Although the number of fast food restaurants in the United States has increased rapidly and eventually become saturated, the selection has become somewhat stale in recent years. Not many options are available for a quick, inexpensive meal that can be consumed on-site, in a car, or at any other location of one’s choosing.
American fast food can be broadly divided into several categories, despite variations in quality, cost, and presentation: pizza, Mexican-inspired cuisine, fried chicken, American-style Chinese food, baked goods with coffee à la Starbucks, and hamburger-shilling clones of McDonald’s and Burger King. United States fast food. S. requires a boost of freshness and originality. Where can we find those fresh concepts? Let’s turn our gaze a little north, to Canada.
Like the United States, Canada is a huge and complicated nation. S. in that it is a cultural melting pot. Alongside Canadian-born favorites, some specialty cuisines have been able to flourish due to this diversity. There are a lot of domestic fast food chains in Canada that it ought to think about sharing with the rest of the world. These are a few of the most well-known, powerful, and delicious fast food restaurants that are exclusive to Canada but that we hope will eventually open in the US.
Harvey’s
Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. are the same company serving essentially the same food, despite having different names. However, there are some Carl’s Jr. in Canada. stores, but not Hardee’s, because of a trademark dispute with a well-known and wildly successful Canadian fast-food burger chain. Since its 1959 opening in Toronto’s Richmond Hill neighborhood, Harvey’s has expanded to 291 locations across more than 160 cities and almost every province in Canada.
Harvey’s is so proud of its Canadian roots that it uses a maple leaf in its packaging rather than an apostrophe. The restaurant’s menu is centered around burgers and other proudly Canadian fare. It uses only domestic dairy for its milkshakes and sustainably raised Angus-style beef cattle raised in Canada for its flame-grilled burgers. Another aspect that sets it apart from the competition and probably contributed to its selection as the best-tasting burger in Canada by an Ipsos Reid survey is its wide selection of condiments, toppings, veggies, and hot sauces, which allow for nearly endless customization of the sandwich. Similar to Chipotle or Subway, Harvey’s employees construct your order in front of you while you’re in the store. Other notable features of Harvey’s include its Harv sauce and long pickle strips, which are typical of many Canadian restaurants. Additionally, Harvey’s menu features a whole section dedicated to poutine, that distinctively Canadian dish of fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, because it is so distinctly Canadian. Harvey’s serves both the traditional poutine and variations that use buffalo-style chicken and bacon.
Opa! of Greece
There aren’t many national fast food chains in the United States, with the exception of Skyline in Ohio, whose Cincinnati chili is a variation of Greek bolognese. S. serving Mediterranean or Greek cuisine. If Opa! of Greece, one of Canada’s most well-known fast food chains, ever decided to move south, that could all change. Since its 1998 founding as a single restaurant in Calgary, Opa! of Greece has become Canada’s fastest-growing fast-food chain, with over 100 locations across the country that are housed in strip malls and expanding by 15 to 20 new locations annually. There is currently just one in the United States. S. and it’s located in the Mall of America’s food court in Minnesota. In Las Vegas, a second American location shut down.
Greek-Canadian restaurant chain offers a wide range of traditional and well-known European dishes, such as pita wraps, shrimp skewers, calamari, Greek salad, spanakopita, hummus, baklava, and spiced and roasted vegetable platters. A Greek fast-food restaurant is needed, and Opa! of Greece has the varied and delicious menu to meet that need.
Pizza Pizza
With Domino’s and California Pizza Kitchen ranking among the top pizza chains in the United States, pizza has a strong presence in the American takeout food market. S. The appeal of pizza, however, is that the majority of the chains are distinctive enough to stand out from one another, signifying various tastes and standards of quality. Those seeking a piece or a portion of the U.S. S. can try a variety of styles, including those from New York, Chicago, Detroit, and California, and they should be able to understand what Canadian pizza is all about. Pizza Pizza is arguably the best example of Canadian fast food pizza. It began operations in 1967 and has since expanded to more than 800 simple pizza shops nationwide.
Pizza Pizza’s standard pizza is made exclusively for pickup and delivery, with a medium-to-moderately thick crust and cheese that is made entirely in Canada. You can always order Italian-style pizza sauce, but if you’re at Pizza Pizza, you might as well order one of its special blends, such as butter chicken, a beloved Indian-inspired dish in Canada, buffalo style, creamy garlic, or hot honey-infused marinara. Pizza Pizza offers more than just pizza; what really sets it apart are its assortment of dishes that aren’t typically found on the menus of American pizza chains, such as fried cauliflower, curly fries, jalapeño poppers, popcorn chicken, poutine swimming in cheese, and tater tots. Along with a variety of chicken and vegan sandwiches, Pizza Pizza also serves panzerotti and stromboli.
