# Is There Such A Thing As "Canadian Food"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274 "2010-09-27T21:15:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/21 "2010-09-28T00:34:51Z")
Your bar would have to offer rye and ginger (rye whiskey and ginger ale). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/22 "2010-09-28T00:41:22Z")
The waitresses would need to learn the following phrase: “And what kind of potatoes will you be having with you breakfast?” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/23 "2010-09-28T00:45:33Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > > [@carnut](#): > > > > Timmies (you’ll have to smuggle them) > > Per their website, there are Tim Hortons in Michigan, Maine, Connecticut, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and I can vouch that they’re all over New York City now. I always forget Tim Hortons is not national in the US. We’ve had them in Michigan for some time. But yeah, I guess it is Canadian food. Poutine is the top answer, I think. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/24 "2010-09-28T01:25:24Z")
There’s a lot of Canadian food, and restaurants. It’s just called Cajun food. Cajun is an elision of Acadian. The original French territories now part of Canada were called Acadia. In addition, there are meat pies, a French Canadian dish common here in RI. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/25 "2010-09-28T01:41:28Z")
[Metropolis](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_v21/ai_5219230/) was Toronto’s first restaurant to devote itself to discovering Canadian cuisine. There are now several restaurants devoted to this very thing - finding our national cuisine, sometimes based on local ingredients, sometimes based on the specialties of a region. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/26 "2010-09-28T02:16:11Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > > [@carnut](#): > > > > Timmies (you’ll have to smuggle them) > > Per their website, there are Tim Hortons in Michigan, Maine, Connecticut, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and I can vouch that they’re all over New York City now. But not Texas. And they are Canadian in origin. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/27 "2010-09-28T02:21:05Z")
I don’t recall the name of it, but I had it as part of breakfast in Montreal once. It was toast, served with some yellow mustard and some kind of rendered, salted, minced-up pork fat…_thing._ I’m sure my description makes it sound gross but it was really good…like concentrated bacon. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/28 "2010-09-28T02:34:49Z")
[Fourquet et Fourchette](http://www.fourquet-fourchette.com/site/en/philosophie.html) is a French-Canadian-themed restaurant. It’s sponsored by a brewery, and serves native-inspired dishes as well as ones of French origin. > [@bouv](#): > > I don’t recall the name of it, but I had it as part of breakfast in Montreal once. It was toast, served with some yellow mustard and some kind of rendered, salted, minced-up pork fat…_thing._ I’m sure my description makes it sound gross but it was really good…like concentrated bacon. Could that have been [cretons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretons)? ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/29 "2010-09-28T02:41:43Z")
Beaver Tail is pretty yummy. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/30 "2010-09-28T05:04:44Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There’s a lot of Canadian food, and restaurants. It’s just called Cajun food. Cajun is an elision of Acadian. The original French territories now part of Canada were called Acadia. Cajuns are the descendents of Acadians who settled in Louisiana after being expelled from their homeland. Their cuisine has been influenced by other culinary traditions from over there. So Cajun cuisine is fully American, not in any meaningful way Canadian. As for Canadian dishes, we cannot forget [pâté chinois](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A2t%C3%A9_chinois) and pig’s leg stew. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/31 "2010-09-28T05:20:44Z")
What, no moose? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/32 "2010-09-28T05:51:30Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Things flavo_u_red with maple. Or served with maple syrup. Like french fries. Though, it’s possible that the Canadian kids I went to college with were just weird… Tourtière is popular, right? As wiki notes some of us in the northern parts of the US do meat pies too, so I don’t blame them if they find 'em tasty too. (In my house we also make another kind of meat pie with beef from roasts that’s been cubed, so it’s probably officially called something else.