" restaurant you can find. It's a staple in family outings, birthday parties and what not.
Boston Pizza started in Edmonton , Alberta in 1964 when a Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis opened Boston Pizza and Spaghetti house, the concept quickly grew in popularity and a franchise was born.
I just love how so many Americans try to pronounce French words like CHALET. English Canadians pronounce most words as English words; but many French words are of French origin and are pronounce in French. CHALET is a word for a home in the mountains; thus Swiss Chalet where CHALET is pronounced like Sha-lay. A popular chain in Quebec for poutine is Chez Ashton (pronounced Shay Ash-ton). This translates to 'At Ashton's'. Quebec used to have Swiss Chalet outlets; however, the company that now owns Swiss Chalet also now owns St-Hubert; a similar and very very popular chain in the province of Quebec that is also present in Eastern Ontario and New Brunswick. As such they no longer competer with each other and you will likely see one or the other across much of Canada.
Harvey's burgers are unique in that you get to SEE the toppings that you want on your burger. They have a display case of all the condiments that you could want for your burger and you can ask for as much or as little as you want. I always get extra pickles and I can watch them put them on the burger to know if there are enough. Swiss Chalet and Saint Hubert's are in direct competition with each other. That is why you won't find a Swiss Chalet in Quebec. Swiss Chalet was made to look like a Swiss chalet home. It was to look comforting and homey just like the food is meant to be.
I think the best way to describe Harvey's would be to say it's the burger version of a Subway Chalet Swiss was in Quebec during the 80's and 90's but couldn't keep up with Saint Hubert's cult like following. SH also carried Acadian/Quebecois foods which CS did not (the pie he was referring to on the SH website is tortiere). I left Quebec over 20 years ago so I'm not sure if SH still has the same unique offerings
@@kitarogue7840as someone who lives in Quebec currently, SH does sell tortiere, and even sell their products in grocery stores, including the tortiere. And I was about to mention the comparison with Subway, as it is technically the same mechanic!
Papa Burger and an A&W rootbeer. Back in the early 70s , I remember pulling up to an A&W with mom and dad and the waitresses would come out and take your order at the car. I heard earlier they came out on roller skates.
St-Hubert is known (to me) for its bbq sauce and gravy and the little car for the kid's menu. The pies are either meat pies or tourtières. Very popular holiday dishes in Quebec! Edit: one chain (that used to be bigger) in the Quebec city area is Ashton. It's just fast food poutine and the lower the temperature is the cheaper it is hahaha two other very cheap fast food places in Quebec are Valentine and La Belle Province
Ashton ? La pire poutine que j'ai mangé de ma vie !!! Désolé pour les gens de Québec mais va falloir voyager un peu pour trouver une vrai bonne poutine !
@@mapelbob mon père adore la poutine Ashton pour une raison quelconque. Personnellement, c'est très loin d'être la meilleure, mais j'ai malheureusement eu bien pire à la cafétéria de ma polyvalente loll
Best thing about A&W it the chilled soda fountains, no ice needed so nothing's diluted! Next best is dining in, your drink gets served in a glass mug that's been kept in a freezer and they'll often bring your order out to the table. If you ask nicely, they might even sell you a mug (Available in 1L, 700mL, 550mL, 335mL, and a 100mL shot glass that's still a mug). Also spawned a cute AF little song called "Amburgurs and Wootbeer" (A&W)
Since you mentioned the Hawaiian pizza at Boston Pizza I thought I would tell you that the Hawaiian pizza was invented at the Satellite restaurant in 1963 in Chatham Ontario. The Satellite restaurant is still in business
Always funny when seemingly regional foods aren't from where you expect, huh? Like, the idea that Ginger Beef, popular in many Chinese restaurants, apparently originated in Calgary. 😂
@@cathyriedl5651it was also founded by a Greek immigrant. In fact the front of their menus says "canadian restaurant, named after a American city, founded by a Greek sailor serving Italian food."
The parents took us to A&W in the 70's and you'd pull up and leave headlights on when you were ready to order, a lady would roller skate out to your car take your order, skate back with a special tray that clips to your partially rolled down window. Needless to say, they've stopped doing that for some time now...😆 Great, wholesome food. Superb breakfast.👍
A popular breakfast restaurant; mostly in Eastern Canada, which started in Montreal is CORA'S. There is nothing like it in the US. It closes sometime after lunch.
@prevosfr don't disagree but it's happened to me every time I've gone at multiple locations. Coras is the worst in canada for customer service imo. So I just stopped going
A&W has been around for a long, long time. You used to drive up, order from a speaker and the waitress would bring your order in a tray and attached to the drivers window. I used to order the Teen Burger (they also had a mama and papa burger too)
Also, Mary Brown's definitely deserves honourable mention, along with Cora's, Dixie Lee, King of Donair (not for the size of the chain, but for what they added to the canadian food scene, because donair > poutine), smitty's... the list goes on.
@@jasongreek2342 Used to be one in Gander when I was a kid, inside Crossroads restaurant. I remember liking the chicken. Other popular fast food restaurant chains at the time that, as far as I know, are defunct were Chuck Wagon and Reddi-Chef. Every time I drive through North Sydney, I stop at A&K Lick-a-Chick. Chicken wedge fries and gravy. Absolute, salty deliciousness... if hard on the arteries.
I ate at a Harvey's last week, and had Swiss Chalet delivered just a couple nights ago. I love both. When I was young, we used to go to a nearby A&W that had the pull-up spaces for cars and you ordered and they brought it out to the car. Those are long gone now.
We have a family owned ice cream place in my town, that opened back in the 50s. It serves more than ice cream, food as well. It's on the people's huge property, and you can drive up, leave your lights on, until an employee comes to your car and takes your order, and then brings it to your car. You can also eat outside on their property, with lots of Picnic tables and gazebos. I love that we still have something like this. It's a popular location for locals, and was always a popular "date night" place with teens. I hope it never ever closes.
I recall eating at a pull up - in my car - at the A&W in Thunder Bay . This was not very long ago, July 1984 as a matter of fact. I thought they were all gone at that time, and then I spotted it and just had to have a Teenburger and rings with rootbear in the car.
Harvey’s has really gone down in my town and our Swiss Chalet closed because the food got so bad. They are supposed to be reopening under new management
There used to be a St-Hubert (pronounced Sain-Tubère) in Florida in the 80s due to the amount of Québecois that would go south during winter (we call them snowbirds). Also, at least from my experience in Quebec, food served by A&W actually looks like the pictures on their website, the buns are not a a thin squashed slice of bread with everything all over the place, the fries a about 2-3 times thicker than those from McDonald.
Yeah, A&W is a notch more upscale than McD's. Not in the same range (in quality or price) as Five Guys and the like, but definitely a step up from McD's or Burger King.
Swiss Chalet was originally started by a Swiss Restauranteur in Toronto. The first location was on the North side of Bloor St. just West of Avenue Rd. It was situated adjacent to Varsity stadium of the University of Toronto. the original store is still there. I first ate there when I was 12. That was in 1953
It's great for dipping the fries in. I will never be able to pronounce it properly again though. "Let's go Swiss Kchallet! " Just poking fun, maybe you don't get used to the ways some words are pronounced if you don't grow up with it. Kchallet is more fun to say anyways.
Great reaction, though I would say that Earls and the Keg are a definite “step up” from the others. While A&W and Harveys try to market themselves as just not another burger joint, in essence they are. That being said, I like their food. It’s just that fast food is fast food no matter how you try to make it look or taste. Also you can see the definite American influence on Canada culture through the name Boston Pizza. Another popular restaurant up here is East Side Mario’s (not sure if it’s in the US) but markets itself as a New York-Italian restaurant. Finally back in the day A&W marketed it self as a US style burger joint that brought your food out to your car and they’d attach your tray to your window so you could eat in your car, like you could see in American movies from the 50s and 60s.
I just took my 20 yr old daughter to the KEG for her bday last week. They gave her a huge piece of mocha ice cream cake for free cuz it was her bday. 200 bucks later, I wasn't that impressed. The French onion soup is really good and so was the pistachio encrusted salmon I had but the garlic mashed potatoes were starchy and sticky AF
At Earls and the Keg, you can get out with a couple of good drinks, a shared appy, a main and a dessert, for two, 20% tip, for about $150CDN. Affordable fine dining. Both Earls and the Keg, have their own "butcher shop", creating cuts for their chains. They feature hormone free, antibiotic free, and in the case of the beef, free range, grass fed. A&W features hormone free, antibiotic free, and in the case of the beef, free range, grass fed. Also, sustainability, no plastic. They also were the first to feature the Meatless Burger, which after introduction, caused it to explode, so for about six months, you couldn't find a Meatless Burger, because production couldn't meet demand.
