A Cana­dian Tim Hor­tons On Rideau

Wel­come to my new series, the “Cana­dian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hun­dred new Cana­dian things for you, from food to lan­guage, from city to weather.

Let’s not do like Stephen Harper and Gov­er­nor Gen­eral Michaelle Jean vis­it­ing Nunavut: raw seal heart is not for every­one. But I know there are some Cana­dian spe­cial­ties you are dying to try!

Like the coun­try, Cana­dian food is very diverse. Each province has its own spe­cialty and many dishes were brought in Canada by immi­grants (which explains why Win­nipeg­gers are fond of Ukrain­ian pirogi, why peo­ple in Ottawa seem to sur­vive on Pho Soup etc.). Yet, some foods are really worth tast­ing and enjoy­ing in canada.

1. Donuts: these North Amer­i­can pas­tries are pop­u­lar in Canada, and guess where you can buy them? You are right, Tim Hor­tons! I men­tioned the ubiq­ui­tous Cof­fee chain so many times on this blog that I think they should pay me. Prefer­ably not in cof­fee, thanks.
   
2. Maple Syrup: it’s super sweet and it can be used as a sweet­ener in yogurt or cake mixes, or as a spread on bread and toasts. Maple syrup is quite inex­pen­sive in Canada and you can buy some pretty much anywhere.
3. Pou­tine: this will be the only time in your life when you will feel your arter­ies clog as you eat. Yep, pou­tine is not for the wannabe skinny! True Cana­di­ans insist on it being topped with real cheese curds, what­ever that means. I admit it, I’m not a pou­tine person…
4. Mon­treal smoked meat: even if you are not in Mon­treal, I’m pretty sure you can find a diner which spe­cial­ized in smoked meat sand­wiches. It is usu­ally served with coleslaw, potato fries and a pickle.
5. Montreal-style bagels: with a thick spread of cream cheese, it’s almost as good as French baguette and blue cheese. Seriously.
6. Salmon: not sur­pris­ingly for a coun­try bor­dered by the Pacific and the Atlantic, seafood is excel­lent in Canada.
7. Nanaimo Bars: a treat con­sist­ing of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or cus­tard fla­vored but­ter icing, which is cov­ered in choco­late made from melted choco­late squares.
8. But­ter tarts: it con­sists of but­ter, sugar, and eggs in a pas­try shell. It’s sugar heaven!
9. Pâté Chi­nois (shepherd’s pie): this dish, pop­u­lar in Québec, is made from lay­ered ground beef (some­times mixed with sautéed diced onions) on the bot­tom layer, canned corn (either whole-kernel, creamed, or a mix) for the mid­dle layer, and mashed pota­toes on top. One expla­na­tion for the name (“Chi­nese pie”) is that it was intro­duced to French Cana­dian rail­way work­ers by Chi­nese cooks dur­ing the build­ing of the North Amer­i­can rail­roads in the late 19^th century.
10. Ice wine: this is a dessert wine pro­duced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. Isn’t it Canada the per­fect place to pro­duce it? The wine is very sweet with high acid­ity. In the East­ern part of Canada, winer­ies are found in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Related arti­cles:

1. 10 Things To Expe­ri­ence In Canada
2. 5 Things to Do When You Land in Canada (That No One Told You About)
3. 5 Things My Mum Observed in Canada
4. 5 Things You Wouldn’t Believe Are Banned or Ille­gal in Canada
5. 5 Things Canada Taught Me