FOOD | CANADA | CAESAR
A Classic Canadian Pub Food Experience
For me, it starts with a Caesar.
In the above photo, you will see three things that are very much a part of Canadian food and beverage culture. In the foreground, there is a drink called a Caesar. Behind it is a plate of Nachos, and beyond that is a plate of chicken wings.
This is truly Canadian pub food, no doubt.
Caesar Drink
Caesar’s are alcoholic beverages that some may compare to the American Bloody Mary. But, I can assure you, this is MUCH better!
Instead of straight tomato juice, we use a juice called Clamato Juice. It is a mix of clam nectar and tomato juice, and while it might sound a bit gross, I can assure you that it is delicious.
Vodka is the alcohol in the traditional Caesar, but tequila or gin can also substitute for it. It is then flavored with a Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce splash to add spice and pizzaz.
Usually, the rim is flavored with celery salt, and the garnishes are added at the end. This is where Caesars can be taken to the next level.
In the above photo, you can see that there is a pepperoni stick, 2 pickled beans plus a lemon and lime wedge. This is a pretty average Caesar. Below shows you some more possibilities, but honestly, they can get even better than this.
Some restaurants sell them as an actual meal!
Nachos
Sadly, I didn’t take a close-up photo of the nachos (click here to see images on google). In Canada, we pile up crunchy corn chips and then top them with cheese, green onions, tomatoes, olives and more. Some nachos have ground beef or chopped chicken piled on top. Others have spicy jalapeno peppers or other ingredients.
Each establishment creates its own version of this tasty dish.
The whole plate is then baked in the oven until the cheese melts. This is eaten with the hands and you just grab a crunchy chip and pull it away from the others as the cheese drips off of it.
It’s truly one of my favorite bar foods.
Wings
Wings come baked or fried and in many different flavors. They are, in fact, chicken wings and you usually get 6 or more on your plate. For this order, we got salt and pepper flavor, but the variety of flavors is never-ending. Again, each pub has its own flavors and can include:
- hot wings (spicy)
- teriyaki
- maple bacon
- bar-b-que
- honey garlic
There are also very specific flavors like dill pickle and other specialties.
Canadian Pub Culture
While overseas, people always ask us about what we eat in Canada. I always find it hard to nail down our specific culture of food because we have such a melting pot of people and we have restaurants from every ethnicity.
In any given city you can find flavors from all over the world, and even small towns have a Chinese restaurant, or two. But the bars and pubs truly do serve a typical ‘pub fare’ type food and Ceasars, Nachos and Wings are always on the menu.
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