Interesting - Tyler, remember the prices are in Cdn $. The Keg near me is always busy - great food. St Hubert is like the Quebec version of Swiss Chalet, both with dynamite sauces. A&W very successful - the root beer of my youth. They used to deliver to your car & put the tray on your lowered window. Holiday feast is probably Christmas - at this time of year we're 6 wks past Thanksgiving.
If it surprises you that a restaurant called Boston Pizza is Canadian, then you'd be equally surprised that another popular chain called New York Fries is also Canadian owned and operated. NYF is mostly found in mall food courts and they specialize in French fries and poutine, although they also serve hot dogs. Personally, NYF is my favourite fast-food restaurant to get poutine. Yes, you can buy poutine at any fast-food chain in Canada including McDonalds , Burger King or Wendy's, but I think NYF does it better because fries are their specialty. According to Wikipedia, NYF also has restaurants in the Middle East but no US presence.
Cara Operations (Recipe Unlimited) owns many Canadian chain restaurants; such as Swiss Chalet and St-Hubert. It should also be noted that I believe that Tim Horton's is now owned by a Brazilian food company.
Hey Tyler, I'm surprised A&W is not higher on the list. It's probably my favourite go to burger, so so much fresher and less greasy than anything else. I don't really like the root beer tho, but the onion rings are amazing. Also as many have said, it's Swiss shalaye, like filet is pronounced.
Onion rings at A@W are not made with onions!! They are rehydrated onion flake slurry spit out of a press as a ring. Harvey uses real onions. You can see them if you pull the ring apart. Pull apart an A@W onion ring and all you get is nothing.@@jeffreycairns767
Fun thing about a&w most of them usually host car shows in the summer. Also used by local car clubs for meets and such. Hotrodding and a&w go hand in hand in Canada. Like burgers and fries.
When I was little, in the 70s, my father would take me to A&W Drive-In in Burnaby on Kingsway. Waitresses on rollerskates, trays that hung off your car window, rootbeer in mini frosted steins. It was always so much fun. Once, my father surprised me by ordering tacos!!!😮 yes, tacos!🌮 I’d never had a taco so this was surprising & the beginning of a lifelong romance with Mexican food! 😋 I don’t think I ever ordered a burger at that location ever again. 😊 In the 80s I was introduced to the A&W on North Rd. 😮 Amazing!!! Indoor restaurant, waitresses, massive centre round fireplace with a round bench wrapping it, comfy booths… 😮 I really loved our times there with my youth group! I can’t recall when they started selling their rootbeer outside of the restaurants, but it all started here… Rootbeer float, anyone? “Now be careful, honey, don’t push that ice cream down or you may spill.” UNDERSTATEMENT!!😂 🌋 😂
If you live in any of the southern Ontario cities, you have experienced the "Swiss Chalet phenomena" (pronounced "Shall Lay" for Pete's sake). That's where if any group of adults are gathered together and all of them have not been to a Swiss Chalet for at least 18 months, the mere mention of Swiss Chalet chicken will induce an overwhelming craving for Swiss Chalet chicken in every last person in the room.
Yep, the sauce. You can buy it in some grocery stores. Or is it St Hubert BBQ sauce? Maybe both. Now I got a craving for chicken and I'm off to buy chicken and BBQ sauce.
Don't be hard on him because he doesn't know how to pronounce it. He's not from canada, he's from a different country, just as we are a different country
A&W is the best fast food burgers here in Canada free from steriods or hormones and much healthier with grass fed and finished. Fun fact when A&W was in the US they tried to have a 1/3lb burger but it flopped because most participants in the focus group thought 1/4 was bigger than 1/3 because they didn't understand fractions.
Dude, if you like food and Canada, you need to plan a trip to Montreal, we have AMAZING restaurants, you'll eat the best poutines and you'll get to try 2 Montreal exclusives, are famous bagels and the legendary Montreal Smoked Meat.
80% of restaurants in Canada from fast food garbage to the fanciest of fine dining will have atleast 2 types of poutine on the menu, often with a classic style and a style that fits the style of the restaurant. For example you can go and get Shawarma and they will probably have a shawarma poutine and a classic poutine, or go to a restaurant selling South African meals and get a poutine in that style. A steakhouse may have a steak poutine, and certain fine dining may have a caviar or foie gras poutine. That isn't only Canadian founded companies either, often times many American restaurants will also serve a poutine, though do be insanely wary of places that don't use cheese curds and instead use things like shredded cheddar because it's guarenteed to be awful. The fact that every place has poutine it's insanely funny to be like "wow harvey's sells poutine?!" when everyone with a stove will sell you one
One of my late cats LOVED Swiss Chalet chicken. If we ordered in and Vergil didn't get a few bits, he'd be furious. However, when I BBQed chicken and tried to give him some, he'd flat out refuse it. So apparently my chicken sucks. Everyone's a critic.
My first job was working at an A&W in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My cousin, my friend and I got a ride into Winnipeg from the country to look together for a summer job. We tried various places, then took a bus to the A&W on Pembina Highway. All three of us were hired! Our friend as a car hop, my cousin as a cook’s helper, and me in the front making ice cream cones, etc. 90 cents an hour was nothing to scoff at! We shared a dump with one double bed that we all slept in. I was never so glad to be back in school in September!
I spent most of summer 2022 working at an A&W, and it is FANTASTIC food! It is not nearly as greasy as McD's, and has a massive variety, including breakfast platters, great drinks, and awesome non-meat burgers! You should look at the A&W Canada commercials! They are great to watch!
I agree with you, in general A&W is pretty kick-ass. But for whatever reason, the closest A&W to where I am serves horrifically greasy food. It wasn't like that before, it's only been that way for the last 5 years or so. That said, EVERY fast food restaurant in this end of Nova Scotia seems to suck... our nearest McDonald's and KFC locations tend to have VERY dry and bland food. Go to New Minas or farther east on to Halifax and suddenly the quality gets a thousand times better. No idea why it's like that, but as a (mostly) lifelong Nova Scotian, I can tell you that's the way it is.
Tyler, you have to see the little vans that do the deliveries for St. Hubert... with a giant chicken on the roof of the car, hilarious! (and the chicken there is soooooo good!). And talking of chicken, do you know that in Québec KFC is called PFK? (Poulet frit Kentucky) The first time you see it you think to be drunk...
Whoa, you just reacted to my workplace! St-Hubert! The meat pies are just a promotion that's going on for the Christmas months. They will leave the menu eventually. And yeah, I worked at many restaurants but St-Hubert is legitimately extremely good quality food, and I know that because I'm a roaster and I know how the kitchen works. Almost everything is fresh, and only refrigerated like the rotisserie chicken or the steaks. And our ribs are super popular of course. I have to make a lot of racks, and yes we have to douse them in sauce and the kitcheneers grill them. You missed some of our best sellers like our piri-piri chicken and our Indian chicken! We are also a resto bar so almost all booze you can think of from vodka to tia maria is served. My favorite workplace ever.
If Boston Pizza doesnt make sense, just know we also have Montana's and New York Fries What makes NY Fries' name even more weird is that they serve mainly poutine
Montana's makes more sense on the Prairies, where it's right south of us. But you're not wrong, we named a surprisingly amount of restaurants after America.
When I was young, A&W was a drive in. The waitresses would come to your car on roller skates. They would put your food on a tray on your car window. One would eat their food in their car.
Absolutely! It's a bit more expensive than typical fast food but the quality and amount is fantastic. I never leave there hungry, which can't be said for McDs or even Wendy's. Don't get me started on DQ. Their burgers and especially their fries are awful. Ice cream only lol.
Swiss chalet was a fun place to go with our grandparents when i was growing up. They give you a little bowl of hot lemon water to wash your fingers and i always thought that was cute
Yes, it's the same A&W that market rootbeer in the USA. In Canada they were initially drive-in restaurants with cap hop service, and were famous for serving rootbeer in ice cold, frosted mugs. I went to school near one of the first and last remaining drive ins with car service where they hang the tray on your window. Was a great place for everyone to meet up. Yes, it's just another burger joint like MacDonalds and Burger Thing.
The small st-Hubert pie you are referring to, is called Tourtière/paté a la viande. This is a mincemeat pie, containing ground meat (beef/pork/venison), onions, a tiny bit of nutmeg/cloves/cinnamon. It is salty and savory. It is a must-eat around christmas/new year's eve in those parts.
Tourtière is very much the quintessential French Canadian meat pie, although I think St-Hubert also carries chicken pot pie (which is also pretty common in French Canada). They basically have chicken everything...
One more thing to add about St.Huberts is their iconic delivery vehicles. Bright yellow paint job with a red chicken's comb on top. I am from the prairies and I was bewildered by those car when I saw them while on a trip to Quebec.