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/33 "2010-09-28T05:53:33Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Cajuns are the descendents of Acadians who settled in Louisiana after being expelled from their homeland. Their cuisine has been influenced by other culinary traditions from over there. So Cajun cuisine is fully American, not in any meaningful way Canadian. Well what does make something Canadian in a meaningful way? > [@](#): > > As for Canadian dishes, we cannot forget [pâté chinois](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A2t%C3%A9_chinois) and pig’s leg stew. [/QUOTE] Pate Chinois is just Shepard’s Pie, an English dish. Or Chinese by its literal name. The traditional Meat Pies around here are also known as Tourtieres, pretty much the same thing without the corn. They seem to have a genuine Canadian origin. Which reminds to get to the grocery store tomorrow. Now I want to make some meat pies. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/34 "2010-09-28T06:37:27Z")
As an American, the Canadian Pub experience is twice removed to the English (GB) publican. I’d compare the oldest Canadian publicans to American, more purely English and French, less German and English, as compared to the American Publican- more a Bostonian thing. This is comparative… Canadian food probably has more in common with a Mainer Restaurantor or a UP’er menu than the typical all-american. ---
**Author:** ![Hap\_Shaughnessy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hap\_Shaughnessy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hap_Shaughnessy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/35 "2010-09-28T08:35:45Z")
Two egg side by each, a porc &a bean, pair of toast and a pepsi. Also I can smoke here the patio? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/36 "2010-09-28T08:44:18Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Canadian food probably has more in common with a Mainer Restaurantor or a UP’er menu than the typical all-american. Sure, but only because of the high populations of French-Canadians in the border states. We got the ideas from them, I’m pretty sure. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/37 "2010-09-28T11:29:56Z")
Most things named as “Canadian Food,” I identify more with specific regions of Canada than the country as a whole. Maybe everyone feels that way about their own “national” foods, though… ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/38 "2010-09-28T14:08:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > > > Cajuns are the descendents of Acadians who settled in Louisiana after being expelled from their homeland. Their cuisine has been influenced by other culinary traditions from over there. So Cajun cuisine is fully American, not in any meaningful way Canadian. > > Well what does make something Canadian in a meaningful way? Actually coming from Canada, for one, or at least being considered Canadian by Canadians. Cajun cuisine may have been influenced in part by the cuisine of places that are now part of Canada, but it comes from elsewhere and Canadians aren’t likely to see it as a Canadian tradition. > [@](#): > > Pate Chinois is just Shepard’s Pie, an English dish. Or Chinese by its literal name. Certainly, but it’s quite traditional around here, most people have eaten it more than once, so I think it counts. > [@](#): > > The traditional Meat Pies around here are also known as Tourtieres, pretty much the same thing without the corn. They seem to have a genuine Canadian origin. Are you saying a tourtière is like a pâté chinois but without the corn? Not by my definition anyway. A tourtière is a pie (with dough on top and bottom) containing ground beef, and often veal and pork as well. A pâté chinois is a layer of ground beef, a layer of corn, and a layer of mashed potatoes. > [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > Most things named as “Canadian Food,” I identify more with specific regions of Canada than the country as a whole. Maybe everyone feels that way about their own “national” foods, though… This is true, and I think your guess is correct. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/39 "2010-09-28T14:17:03Z")
> [@](#): > > **carnut** > mac & cheese with cut-up hot dogs I had no idea this was Canadian, but then again, I have never seen anyone but my family do it. My husband just about had a heart attack the first time we made Kraft Dinner and dogs I told him I didn’t need a bun. Serious cheap comfort food. Don’t forget Swiss Chalet dippy sauce, Aero bars and real Smarties… The grocery stores around here are starting to sell certain items I could once only find in Canada. Dare Viva Puffs are now available here, but sadly I can’t find any all-dressed potato chips. I also don’t care what anyone says, Canadian tea is far superior to American tea. Just plain lipton red rose tea bags are better. I don’t know what they do differently, but you can brew a stronger cup of tea without it getting bitter. ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274/40 "2010-09-28T14:33:35Z")
Ketchup chips. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-canadian-food/555274.md?page=3)