A while ago, I was invited by The Writer to talk about Canadian food I like…or hate. I loved the idea, but I needed time in order to take pictures.

So here my food list! This was actually hard. Canada is such a multicultural country, we all tend to eat ethnic food. I could list Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese dishes I loved or hate, but Canadian? I needed to think. Overall, the food here is quite straightforward. No insects, no blood sausage, nothing too weird. Yet, I have my pet peeves!

Things I love:

My top Canadian favorite is still maple syrup. Yes, it is extra sweet but it’s also delicious on pancakes or in plain yogurt. I also like maple tarts, pecan pies or butter tarts, all Canadian specialties.

I also like maple toffy, which is boiled maple sap poured onto snow and then lifted with a stick. It’s a winter treat and a great incentive to go out when it’s –30C. BBQ would be the summer favorite. Even though I don’t eat much meat, a real BBQ is something to experience and it’s quite tasty.

We are lucky to have a lot of fresh and cheap veggies, mostly thanks to Canada’s fertile soil… and importing from our Southern neighbors! I always have tomatoes, zucchinis, bell peppers, mushrooms, celery, eggplants etc. in my fridge and I love vegetables.

American-style diners are interesting places. Most of time, these restaurants are cheap and the food is plenty and tasty. Sweet potatoes fries, homemade burgers, salads etc. are always on the menu.

Things I don’t like:

Please, don’t take my citizenship away!

I can’t stand poutine, the Quebec specialty. It is basically a dish consisting of French fries topped with fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy and sometimes additional ingredients such as smoked meat (or whatever the kitchen can find). Just looking at it, I can feel my arteries clogging… I can’t believe some people eat that at lunch, at work! And this is hugely popular, trust me.

Tim Hortons is probably the most popular food franchise in Canada and I still don’t totally understand why. The coffee is basically very sweet burning hot brownish water and the pastries are way to sweet — yet, Canadians line up religiously every morning at the counter to get their fix. I hate Timbits, the bite sized donuts ball (basically, the left-over dough from donuts, since donuts have a hole in the middle), sold usually in a box of twenty. I just don’t get it.

Another one… pumpkins. Around Halloween, a lot of people buy pumpkin to carve and display. But suddenly, in the food industry, everything has to be “pumpkin-flavored”. I don’t mind a pumpkin soup. But pumpkin cakes, drinks etc.? Er… no.

I can’t stand fast food either, and there are a lot of them around here! Don’t get me wrong: I like burgers. But homemade burgers. Fast food are greasy, dirty and the portion size is crazy. The one I hate the most if K.F.C (it doesn’t even look like chicken!), followed by Mcdonalds, Burger King, Wendys etc. Actually, the only fast food I actually go to from time to time is Subway. At least, I can recognize what I eat.

And finally… hot dogs! Once the weather is warm enough, this is really popular. Hot Dog stands are found everywhere, especially downtown, and the line up at noon is quite impressive. I still don’t understand why people like sausage on a bun…

I’d like to tag:

• Bluefish, author of Between Canada And Denmark, who is going to move to Denmark
• Diane, author of DianeCA’s Metamorphoses, who is American and living in Norway
• Barbara, from Home in France, who is from Hawaii but has been living in France for a long time
• Au Soleil Levant, whose author is American and spent two years in France
• Priyank, author if Final Transit, who is from India and lives in Toronto (I might discover other Canadian foods I love… or hate!)

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