Tyler, true story. Back in the late 1960’s, when I was just a child, my grandfather told me that A&W stood for amburgers and wootbeer. I believed him and have spread that definition to my grandchildren. Lol
It's Swiss "Sha-lay". A chalet is an architectural style. We used to have a White Spot (not on the list), good burgers and great milk shakes. I think mostly in BC
I believe that A&W still also sell the 'Whistle Dog'; i.e hotdogs. I know they stopped for a while; however, I believe they reintroduced it as it was quite popular.
Your pronunciation of chalet! 😆 Years ago, most Swiss Chalet restaurants were designed to kind of resemble a ski chalet in the Swiss Alps. Maybe that's why they chose the name? Also, it's funny that you were surprised there was so much chicken on the menu when the description tells you it's a chicken and rib place.
"Chalet" is like "Bouquet", which is not like "Bucket" 😊 Also, St Hubert is superior to Swiss Chalet, IMHO. Harvey's is often coupled with Swiss Chalet. They let you choose your burger toppings like you do at Subway. Smitty's was missing from the list; it's basically the Canadian version of IHOP or Denny's.
Harvey's and Swiss Chalet are both owned by Recipe Unlimited, as are The Keg, Montana's BBQ & Bar, East Side Mario's, Kelsey's Original Roadhouse, St. Hubert, Pickle Barrel, and New York Fries. The company started out in 1883, as Canadian Railway News Company, selling newspapers, magazines, and confectioneries at railway stations.
@@dougbrowning82 that's a pretty good lineup. I haven't been to any of them for a while, but they were always better quality than the average chain restaurant.
@@rhondawest6838 Several years ago, as Cara Operations, they did airline food catering. If you got a meal on a plane, it probably came from them. But they sold that business to Gate Gourmet. Swiss Chalet also offers a line of grocery products, including breaded chicken breast strips and nuggets, pot pies, BBQ ribs, sauces & marinades, and canned, ready to eat soups, available at major grocery chains.
The pronunciation of Swiss Chalet will haunt my dreams for the foreseeable future
😅😅😅😅🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😅🤣😅🤣
😅
Emotional Damage 🙃🥴👀🤣🤣
Is it still haunting your dreams?
@@chickenwings6172 right 🤣👀💯 greetings from PEI 🇨🇦❤️💯
One recurring theme about Americans is that they don't automatically try and pronounce French words the French way. "Chalet" is "sha-lay" and "St Hubert" is "Sant-Oobear". Even in Western Canada where we don't speak French, we use the French pronunciation. Probably the easiest way to tell if you're an American in Canada.
People in Western Canada try to say it the french way. Almost never works tho.
Renaissance, Rendezvous…. Tyler pronounce these, yikes never mind 😢
I don't think many Americans say Chalet the way he does. I think he knows what a chalet is but just isn't thinking straight because I have heard many Americans in the ski world say it like canadians and nobody ever say it the way he did. Foyer is a much better example.
Everyone I know in Ontario calls st.hubert, "Saint hue-beer". Maybe it's because we didn't grow up with it as they vacated the GTA back in the 90s.
Most Canadians easily move into common French pronunciations without realizing it. Fish fillet vs fill-eh.
The Beauty of Harvey's is the topping selection. They have a subway like setup where you can pick from dozens of toppings to load on your burger, Every burger on their menu gets this option even the value burgers (You can get a cheap cheeseburger loaded with any topping you can think of for a few bucks)
NeonVex Do you know which was the first Harvey’s in Montreal? It’s the one on Côte-Des-Neiges and Bedford do you remember about 15 years ago that one Harvey’s employee went in after work and robbed the place and delete one guy and the girl survived and years after she became a police officer.
I live in BC and really miss Harvey's.
Too bad the actual burger patties are disgusting
@lunixcaptain you have 0 taste buds and like nasty mcdickalds or burger queen
@@Raven-ep6pqfunnily enough, I was at that exact Harvey's yesterday 😅
I love your reaction to A&W in Canada, it became wildly more popular here as where in the us the franchise is almost non existent. it is one of the best fast food burger joints up here. Their priority to commit to Canadian beef and products/marketing has made them super popular here.
Was always one of the tastiest fast-food burgers, and the fries are good too, but I can not get full even after spending $200, which I think is the price of just one Teen Burger meal now! I eat the burgers now in two bites, and I don't stuff my mouth either. I once found half a Moza burger stuck between my teeth. Winnipeggers can not handle tiny little burgers. Two handers that make a thump when placed down is what we like.
Back in the day they were all drive-in restaurants. I miss those.
And their sweat potato fries! Or the getting root beer is frosty ice cold glasses when you eat in??? Amazing.
Their burger quality has gone down over the years. I remember loving those Teen burgers growing up but now if I want a burger, I'll go to either Wendy's or 5 guys.
@@digitalcurrents I believe it happened when there was a big push on fitness and non-fatty foods in the 80's. I remember those salty fat dripping and so delicious burgers. If I did not see a half ounce of grease on my plate I was not happy. Now they are dry and bland. It took a while to get used to it. I missed the old style unhealthy burgers.😢
I can't stop laughing everytime he says Swiss CHALET haha
Right lol. 😂😂
It’s cringe worthy
Swiss 'shallot'😂
Makes me cringe every time he says Cha-let! ouch! my favourite place to eat is Swiss "Sha-lay" [is how it is pronounced]. the restaurant building frontage used to look like a Swiss Chalet which is a wooden house or cottage with over hanging eaves found in the Swiss Alps [when they first opened but most do not look like that anymore.]
OMG……me too! I watched this video last night and as I was driving on the highway today I had a flashback to his pronunciation and actually started laughing out loud! Tyler……think ski chalet….pronounced sha-LAY, not chalet-et😂
One of the thing I love most of A&W in Canada is their focus on environmentally friendly food and materials! They started wayyyy before it was trendy to do so! You can pretty much throw NOTHING in the trash when you eat there and take it home. You drink the root heer out of huge refrigerated beer mugs that they clean up after you’re done and the root beer uses only natural ingredients like real sugar and vanilla etc. Easily my favourite fast food place, i don’t even go anywhere else because I respect them too much and their teen burgers are just perfection.
And the onion rings
A&W is definitely fast food, but it's one of the better places to go. Their chicken is good, their burgers are fantastic. Their onion rings have this really great batter on them that like, shatters apart. They serve drinks a bit colder and without ice so they don't get diluted, and if you dine in, they serve the root-beer in a chilled glass mug to keep it cold longer.
And no artificial hormones etc.
And they bring the food to your table, with fries served in little metal fry baskets. It's a top notch dine in experience for fast food.
It’s definitely the less fast food feeling fast food place around, normally not too greasy
@@yinjabanana They do not bring the food to your table around here (Québec)
Love A & W, good stuff.
A&W started as a burger and root beer brand in California. There are still some locations in the US (I have one near me in WA) , but the Canadian chain seperated 50 years ago and the menu and marketing diverged and it became far more popular in Canada than the US
For the record, A&W Canada split completely from its US counterpart. They literally bought themselves out, and are 100% their own independent company here versus in the US. And for my money, it is probably the best fast food Canada has to offer. Particularly their breakfast. I've had friends from the US say that over there the quality is terrible, the menu and branding are completely different, and it's not thought of well at all. They were pretty surprised at just how good A&W in Canada actually is.
@@K1ddkanuck I think that's what I said...
@LiqdPT I didn't realize I was replying to your comment. Thought I was just commenting on the video itself. My bad
@@K1ddkanuck Sadly their prices are also through the roof. It used to be fine, but these days my order which would normally cost around 20 dollars is now over 30.
Yup Def my pick over mcds for a quick bite
I love Harvey's, has toppings you can't get at usual burger chains.
If we go far enough back, there was a time when Harveys made thier fries on the spot from fresh potatoes. There is another chain in Quebec not mentioned, called (La Belle Province). And if you ever stop in Brockville Ontario (about (aboot) halfway between Montreal and Toronto (aka Trona) check out (Don"s Fish"n"Chips) near the riverfront. And last but not least, in MTL is Schwartz"s deli for European-Jewish style (smoked meat (beef brisket) sandwiches).
I like Harvey's, but there is only one in the city, and it's downtown, I live in the burbs. The choices in my area are 2 McDonald's, 2 A&W's, Georges Burger and Subs, Burger King if I travel a little further I can get another McDonald's another A&W and Juniors.
Mary Brown's Chicken, Newfoundland's pride and joy, is my favourite fried chicken chain.
Mary browns is a solid substitute for st hubert if ya can't fid er I like the quality of the chicken
Mary Brown's is a MUCH better substitute for KFC. Cost more but worth it.
We have them in Calgary now.
@@mayloo2137 I thought he was saying they came from there but ya they are all over canada
I miss Mary Brown's. I live in Cape Breton, and there aren't any more left on the island. The closest ones are all on mainland Nova Scotia. It sucks.
the thing you missed about harveys is that you get to customize your burger like subway.
