The Best Fast Food French Fries Week
Coming in at a respectable third (out of five, if that’s considered respectable) is A & W.
The Mayor doesn’t know a whole heck of alot about A & W, but he does remember being on the pipeline in Slave Lake Alberta and driving 50 miles down an ice road to get to one. He also remembers paying $300 for one of their burgers, the “Crazy Uncle Jim” burger, if I’m not mistaken. It could have been the Papa Burger, my memory bank is kind of shot right now.
A & W restaurants are just becoming popular in Ontario, and as mentioned earlier, The Mayor hasn’t had a chance to frequent them too many times. What he does remember is that the fries were a solid c+. He also remembers that of all the fast food joints, A & W is by far the most expensive.
The fries are fatter than McDonald’s fries, but a tad skinnier than Booger King (spit) fries. They have a decent toasty coating and they don’t have a 1/2 coating of salt on them. I betcha these would be good fries to eat if you were on cocaine.
That’s all The Mayor can say about A & W fries. I don’t drink root beer, so I’ll never go there for that, and I’m not always flush with $50 bills, so lunches are out. But the fries? Ya, not bad.
April 6th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
A & W (“Albert and Walter”) builds the gold standard in onion rings, unfortunately they’re about $3. a side, and they come in groups of 3, sometimes 4. So they’re about a dollar each, if you’ve been following my opening gambit.
The A & W on Victoria Avenue East in Regina, does not have ok washrooms, they have installed a purple tinged light in there, making it exceedingly difficult if not impossible to find a vein. More so, if you’re already shaking. The 7-11 and the Petro-Can gas station down the street are no better at all. I already complained to the staff there but they don’t care.
The food is as noted, expensive. Often here on the prairies they have coupons printed in the local newspaper for 2 Teen Burgers for $5. and that changes it a bit because their Teen Burger is very good.
In about 1976 or so, there was a 24 hours police strike in Regina, and the A & W took it hard, it was closed for months after that as the insurance company decided who should pay. Eventually it opened again, with major changes. They used to serve breakfast on plates. Actual plates, with mugs made of white glassy material.
While I was growing up / growing taller in Regina, I knew a fair number of folks that worked there, and actually went out with (like “a date”) with a few of them, once to a wedding although not my wedding. She was a “good girl”, she appeared outstanding in her dress, her dad was an RCMP (like the FBI) agent and he didn’t think much of me bringing his daughter home at 2 am. I think he was an inspector or such. There were always too many RCMP”s around Regina as it’s the training depot for all of them in Canada. All I know is we didn’t go out again and she was a very good girl. I kissed her, or rather, we kissed a lot, and when he came out the front door of their 4 level split style house with attached double garage, my hands were already in the line of his sight. Her name was Marnie, and she married a visual arts professor at some shit hole named York University.
They have 3 kids. I read her dad’s obit, and didn’t have to stalk her at all to find this out.
The fries at A & W are good. And their coffee used to be very good with unlimited refills, although I haven’t returned in years, but not because they don’t have unlimited refills of their very good coffee, though again I say, for other reasons.
Reasons unsaid. No reasons stated.
Report ends.
April 6th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
The first A&W drive-in restaurant in Canada opened on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg in 1956.
There was an A&W in Galt Ontario in 1963.
They used to refill 1/2 gal jugs of rootbeer ……. nostalgia.
By 1967 there was a largish dubya on Highway24 (Hespler Rd)with a parking lot out the back and on all three other sides… I remember the back lot … Marg…Linda…Brenda…. Martha…. JoAnne….. a car called The Laughmobile and I can’t tell you a thing about their fries.
April 7th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Good grief, I thought A & W was out of business. We had A & W. drive-ins when I was a kid.
They all closed up. But, when I was in college over 30 years ago in Ruston, LA, you could drive to Monroe and they still had one.
Odd place. They sold root beer in a gallon jug. I think it was about $1.50 a gallon, and you had to drink it all at once or it went flat. Don’t remember their fries, but I do remember the onion rings. And, having to pee a lot all night.
April 7th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
There is a A&W near Dixie and Dundas in Mississauga that we used to hang at thruout highschool.
It was the type where you parked and a young lady would take your order and bring it out to your car.
The first time i went there was in the late 60’s and it is still open today,sans the fancy service.