Old Bagel House
It’s possible that the Montreal bagel is the best bagel style among all of the American bagels. A Montreal bagel is different from the one most Americans are familiar with because it was created in the late 19th century by the Jewish community in the largest city in Quebec. Made with malt and egg, the wood-fired baked good is sweetened with honey. The end product is a bagel that is chewy inside and crispy outside. In comparison to American bagels, it is notably smaller and has a bigger hole. Additionally, they are typically topped with sesame or poppy seeds, two of the 15 bagel varieties that the Old Bagel House sells.
The Old Bagel House continues the Montreal tradition with locations in Mississauga, Dundas, and London, Ontario. The Old Bagel House’s menu mostly consists of the distinctively Canadian baked good, which comes in a variety of styles, including plain, multigrain, pumpernickel, pretzel, coconut, and chocolate chip, aside from tiny bagels that can be purchased by the piece or in larger quantities. There are also bagel sandwiches and toppings available, and if Old Bagel House were to succeed in the US, it would offer a tasty and unique substitute for the few American bagel chains that offer all-too-familiar options.
Swiss Chalet
Swiss Chalet, one of the most ubiquitous restaurants in Canada, is not distinctly Swiss. The founder’s goal in 1954 was to imitate the Swiss method of cooking chicken, which is spit-roasting it over an open flame. That concept developed into a full-fledged restaurant that was created entirely in Canada, meeting and shaping local preferences. The specialty of Swiss Chalet has always been rotisserie chicken served with its Signature Chalet Dipping Sauce, a mildly spicy, somewhat sweet brown gravy that complements the restaurant’s skin-on french fries. However, the chain serves platters and combos that can accommodate one, two, or more people, loaded with slabs of barbecue ribs, chicken wings, and chicken tenders. It is heavily focused on meat and meals.
Swiss Chalet has long catered to both takeout and in-restaurant patrons, offering separate menus for both. It is slightly more expensive than most fast food restaurants and slightly more upscale than a burger joint. It resembles Boston Market in Canada. The signature sandwiches are worth trying and might be a good starting point for people who prefer American fast food, even though Swiss Chalet’s specialty is knife-and-fork meals. The Southern Canuck, for example, combines Canadian rotisserie chicken and Signature Chalet Dipping Sauce with American-style barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon, and slaw. Both this establishment and the regular customers who frequent its nearly 200 locations adore its gravy.
C-Lovers Fish and Chips
In the United States, there is an underserved market for fast food fish because Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips is virtually extinct and there are far fewer Long John Silver’s restaurants than there were a few decades ago. A chain that replicates the classic English pub-style fried fish filet, which is served with coleslaw, tartar sauce, and thick-cut French fries, is needed. That specific need might be met by C-Lovers Fish and Chips, a new chain in Western Canada that operates 12 locations in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.
C-Lovers offers delicious, sustainable, and reasonably priced seafood. Customers can purchase a basket of fries (or “chips”) to go with cod, haddock, halibut, salmon, prawns, or oysters, and the fish is coated in a light, golden brown coating, giving the dish a traditional English flair. Along with chowder, gravy, or some mushy peas, they can also order those seafoods on a bun as a burger. It would bring some English customs and Canadian sensibilities to American fast food if C-Lovers ever set sail in American cities. Additionally, C-Lovers isn’t afraid to offer an all-you-can-eat meal upgrade along with bottomless soda at all of its dine-in locations, unlike other fish restaurants from the past or present. Additionally, nothing is more appealing to Americans than all-you-can-eat promotions.
Ashton
Quebec is where the unique Canadian fast food poutine first appeared in the 1950s. It is the main course at Ashton, formerly known as Chez Ashton. Nearly all of the more than 20 locations run by the restaurant chain are in and around Quebec City.
Although there is some disagreement regarding Ashton’s assertions that their poutine is the best in Canada, it is undeniable that the chain offers a wide variety of poutine. The standard combination of fries, gravy, and cheese curds makes up the restaurant’s authentic poutine; alternative versions include bacon, sliced sausage, ground beef, chicken, and green peas. These dishes can be eaten as a stand-alone meal or as an accompaniment to another Ashton specialty unique to Canada: gravy-covered burgers. Another menu item that is severely lacking in American fast food chains is the hot dog line that Ashton offers. With ingredients like a fiery ketchup, white cheese slices, and a spicy house sauce, Ashton’s composed sausages-on-buns use some of the greatest and most dependable hot dog toppings. Although Ashton’s poutine is enough to make people want it to open in the United States, the chain’s burgers, hot dogs, and roast beef sandwiches only serve to increase its appeal to Americans.