Yes that's the best thing ever!!!
Yup and the thing he missed about A&W was the car service years ago that made them famous.
they also grill their burgers, not cooked on a flat top like Ronchy Ronald's
Agreed the fixens
oh, really !? last time I ordered a foot-long hamburger, they just looked at me weird.
Tim Hortons is a restaurant, as it is a sit down place, but also has a drive-thru and takeout. I'd say it's more like a coffee shop/cafe, as it's known for not only its doughnuts, but also its coffee. Boston Pizza was founded in my hometown. I've been there plenty of times. I love their ribs. That's usually my go to. Boston Pizza has two sides to it, the restaurant and the bar. As for Swiss Chalet (it's pronounced "sha-lay" as in the ski resort chalets), I quite like their chicken and ribs, and their chalet sauce is pretty good. I do like it a lot. Harvey's is unique amongst the burger restaurants. All the ingredients are laid out in front of you and you choose the toppings you want, including multiple sauces. It's like Subway in a way. The burgers are char-grilled, rather than fried like McDonald's does. Probably my favourite burger place (other than Carl's Jr). I think I've been to Earl's, but I don't remember anything about it. The Keg is quite decent. Great place for a good steak. Never been to Quebec, so I don't know St-Hubert. A&W Canada is separate from the US A&W, and it's quite popular. The menu has evolved to be quite different from the American menu, as well. And I've heard that the American A&W became far less popular. But of course, we have the famous A&W root beer. And one fun thing is that when I was a kid in the 80s, A&W was doing drive in restaurants, where you park and order in your car, and they bring your order out and you eat in your car. It went out of style in the 80s, but I do remember going there. My parents' first date in the 60s was at A&W.
St. Hubert's is almost identical to Swiss Chalet, in menu items. Same rotisserie chicken, ribs etc on their menus. I think it's why you don't see either outside or inside the province of Quebec, they are direct competition under the same owners now.
Bp's still comes from the not best place in Alberta, which has ginger beef, the ceasar (drink), cheezies the best ban mi and pho sate, the best milkshakes at peter's, and of course great beef. What does Dedmonton have?
Also, fuck the oilers.
Sincerely Calgarian
@@Some.Canadian Mature, aren't you? I'm not here to turn this into a childish debate about which city is best. Grow up.
@@JayDeeMC You can cry about it if you really want, best part of the internet is people can't read the tone. It's in jest (kind of lol).
In all honesty Edmonton has plenty of things that make it great, but I just don't think BP's is one of them.
A chalet is like a wooden cabin you’d find in the Swiss Alps - where you might visit in the winter while skiing, and the comfort food goes with it!
In British Columbia, we use the chalet a lot because we have silver star, ski Hill, big white ski hill, and Whistler/ blackcomb which are well-known worldwide. But we have many more, so there's always people who own a chalet on the ski hill.
"challay"
Haha I laughed every time I heard it
@@canadianguy-nl1xw I know it’s a simple mistake but I was dying too when he kept saying it wrong lol.
Except for the fact that absolutely nothing on the Swiss Chalet menu is even remotely like actual Swiss cuisine.
A&W makes its own onion rings in the restaurant. They are so good. You can get chilled beer mugs for your root beer. They use real cheese and hormone an antibiotic free beef.
Indeed. I took a small bite of the meat patty, and it tasted just like the meat on the family farm where my parents raised organically raised cattle and chickens ❤❤ I highly recommend A&W to anyone ❤❤
They have the best fast food burgers imo
At the A&W near my home, they even bring the chilled bear mugs of root bear to your table.
I remember years ago when I was young, I'm 72, they used to bring your order to your car on roller-skates. You would flash your headlights and the waitress would roller skate to your car, take your order and return with it on a tray that would clip to your window that would be rolled down part way. Ahhh the memories. A&W teen burgers were the best with a chilled mug of root beer.
@@peikathryn I remember that. They also had amazing milkshakes with a dollop of real whipped cream on top. A&W was the first fast food burger place in my small town.
The pronunciation of Swiss Chalet is making me want to scream through the screen to correct him. 😂😂😂😂 ahhhhh, im pulling my hair! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
"SHA-LAY" Chalet - a small wooden house found in mountain areas, especially in Switzerland, or a house built in a similar style, especially one used by people on holiday.
In French it means cottage.
funny how he pronounced Quebec properly but butchered chalet lol
I was car hop in the 70s at an A&W restaurant. We even wore roller skates in the summer. One A&W in Edmonton was the weekly meeting place for car enthusiasts. So many of the cars that showed up there were amazing!
All the nice car guys love showing off their rides at A&W to this day, here in Regina, SK. Every Sunday during the warmer months, the car guys hang around the A&W parking lot, letting their cars shine in the sun. Its a very retro feel, old school muscle cars and some modern ones.
This is whatvi miss from my childhood in the west end, on Stony and 58th.
I remember those days!!!! Great meeting place for the young!
Muscle car meeting spot Merivale Rd Ottawa late 60’s early 70’s lots of great memories
Paper Bag Bandit ! ( Stony Plain Road ) 70ish - Remember Him ?
Tyler, I just love your French words pronunciation! We used to have a few Chalet Suisse (Swiss Chalet) in Québec many years ago, but they were in direct competition with St-Hubert and were never as popular.
oh c'est pour ça que je n'en ai jamais entendu parler!! J'étais bien curieuse.
Thumbs up for the giggles over the pronunciation of CHalet. No judgement. Just amusement.
...a little bit of judgement
But then he rolls out escargot just fine. /confused.
chalet is a common English word...
@@alanj9978 and filet
A tonne of judgement. I emigrated from the US and I knew how to pronounce "chalet" when I was a child.
A&W had a cool concept when they first opened. There was a drive-thru like speaker that you ordered into, at every parking place. You stayed in your car, and a server on roller skates would bring a tray that clipped to the partially rolled down car window. It was before the days of the drive-thru, so an early version of eating in your car. Today it's just a standard burger joint.
Similar to sonic. But sonic is very disappointing
And you could buy big glass bottles of root beer to take home with you. Yep, I'm old.
@@dbadilotti You still can buy A&W rootbeer in glass bottles at grocery stores in my area, and even at times at A&W stores (and sometimes even buy their mugs... leave them in the deep freezer for a couple days, and chill a 2L in a fridge for atleast a couple days, and can have the frosty mug at home). 4-packs (each 355 mL) were on the shelf yesterday.
I remember the drive-in days. They had stopped the roller blades some years before, but the speakers were still in use and the food came on special trays that hooked onto your almost fully rolled -down window. They quit doing the outdoor service thing about 30 years ago now.
When you were ready to order, you’d turn your headlights on.
decades ago, the A&W Restaurant chain and Root Beer brand were one and the same before they split off in the US and subsequently Canada. I would argue that A&W is not "nicer" than most fast food chains (particularly the 24 hour locations in urban centres). I would argue Harvey's is nicer than most fast food places. Harvey's main charm is having fresh toppings presented behind the glass counter and placed on your burger customized "your way". Like at a Subways.
White Spot is probably the most popular BC-based restaurant chain, with over 100 outlets. Famous for its Triple O burger sauce, Pirate Pak children's menu, 100 percent local beef burgers, and its pies - fruit pies and chicken pot pies - the chain has been around almost a century.
Pirate paks are the best, I miss their Adult Pirate paks days, and I don't know if BC ferries still has their Ferry Paks
When I lived in BC I tried them. Good food.
I've gone through waves with White Spot through my life. There was a long time where I couldnt eat there, because something in their cooking style didnt agree with he, regardless what I ordered. But then I was going there quite a lot for the last decade...... till this year, when they decided to see all the other food places gouging, and thought "what if we tripled the gouging"?
Endless fries are the best.
Good to know, we had a couple White Spots in Edmonton and Leduc that we frequented. All gone now.
I grew up in California but I have lived in Canada for almost 2 1/2 years. A&W restaurants are still a thing in California, although it’s not as popular as it was when I was a little kid. However, there is a huge quality gap between the two. A&W here in Canada is incredible.
And likely the most expensive drive through you can get haha
@@canadianguy-nl1xw DQ might have it beat lol
@@canadianguy-nl1xwNot really? Their buddy burgers and portion sizes are hard to beat price wise (the only place with cheaper burgers is usually wendys).
Not only that but the meats all grass fed and you dont feel like crap after eating it compared to the likes of mcdonalds and other burger joints
@@lotusmice Their eggs are from vegan fed hens, and all pork is from Canadian farms. They also have Beyond Meat products.
@@omfgimdeaad9288 beat by price? Because I've had DQ burgers once, and I wanted to throw up, because they were so awful.
A&W was a fast food restaurant in the U.S. in late 1950's or 1960's. They invented the car-hop service where the waitresses brought trays of food to cars in parking lot and hung them from car windows! Don't know when they disappeared from States but are still going strong in Canada!
