Meriem

...as opposed to Quebec

roadtripman

Some widespread, uniquely Canadian dishes to add to the mix...

-Nanaimo Bars
-Saskatoon Berry Pie
-Montreal Smoked Meat on Rye

Quebecois food (eg. tarte au sucre, poutine, crepes, tourtiere, is arguably Canadian - I see it as more Quebecois than anything "Canadian" I'd eat out here in Alberta. When in Rome...

For me, Canadian cuisine is similar to American - it is our regional specialties that shine. Alberta beef, Taber corn, anything from the Okanagan Valley, Niagara Ice Wine, Malpeque Oysters, BC Wild Salmon, PEI mussels & potatoes, Armstrong Cheese....etc etc.

We have just as many regional specialties as the US does, too. Is there any region in the states well-known for its Fish and Chips? No. But we have Newfoundland. Is there any place in the USA where almost every restaurant serves perogies, bacon, and sour cream? No. But we have the Regina-Winnipeg corridor.

roadtripman

I don't think I've ever had real Canadian maple syrup in all of my 26 years, and I live here!

I find that American impressions of Canada are largely based on Quebec....kind of similar to thinking of Egypt as "Africa" or Guam as "the United States".

Uniter

Canadian cuisine also consists of:

Polar Bear tartare
Penguin stew
Puffin pie
Narwaal skewers

IIRC, these meats are traditionally snow-cooked over an open fire in igloos.

"I'll tell ya another thing: their beer sucks!"

ElkeNorEast

Le Cellier used to be one of the best restaurants in Epcot, now it's just plain bad IME. Ate there in February, had to send back my Prime Rib because it was raw, not rare, RAW. The cheddar cheese soup was so rich I wanted to be sick.

Also, I asked the server where the beef was from, knowing that western Canada is great cattle country. The beef was from Argentina. And it wasn't high quality churrascaria meat either :-(

roadtripman

Penguins are native to the southern hemisphere, while their cousin the Puffin is their north american counterpart. Be informed before you slam.

And, for the record, you're not far off - I visited Baffin Island in Canada's High Arctic in 2007, and I dined with the Inuit natives on frozen caribou, maqtaq (frozen whale blubber & skin), and frozen Arctic char. So, these dishes could be as close to being endemic to Canada than anything else would be. Most all native food is eaten frozen in the Arctic regions - never cooked.

Uniter

Eh? Magazine voted it as a hotspot for Torontonians to summer in 2009.

roadtripman

[redacted] Shouldn't you be at Big Texas Jim's All-You-Can-Eat Steak N' Fixin's for the early lunch special? Maybe go clean your shotguns? Go laugh at Jerry Springer? Mock universal health care while you suck up a $500 Doctor's visit bill? Use the word "Reckon?" Two can play at this game, if we must....

The above is said all in good friendly fun, of course

Uniter

I reckon' so.

rawilliam

Buttertarts!

Try to find that somewhere else.

The foods are there, but the distinctions are often subtle, so they are not often easy to spot or notice.

Dark vinigar and salt on french fries are something you will not find generally in the States, but will elsewhere.

Fried baloney as a main course for dinner is a French Canadian dish.

roadtripman

I thought we're talking about food here?

Uniter

For a long time, my Canadian friends would rave about Smarties... those flat M&M candies. In the US, Smarties are different - little fruity mints that come stacked up.

I dunno if Smarties are Canadian, though.

roadtripman

Another fond memory of mine re: Americans is the concept of "Canadian Bacon".

I remember in my teens working at McDonald's, I'd often get Americans asking for "Canadian Bacon". Not one person knew that this was any different than actual bacon, so instead of ham, bacon would be served (much to their disdain). It was even better when they ordered "bacon" thinking that they'd get "Canadian Bacon", and they still got actual bacon

"This is American bacon, I wanted Canadian bacon!" "I'm not sure where it is produced, sir" "I want HAM" "So why didn't you just say that? What's all this bacon business about?"

We caught on after a while.....

j_the_p

I believe Smarties are originally British. They were created by Rowntree but are now manufactured by Nestle.

roadtripman

"Smarties" in the USA are called Rockets in Canada:



Smarties originated in the UK - they're available throughout Europe, South Africa, South-East Asia, Canada and Australasia, according to Wikipedia. I still prefer M&M's.

Some Canada-only chocolate bars I cannot live without are Peppermint Aero, Coffee Crisp, and Crispy Crunch.