Root Beer is very popular in Canada; more so than the US or anywhere else in the world. The difference between Root Beer and products like Coke is that they use caramelized sugar instead of regular sugar. This taste is very popular in Canada and is also present in 'Brown' Sugar and Maple Syrup; two very popular products in Canada.
Don't touch the bot and 100 percent very well put golden brown sugar in coffee is amazing.
Also in Canada, only colas or soft drinks marketed as energy drinks an contain caffeine. Whereas in the States they put caffeine in everything. So regular American Mountain Dew is Dew Fuel here.
@@atraxisdarkstarThat's not true. There is caffeine in Mountain Dew and Coke in Canada. It says it right on the packaging. A 500ml bottle of coke has 48mg of caffeine in it.
@@user-xj9vf4xb9p Coke is a cola, and thus does contain caffeine. I haven't had Mountain Dew in years, but if it has caffeine now, that's a relatively new development, because when they still sold Dew Fuel, the caffeine was the only difference (Dew Fuel didn't contain Taurine or Guarana)
@@atraxisdarkstarBarq’s root beer def has caffeine in it. 22 mg per can. Im drinking one now.
All the French Canadians silently screaming as he calls it "Saint Hue-berts" 😂
😂
And pouteen
@@lisabourque5076 I used to have a landlord that said it "pootin" I used to ask him if he was talking about the Russian president or the food LOL
@@DragonflyenAmberit is called poo tin. That’s how it’s pronounced here in New Brunswick. And Quebec.
@@michelleturner6865 🙄yeah I know if you read what I said my old landlord pronounced it as if he was talking about Putin the Russian dictator
I work at a Boston Pizza, and yeah, we get a lot of families coming in together, most restaurants have split sections, one for families and the other a sports bar. We get a LOT of people in for games and stuff. And we do a ton of takeout. About the name, the original owners just wanted something people would recognize, and picked Boston at random.
I'm pretty sure the founder of BPs was a huge Boston Bruins fan from Canada.
@@danahm.4443 Nope, he was a Greek immigrant, they make us learn this shit to work there. Corporate kitchens suck.
@@marinesinspace6253 After I typed that I realized I was wrong and the Dragons Den RCMP guy bought it from them and made a lot of frickin' money franchising BPs.
With A&W in Canada the Americans who owned it sold the ones in Canada because they thought they would lose money on them. Turned out to be the opposite . A&W in the states has died off over the years but the one in Canada keeps going strong. I like A&W for its old fashion type of burger place . There are still some in Canada that you park and someone will come out and take your order
Wow. Where are those? Vancouver?
I'd be interested to find an A&W with people coming over to your car. I've seen pictures of this in lots of A&W but none of them offered the service anymore.
A&W Onion rings are the best. For any American who is going to try A&W burgers I suggest ordering their onion rings to go with it. 👍
A&W in the states was terrible. Coworkers from the US were skeptical when I said A&W here is one of my favourite fast-food places. But surprised it was good when they tried it.
A&W has been taken over by Preta Mange from europe
What is special about St-Hubert is that most of their kitchen and serving staff are in their first paying jobs; in other words, they hire people entering the workforce for the first time, and train them. It is a policy of the restaurant. My nephew’s first job was at St-Hubert (Montreal) where he worked in the kitchen. He was taught how to properly cut up a chicken, serve clients, etc., something he will always remember as he now owns and operates his own micro-brew pub in downtown Montreal. 👍
Ohh cool! What's the pub's name I wonder? I live in Terrebonne, QC, two cities away from Montreal!
@@anjaleax My nephew’s brew-pub is called Boswell brasserie artisanale. It’s on Mount-Royal street, east end. Food is good and the terrasse in summer is awesome. He is the main brewmaster and has owned it for 6 years. He also operates a cafe (Boswell rive-sud) in St-Bruno. Most of his beers are available there as well as well as sandwiches, etc. You can buy his beers at both locations to take home.
@@cjseckinger8796that is the Plateau area.
You must be so proud of this enterprising young man. Congratulations.
Through the 60’s and 70’s A&W was a drive-in- waitresses on roller skates hanging food on your car window… Really enjoy your show, Great content'
I was young in the 80s and remember those drive-ins here in Edmonton. My favorite was the Whistledog platter. Tee hee
Boston Pizza's Boston actually comes from the name of the guy who lived upstairs from the founders. They had to submit three names when submitting for a business license... And their first two picks where already registered! (Acropolis Pizza and Parthenon Pizza were the other choices.)
I think the first location was on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton.
I exist because of Harvey’s . My parents met at a Harvey’s while they were out cruising around and hanging out.
A&W gained popularity by opening in smaller towns that McDonalds or Burger King deemed too small and it has served them well.
There are 600 A&W restaurants in the US but it is a different company than A&W Canada
Ya, my dad used to bring us home Harvey's on his way home from work. Fond memories. There aren't as many around in my city any more sadly.
15:36 We call it ''tourtière''. It's tradionally served during the winter holidays in Québec. It's a type of meat pie.
Harvey's is hands down my favourite burger place. Simply because you can top it however you like. They have a station with every possible topping you can think of, and once your burger or whatever you've ordered comes out, it goes to that station and you tell the worker what toppings and condiments you want.
I forget what they said about the number of different combos there was to top your burger but it was huge.
3 jr burgers every friday at lunch only FF i go to now others are to expensive and slow
@@soyentak5076 you must go to a faster harvey's than i do... i went there a few times, they were so slow... it took almost 15 minutes... i can get other fast food much quicker at Mcdonalds, A&W, and Wendys
@@soyentak5076 make them double juniors with bacon!
Yes, Boston Pizza is named after the American Boston. Other popular Canadian restaurant chains include Montana's Steakhouse, East Side Mario's (named after NYC's east side), Baton Rouge Steakhouse, Dixie Lee Fried Chicken, St Louis Bar & Grill and New York Fries. Oh and Hawaiian Pizza was actually invented in Canada not Hawaii.
I love New York Fries I miss them as well
Popeye's Louisiana chicken, Church's Texas chicken Canada.
@@D33LuxThose are American chains though.
Unlike BPs, none of these chains have locations in the US.
@@RobertBreedon-c3b They're still around, my mall has one.
Harveys used to be in BC. Before Covid we used to have one across from the store I worked at. It was a 2 in 1 Swiss Chalet Harveys. My Coworkers and I used to go there for lunch breaks. Deep fried pickles were a popular thing. It was a sad day when it closed.
Those meat pies are a traditional French Canadian Holiday dish called Tourtière. Minced veal, beer and pork along with diced onions, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper. Some people also add potatoes. The crust is made of lard
Not beer though, beef. But beer might make the gravy even yummiest.
@@looneygardener haha autocorrect
We totally borrowed those from the Brits. Meat pies are a deeply English thing.
The crust is made WITH lard. A crust made OF lard would not be a crust and would be very unpleasant. Sorry.
I hate that stuff veal and pork are 2 of the worst meats and if i had to decided ,they would only be eaten as a last resort. Obvioisly bacon is the only good pork meat to eat at all times
Someone should start a gofundme to get Tyler to Canada to experience our food and culture in person
That "someone" can be you
He has 3 channels... Tyler Bucket (reacts to Canada), Tyler Rumple ( reacts to UK) and Tyler Walker (reacts to Norway). I'm pretty sure he can afford his own ticket. 😋
@@michaelbinbc He has a fourth one, Tyler Burger (reacts to Japan).
@@michaelbinbc Tyler has basically found a way to monetize national pride lol
With J.J. McCullough as host!
Chalet is pronounced "Sha-lay" and is an alpine house/dwelling. Swiss Chalet is often paired with Harveys either in a same location or building because they are owned by the same company (that also owns The Keg). Swiss Chalet is reasonable priced and is very often the dining choice of seniors.
Don't forget Montana's
My wife and i grew up in Canada . The winner is ......... AW by far . Real beef burgers and the best tasty fries of them all . Very modern clean and affordable .
And those onion rings - so good!
Fun fact, Saint-Hubert BBQ is over 70 years old as it was founded in 1951 on St-Hubert Street in Montreal, hence its name.
Not trying to sound rude but Nobody cares. You reminded me of the time when I randomly said McDonalds was founded in 1940 when eating at McDonald’s one time.
Thats cool!
and now owned by the same outfit that own's Swiss Chalet, but thankfully they still are seemingly independent of each other (having their own unique items and such)
It failed miserably in Southern Ontario but if you go into a grocery store you can find canned Saint-Hubert's gravy and other seasonings in pouches etc.
You can get poutine in a cardboard container at McDonald here in Quebec.
Robin, the Canadian character on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother has made a reference to Harvey's on the show.
Fun fact - Wikipedia doesn’t have it listed, but Earls started in Edmonton as well. I was born and raised there and remember both restaurants well. The first orientation of Earls was a much more casual with wings, burgers and nachos. There was a related restaurant called Earls Tin Palace , which was a little fancier .It morphed into the version of Earls that exist today.
Did Fullers change into Earls?
@@maureenjamieson9730 - It did! The Fuller family who started the original Earls restaurants transitioned their former restaurant sites into Earls.
I remember when they first expanded their restaurant in Saskatoon location took over an old industrial bakery and the MA Gavins sign was on the building for years
I was at one of the OG locations in Edmonton when my brother lived there in the 80's and when they expanded to Saskatoon I would go as often as I could
The Tin Palace was fav of my on Jasper.
It should be noted that there is no real order to this list. Some don't exist in Eastern Canada (Quebec and the Atlantic Canada). A prime example is Earls Kitchen; I've never ever heard of it!
Quebec doesn’t consider its self Canadian they are only patriotic to themselves not Canada, by any means of measures.
because he's using Chat GPT for his information source. 🤣
I've never heard of it either and I live in Toronto
I'm dying at the pronunciation of Swiss Chalet 😂 you're so wholesome, Tyler. Their chalet sauce is to die for; I would drink that shit. My chicken, fries, and roll get dipped in it lol.
A&W was originally a US drive-in restaurant famous for its root beer. By the late 70's, people no longer went to drive-in restaurants, and A&W had to rebrand itself as a mall restaurant, then as a stand alone restaurant with drive throughs. Its root beer was so popular that it is bottled just like you can now buy Tim Horton's coffee in the grocery store to brew at home yourself.
In the rural parts of Quebec, St-Hubert is most often the "fanciest" restaurant you can find. It's a staple in family outings, birthday parties and what not.
Boston Pizza started in Edmonton , Alberta in 1964 when a Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis opened Boston Pizza and Spaghetti house, the concept quickly grew in popularity and a franchise was born.
The ex-RCMP from Dragons Den bought and expanded the BPs brand to franchise owned restaurants with some novelty items. What a Canadian success story.
I just love how so many Americans try to pronounce French words like CHALET. English Canadians pronounce most words as English words; but many French words are of French origin and are pronounce in French. CHALET is a word for a home in the mountains; thus Swiss Chalet where CHALET is pronounced like Sha-lay. A popular chain in Quebec for poutine is Chez Ashton (pronounced Shay Ash-ton). This translates to 'At Ashton's'. Quebec used to have Swiss Chalet outlets; however, the company that now owns Swiss Chalet also now owns St-Hubert; a similar and very very popular chain in the province of Quebec that is also present in Eastern Ontario and New Brunswick. As such they no longer competer with each other and you will likely see one or the other across much of Canada.
In French, the "et" in chalet is pronounced like an open e (like the e in bet or ea in yeah) and the t is silent. So it's not sha-lay, it's sha-leah.
Funny how the gravy slurping America knew how to pronounce fillet but was lost when trying to say chalet,
To be honest I was seriously triggered, lol
@@GarySalternthis guy is a fruitcake not a gravy slurping American. I’m an American and I say sha-lay
Ashton’s is so good!!!! I wish they would have more locations outside of the Québec City area 🙄
Harvey's burgers are unique in that you get to SEE the toppings that you want on your burger. They have a display case of all the condiments that you could want for your burger and you can ask for as much or as little as you want. I always get extra pickles and I can watch them put them on the burger to know if there are enough. Swiss Chalet and Saint Hubert's are in direct competition with each other. That is why you won't find a Swiss Chalet in Quebec. Swiss Chalet was made to look like a Swiss chalet home. It was to look comforting and homey just like the food is meant to be.
I think the best way to describe Harvey's would be to say it's the burger version of a Subway
Chalet Swiss was in Quebec during the 80's and 90's but couldn't keep up with Saint Hubert's cult like following. SH also carried Acadian/Quebecois foods which CS did not (the pie he was referring to on the SH website is tortiere). I left Quebec over 20 years ago so I'm not sure if SH still has the same unique offerings
@@kitarogue7840as someone who lives in Quebec currently, SH does sell tortiere, and even sell their products in grocery stores, including the tortiere.
And I was about to mention the comparison with Subway, as it is technically the same mechanic!
Papa Burger and an A&W rootbeer. Back in the early 70s , I remember pulling up to an A&W with mom and dad and the waitresses would come out and take your order at the car. I heard earlier they came out on roller skates.
St-Hubert is known (to me) for its bbq sauce and gravy and the little car for the kid's menu. The pies are either meat pies or tourtières. Very popular holiday dishes in Quebec!
Edit: one chain (that used to be bigger) in the Quebec city area is Ashton. It's just fast food poutine and the lower the temperature is the cheaper it is hahaha two other very cheap fast food places in Quebec are Valentine and La Belle Province
Ashton ? La pire poutine que j'ai mangé de ma vie !!! Désolé pour les gens de Québec mais va falloir voyager un peu pour trouver une vrai bonne poutine !
I remember it being almost identical to Swiss Chalet...am I right
@@mapelbob mon père adore la poutine Ashton pour une raison quelconque. Personnellement, c'est très loin d'être la meilleure, mais j'ai malheureusement eu bien pire à la cafétéria de ma polyvalente loll
@@Veggamattic I've never been to Swiss Chalet but I heard the same thing!
St-Hubert has the most disgusting chicken and sauce
He let the Holiday menus influence what he thought they regularly sold but they don’t always have thanksgiving/Christmas themed items 😂
Best thing about A&W it the chilled soda fountains, no ice needed so nothing's diluted! Next best is dining in, your drink gets served in a glass mug that's been kept in a freezer and they'll often bring your order out to the table. If you ask nicely, they might even sell you a mug (Available in 1L, 700mL, 550mL, 335mL, and a 100mL shot glass that's still a mug).
Also spawned a cute AF little song called "Amburgurs and Wootbeer" (A&W)
Someone should let my local A&W in on that because the delivery always comes loaded with ice and are crap after a half hour.
Surprised Mary Browns wasn't high up on the list. Great chicken place.
Isn't Mary Brown's American?
Since you mentioned the Hawaiian pizza at Boston Pizza I thought I would tell you that the Hawaiian pizza was invented at the Satellite restaurant in 1963 in Chatham Ontario. The Satellite restaurant is still in business
Boston pizza sucks confirmed by a candian I had it once and my teeth nearly fell out cuz it was so hard
Thanks for clearing that up for people. I live in Chatham. I often have breakfast there with friends.
I had no idea Boston Pizza didn't originate in Boston.😂
Always funny when seemingly regional foods aren't from where you expect, huh? Like, the idea that Ginger Beef, popular in many Chinese restaurants, apparently originated in Calgary. 😂
@@cathyriedl5651it was also founded by a Greek immigrant.
In fact the front of their menus says "canadian restaurant, named after a American city, founded by a Greek sailor serving Italian food."
9:52 we also have all of the rain, especially in Vancouver.
The parents took us to A&W in the 70's and you'd pull up and leave headlights on when you were ready to order, a lady would roller skate out to your car take your order, skate back with a special tray that clips to your partially rolled down window.
Needless to say, they've stopped doing that for some time now...😆
Great, wholesome food.
Superb breakfast.👍
A popular breakfast restaurant; mostly in Eastern Canada, which started in Montreal is CORA'S. There is nothing like it in the US. It closes sometime after lunch.
Cora's made it here to Sask! I love that place!
And the worst service in any restaurant
@@jeffkearney3932that can be any restaurant not just Cora's.
We have Cora's in Calgary. There was a restaurant downtown, but it was in an office building and people were confused about which doors to enter by.
@prevosfr don't disagree but it's happened to me every time I've gone at multiple locations. Coras is the worst in canada for customer service imo. So I just stopped going
A&W has been around for a long, long time. You used to drive up, order from a speaker and the waitress would bring your order in a tray and attached to the drivers window. I used to order the Teen Burger (they also had a mama and papa burger too)
Also, Mary Brown's definitely deserves honourable mention, along with Cora's, Dixie Lee, King of Donair (not for the size of the chain, but for what they added to the canadian food scene, because donair > poutine), smitty's... the list goes on.
Mary Browns is disgusting. I don't know how they're still in business, honestly
Cora’s ymmmmm
Are there still Dixie Lee restaurants around? Haven't seen one in half a century!
@keithosmond5730 there's one in Liverpool NS, at least... not sure where else at this point
@@jasongreek2342 Used to be one in Gander when I was a kid, inside Crossroads restaurant. I remember liking the chicken. Other popular fast food restaurant chains at the time that, as far as I know, are defunct were Chuck Wagon and Reddi-Chef.
Every time I drive through North Sydney, I stop at A&K Lick-a-Chick. Chicken wedge fries and gravy. Absolute, salty deliciousness... if hard on the arteries.
I ate at a Harvey's last week, and had Swiss Chalet delivered just a couple nights ago. I love both. When I was young, we used to go to a nearby A&W that had the pull-up spaces for cars and you ordered and they brought it out to the car. Those are long gone now.
We have a family owned ice cream place in my town, that opened back in the 50s. It serves more than ice cream, food as well. It's on the people's huge property, and you can drive up, leave your lights on, until an employee comes to your car and takes your order, and then brings it to your car. You can also eat outside on their property, with lots of Picnic tables and gazebos. I love that we still have something like this. It's a popular location for locals, and was always a popular "date night" place with teens. I hope it never ever closes.
I recall eating at a pull up - in my car - at the A&W in Thunder Bay . This was not very long ago, July 1984 as a matter of fact. I thought they were all gone at that time, and then I spotted it and just had to have a Teenburger and rings with rootbear in the car.
Harvey’s has really gone down in my town and our Swiss Chalet closed because the food got so bad. They are supposed to be reopening under new management
I remember the A&W drive-in restaurants in the 80s. The one I went to was probably one of the last.
I absolutely love Earls! It’s a bit more fancy than other restrooms but still pretty affordable and has incredible food and service!
There used to be a St-Hubert (pronounced Sain-Tubère) in Florida in the 80s due to the amount of Québecois that would go south during winter (we call them snowbirds). Also, at least from my experience in Quebec, food served by A&W actually looks like the pictures on their website, the buns are not a a thin squashed slice of bread with everything all over the place, the fries a about 2-3 times thicker than those from McDonald.
Yeah, A&W is a notch more upscale than McD's. Not in the same range (in quality or price) as Five Guys and the like, but definitely a step up from McD's or Burger King.
Swiss Chalet was originally started by a Swiss Restauranteur in Toronto. The first location was on the North side of Bloor St. just West of Avenue Rd. It was situated adjacent to Varsity stadium of the University of Toronto. the original store is still there. I first ate there when I was 12. That was in 1953
Swiss Chalet is chalet as in a a ski chalet (pronounced shall-lay) so delicious and one of the most affordable sit down restaurants around!
Swiss Chalet has a signature sauce (or maybe it's a au jus) that's quite unique (in my opinion) and Lays even made a chip flavour out of it
It's great for dipping the fries in.
I will never be able to pronounce it properly again though. "Let's go Swiss Kchallet! " Just poking fun, maybe you don't get used to the ways some words are pronounced if you don't grow up with it.
Kchallet is more fun to say anyways.
The secret to that "taste" is mint, believe it or not.
Kenny Rogers had the exact same sauce.
Great reaction, though I would say that Earls and the Keg are a definite “step up” from the others. While A&W and Harveys try to market themselves as just not another burger joint, in essence they are. That being said, I like their food. It’s just that fast food is fast food no matter how you try to make it look or taste. Also you can see the definite American influence on Canada culture through the name Boston Pizza. Another popular restaurant up here is East Side Mario’s (not sure if it’s in the US) but markets itself as a New York-Italian restaurant. Finally back in the day A&W marketed it self as a US style burger joint that brought your food out to your car and they’d attach your tray to your window so you could eat in your car, like you could see in American movies from the 50s and 60s.
I just took my 20 yr old daughter to the KEG for her bday last week. They gave her a huge piece of mocha ice cream cake for free cuz it was her bday. 200 bucks later, I wasn't that impressed. The French onion soup is really good and so was the pistachio encrusted salmon I had but the garlic mashed potatoes were starchy and sticky AF
At Earls and the Keg, you can get out with a couple of good drinks, a shared appy, a main and a dessert, for two, 20% tip, for about $150CDN. Affordable fine dining. Both Earls and the Keg, have their own "butcher shop", creating cuts for their chains. They feature hormone free, antibiotic free, and in the case of the beef, free range, grass fed.
A&W features hormone free, antibiotic free, and in the case of the beef, free range, grass fed. Also, sustainability, no plastic. They also were the first to feature the Meatless Burger, which after introduction, caused it to explode, so for about six months, you couldn't find a Meatless Burger, because production couldn't meet demand.
$150 for two is not what I consider affordable.
Interesting - Tyler, remember the prices are in Cdn $.
The Keg near me is always busy - great food.
St Hubert is like the Quebec version of Swiss Chalet, both with dynamite sauces.
A&W very successful - the root beer of my youth. They used to deliver to your car & put the tray on your lowered window.
Holiday feast is probably Christmas - at this time of year we're 6 wks past Thanksgiving.
Neat thing about Harvey’s is that you can customize the toppings.
If it surprises you that a restaurant called Boston Pizza is Canadian, then you'd be equally surprised that another popular chain called New York Fries is also Canadian owned and operated. NYF is mostly found in mall food courts and they specialize in French fries and poutine, although they also serve hot dogs. Personally, NYF is my favourite fast-food restaurant to get poutine. Yes, you can buy poutine at any fast-food chain in Canada including McDonalds , Burger King or Wendy's, but I think NYF does it better because fries are their specialty. According to Wikipedia, NYF also has restaurants in the Middle East but no US presence.
Cara Operations (Recipe Unlimited) owns many Canadian chain restaurants; such as Swiss Chalet and St-Hubert. It should also be noted that I believe that Tim Horton's is now owned by a Brazilian food company.
No, Tim Hortons is owned by Restaurant Brands International. RBI is a merger of Tim Hortons and Burger King.
And it's never a good sign when they buy a chain out. It means the chain was doing well but some cost effective changes are going to happen.
Sorry I meant when Cara/ Recipe Unlimited takes over ... Although Timmies has also taken a hit - no more low cal muffins etc.
@@timothywattAnd Popeyes
@@jeffreycairns767 Yes, RBI owns many restaurant chains such as Popeye's. But it was originally formed by a merger of Tim Hortons and Burger King.
Hey Tyler, I'm surprised A&W is not higher on the list.
It's probably my favourite go to burger, so so much fresher and less greasy than anything else.
I don't really like the root beer tho, but the onion rings are amazing.
Also as many have said, it's Swiss shalaye, like filet is pronounced.
It's one of the worst
Onion rings at A@W are not made with onions!! They are rehydrated onion flake slurry spit out of a press as a ring.
Harvey uses real onions. You can see them if you pull the ring apart. Pull apart an A@W onion ring and all you get is nothing.@@jeffreycairns767
@@jeffreycairns767 In the US it is, but in Canada it's the best. Way better than other fast food places.
Fun thing about a&w most of them usually host car shows in the summer. Also used by local car clubs for meets and such. Hotrodding and a&w go hand in hand in Canada. Like burgers and fries.
When I was little, in the 70s, my father would take me to A&W Drive-In in Burnaby on Kingsway.
Waitresses on rollerskates, trays that hung off your car window, rootbeer in mini frosted steins. It was always so much fun.
Once, my father surprised me by ordering tacos!!!😮 yes, tacos!🌮 I’d never had a taco so this was surprising & the beginning of a lifelong romance with Mexican food! 😋
I don’t think I ever ordered a burger at that location ever again. 😊
In the 80s I was introduced to the A&W on North Rd. 😮
Amazing!!! Indoor restaurant, waitresses, massive centre round fireplace with a round bench wrapping it, comfy booths… 😮 I really loved our times there with my youth group!
I can’t recall when they started selling their rootbeer outside of the restaurants, but it all started here…
Rootbeer float, anyone? “Now be careful, honey, don’t push that ice cream down or you may spill.” UNDERSTATEMENT!!😂 🌋 😂
If you live in any of the southern Ontario cities, you have experienced the "Swiss Chalet phenomena" (pronounced "Shall Lay" for Pete's sake). That's where if any group of adults are gathered together and all of them have not been to a Swiss Chalet for at least 18 months, the mere mention of Swiss Chalet chicken will induce an overwhelming craving for Swiss Chalet chicken in every last person in the room.
It's all about the sha-lay sauce. I actually use it more for dipping my fries than the actual chicken.
@@lucky247365 I actually just bought a can of it from the grocery store so I can put it on my sandwiches whenever I like...like I did just now. 🙂
Yep, the sauce. You can buy it in some grocery stores. Or is it St Hubert BBQ sauce? Maybe both. Now I got a craving for chicken and I'm off to buy chicken and BBQ sauce.
Don't be hard on him because he doesn't know how to pronounce it. He's not from canada, he's from a different country, just as we are a different country
I’m in southern Ontario and I haven’t ate at Swiss Chalet in years 😂 actually no one I know has had the urge to eat there.
A&W is the best fast food burgers here in Canada free from steriods or hormones and much healthier with grass fed and finished. Fun fact when A&W was in the US they tried to have a 1/3lb burger but it flopped because most participants in the focus group thought 1/4 was bigger than 1/3 because they didn't understand fractions.
Dude, if you like food and Canada, you need to plan a trip to Montreal, we have AMAZING restaurants, you'll eat the best poutines and you'll get to try 2 Montreal exclusives, are famous bagels and the legendary Montreal Smoked Meat.
Gosh those bagels in Montreal are UNREAL, I still think about them all the time.
@@hockeyaddict7007 He'll be fine if he sticks with Montreal.
Mais, on trouve toujours le temps pour Tim Hortons. 🍩
@@merriemisfit8406 ark non !
And Croissants
Saint-Hubert's nuggets served in the cardboard car with cherry sauce was my favorite childhood dish 😂
80% of restaurants in Canada from fast food garbage to the fanciest of fine dining will have atleast 2 types of poutine on the menu, often with a classic style and a style that fits the style of the restaurant. For example you can go and get Shawarma and they will probably have a shawarma poutine and a classic poutine, or go to a restaurant selling South African meals and get a poutine in that style. A steakhouse may have a steak poutine, and certain fine dining may have a caviar or foie gras poutine. That isn't only Canadian founded companies either, often times many American restaurants will also serve a poutine, though do be insanely wary of places that don't use cheese curds and instead use things like shredded cheddar because it's guarenteed to be awful. The fact that every place has poutine it's insanely funny to be like "wow harvey's sells poutine?!" when everyone with a stove will sell you one
One of my late cats LOVED Swiss Chalet chicken. If we ordered in and Vergil didn't get a few bits, he'd be furious. However, when I BBQed chicken and tried to give him some, he'd flat out refuse it. So apparently my chicken sucks. Everyone's a critic.
great comment
Hilarious!
My late cat used to wait for the man in the red jacket to bring Swiss chalet to him
Our late cat Mikey also loved Swiss Chalet. We couldn't bring it home without sharing with him.
My first job was working at an A&W in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My cousin, my friend and I got a ride into Winnipeg from the country to look together for a summer job. We tried various places, then took a bus to the A&W on Pembina Highway. All three of us were hired! Our friend as a car hop, my cousin as a cook’s helper, and me in the front making ice cream cones, etc. 90 cents an hour was nothing to scoff at! We shared a dump with one double bed that we all slept in. I was never so glad to be back in school in September!
I spent most of summer 2022 working at an A&W, and it is FANTASTIC food! It is not nearly as greasy as McD's, and has a massive variety, including breakfast platters, great drinks, and awesome non-meat burgers! You should look at the A&W Canada commercials! They are great to watch!
I agree with you, in general A&W is pretty kick-ass. But for whatever reason, the closest A&W to where I am serves horrifically greasy food. It wasn't like that before, it's only been that way for the last 5 years or so. That said, EVERY fast food restaurant in this end of Nova Scotia seems to suck... our nearest McDonald's and KFC locations tend to have VERY dry and bland food. Go to New Minas or farther east on to Halifax and suddenly the quality gets a thousand times better. No idea why it's like that, but as a (mostly) lifelong Nova Scotian, I can tell you that's the way it is.
Tyler, you have to see the little vans that do the deliveries for St. Hubert... with a giant chicken on the roof of the car, hilarious! (and the chicken there is soooooo good!). And talking of chicken, do you know that in Québec KFC is called PFK? (Poulet frit Kentucky) The first time you see it you think to be drunk...
Whoa, you just reacted to my workplace! St-Hubert! The meat pies are just a promotion that's going on for the Christmas months. They will leave the menu eventually. And yeah, I worked at many restaurants but St-Hubert is legitimately extremely good quality food, and I know that because I'm a roaster and I know how the kitchen works.
Almost everything is fresh, and only refrigerated like the rotisserie chicken or the steaks. And our ribs are super popular of course. I have to make a lot of racks, and yes we have to douse them in sauce and the kitcheneers grill them. You missed some of our best sellers like our piri-piri chicken and our Indian chicken!
We are also a resto bar so almost all booze you can think of from vodka to tia maria is served.
My favorite workplace ever.
If Boston Pizza doesnt make sense, just know we also have Montana's and New York Fries
What makes NY Fries' name even more weird is that they serve mainly poutine
is montanas and new york fries not american? really?
No Montana's in Montana!, Just over the border in Alberta there they are!
Montana's makes more sense on the Prairies, where it's right south of us. But you're not wrong, we named a surprisingly amount of restaurants after America.
Poutine is the reason I love being Canadian
And isn’t there a California Sandwiches?
When I was young, A&W was a drive in. The waitresses would come to your car on roller skates. They would put your food on a tray on your car window. One would eat their food in their car.
The rare times I get fast food, it's very often A&W, two orders of onion rings, and a ice cold root beer! Their onion rings are unmatched.
Same here, I think A&W has the best quality/price ratio of any fast-food restaurant.
Absolutely! It's a bit more expensive than typical fast food but the quality and amount is fantastic. I never leave there hungry, which can't be said for McDs or even Wendy's. Don't get me started on DQ. Their burgers and especially their fries are awful. Ice cream only lol.
Swiss chalet was a fun place to go with our grandparents when i was growing up. They give you a little bowl of hot lemon water to wash your fingers and i always thought that was cute
Yes, it's the same A&W that market rootbeer in the USA. In Canada they were initially drive-in restaurants with cap hop service, and were famous for serving rootbeer in ice cold, frosted mugs. I went to school near one of the first and last remaining drive ins with car service where they hang the tray on your window. Was a great place for everyone to meet up. Yes, it's just another burger joint like MacDonalds and Burger Thing.
The small st-Hubert pie you are referring to, is called Tourtière/paté a la viande. This is a mincemeat pie, containing ground meat (beef/pork/venison), onions, a tiny bit of nutmeg/cloves/cinnamon. It is salty and savory. It is a must-eat around christmas/new year's eve in those parts.
Tourtière is very much the quintessential French Canadian meat pie, although I think St-Hubert also carries chicken pot pie (which is also pretty common in French Canada). They basically have chicken everything...
Other than great burgers and onion rings, A&W has become the morning coffee shop in a lot of Canadian towns and cities, right beside Timmie’s.
One more thing to add about St.Huberts is their iconic delivery vehicles. Bright yellow paint job with a red chicken's comb on top. I am from the prairies and I was bewildered by those car when I saw them while on a trip to Quebec.
Tyler, true story. Back in the late 1960’s, when I was just a child, my grandfather told me that A&W stood for amburgers and wootbeer. I believed him and have spread that definition to my grandchildren. Lol
My dad (or maybe an uncle) told me the same thing, but in the 80's.
Arrive and Wait...but really Albert and Walter.
We always said We were going to Albert and Walter’s, the little ones would be surprised when you got there.
It's Swiss "Sha-lay". A chalet is an architectural style. We used to have a White Spot (not on the list), good burgers and great milk shakes. I think mostly in BC
We in B.C. still have lots of "White Spot" restaurants......another 100-year-old chain. All the restaurants in the ferry fleet are un by 'White Spot'.
A&W rocks! And so does Harvey's. I have many happy family memories from these two restaurants :)
I believe that A&W still also sell the 'Whistle Dog'; i.e hotdogs. I know they stopped for a while; however, I believe they reintroduced it as it was quite popular.
I miss the old "coney fries" Shows how old I am...LOL
Think it was just one of their monthly promotions. Don't believe it's back as a regular menu item, at least not here.
No hot dogs anymore
A&W root beer started it's life as the root beer served in the A&W restaurants. It got so popular that they started selling it in grocery stores.
Your pronunciation of chalet! 😆 Years ago, most Swiss Chalet restaurants were designed to kind of resemble a ski chalet in the Swiss Alps. Maybe that's why they chose the name? Also, it's funny that you were surprised there was so much chicken on the menu when the description tells you it's a chicken and rib place.
"Chalet" is like "Bouquet", which is not like "Bucket" 😊
Also, St Hubert is superior to Swiss Chalet, IMHO. Harvey's is often coupled with Swiss Chalet. They let you choose your burger toppings like you do at Subway.
Smitty's was missing from the list; it's basically the Canadian version of IHOP or Denny's.
Harvey's and Swiss Chalet are both owned by Recipe Unlimited, as are The Keg, Montana's BBQ & Bar, East Side Mario's, Kelsey's Original Roadhouse, St. Hubert, Pickle Barrel, and New York Fries. The company started out in 1883, as Canadian Railway News Company, selling newspapers, magazines, and confectioneries at railway stations.
@@dougbrowning82 that's a pretty good lineup. I haven't been to any of them for a while, but they were always better quality than the average chain restaurant.
@@rhondawest6838 Several years ago, as Cara Operations, they did airline food catering. If you got a meal on a plane, it probably came from them. But they sold that business to Gate Gourmet. Swiss Chalet also offers a line of grocery products, including breaded chicken breast strips and nuggets, pot pies, BBQ ribs, sauces & marinades, and canned, ready to eat soups, available at major grocery chains.