Canada

A&W

(http://www.aw.ca/) found all over canada; although unrelated to the american a&w, many menu items are similar if not identical. it's targeted mostly to the boomer demographic, and as such has offerings of an arguably higher quality than most american chains, but prices can approach those of cheaper sit-down restaurants, with a combo meal a "trio" in quã©bec usually setting one back no less than $7.

Boston Pizza

(http://www.bostonpizza.com) was founded in edmonton. pizza and pasta. casual family dining. bp's lounges are usually a popular local watering hole.

You will find that many American chains have a well-established presence here.

Canadian chains include:

mmmuffins

(http://www.mmmuffins.com) is a coffee, muffin and doughnut retailer. currently owned and operated by timothy's world coffee inc. as an independent brand.

East Side Marios

(http://www.eastsidemarios.com) are american italian restaurants with a new york theme.

The Keg

(http://www.kegsteakhouse.com) steak houses, usually with tables and booths for 4-6 people. apart from the steaks they also have good salads and starters. the keg mansion in toronto is worth a visit.

Yogen Fruz

(http://www.yogenfruz.com/) is a leading frozen yogurt chain featuring probiotic frozen yogurt, which was founded in canada in 1986. yogen fruz is a staple in malls all over canada.

Swiss Chalet

(http://www.swisschalet.com) sit down restaurants are operated by cara, the same company that runs harvey's, kelsey's, and montana's. they specialize in rotisserie chicken and ribs.

Lick's Homeburgers & Ice Cream

(http://www.lickshomeburge...) is a restaurant chain famous for its fresh, thick, juicy burgers, which are called "homeburgers".

Harvey's

(http://www.harveys.ca) is a fast food chain, common in ontario and found in almost every province, that features made-to-order hamburgers and other sandwiches.

Kelsey's

(http://www.kelseys.ca) provides casual family dining, very similar to applebees or t.g.i. friday's in the united states.

Timothy's World Coffee

(http://www.timothys.com) a.k.a. timothy's is the third-largest canadian-owned chain of cafã©s, behind tim hortons and second cup.

Montana's

(http://www.montanas.ca) is a family oriented, outdoor wilderness themed restaurant. montana's promises hearty portions of home-style cooking and friendly, efficient service in a lodge setting.

Tim Hortons

(http://www.timhortons.com) franchises are spread across the country. started by a hockey player as a chain of doughnut shops, their coffee has become an obsession for many canadians, and are actually starting to make inroads in the united states, particularly border states such as new york and michigan. a common joke holds that if a tim hortons was placed on every corner of every street, there would still be a lineup out the door. even though coffee is what they are famous for, their menu is worth considering, offering a variety of very inexpensive sandwiches, soups, bagels and baked goods. their doughnuts are very popular, as are the 'timbits', small balls of doughnut. tim hortons is so popular that visitors from other countries are often shocked and amused by the tim hortons franchises and coffee cups found nearly everywhere. you will probably find it very hard to avoid a tim hortons while in canada, however they are somewhat less prevalent in the west. the 'double double' - two cream and two sugar - is a common coffee.

New York Fries

(http://www.newyorkfries.c...) is a fast food restaurant that mainly serves french fries and hot dogs. there are locations in several provinces throughout canada.

Cora's

(http://www.chezcora.com) started in quebec, and is expanding across the country. cora's serves only breakfast and lunch. if you want a hearty, north american style breakfast that makes you feel that you started your day right, cora's is the place to go.

English Canadians may be mystified if you ask where you can get Canadian food. Although you will find some regional specialties, especially at the Eastern and Western edges of the country, in English Canada there isn't much food known as "Canadian" except for maple syrup, nanaimo bars chocolate-topped no-bake squares with custard or vanilla butter filling and crumb base, buttertarts tarts made with butter, sugar and eggs, beaver tails fried dough topped with icing sugar, fiddleheads curled heads of young ferns, and a few other examples. They are an important, if somewhat humble, part of the Canadian culinary landscape. In other respects, English Canadian cuisine is very similar to that of the northern United States. Canadians may be unaware that they even have national dishes, especially in the more urbanized areas, such as Toronto, and if you ask for a beaver tail or fiddlehead, you may receive nothing but a strange look or a polite giggle. That being said, there is a rising trend among Canadian chefs and restaurateurs to offer locally-produced ingredients, and most major cities have bistros which specialize in local cuisine. This can even include game meat dishes such as caribou, venison, moose, grouse or wild turkey prepared in a variety of European styles.

French-Canadian cuisine is distinctive and includes such specialties as tourtière, a meat pie dish that dates back to the founding of Quebec in the 1600s, cipaille meat and vegetable pie, cretons mince of pork drippings, ragoût de pattes pigs' feet stew, plorine pork pie, oreilles de Christ fried larding bacon, poutine, a dish consisting of French fries, cheese curds and gravy its popularity has spread across the country and can be found from coast to coast, croquignoles home-made doughnuts cooked in shortening, tarte à la farlouche pie made of raisins, flour and molasses, tarte au sucre sugar pie, and numerous cheeses and maple syrup products. Staples include baked beans, peas and ham. French-Canadian cuisine also incorporates elements of the cuisines of English-speaking North America, and, unsurprisingly, France.

One peculiar tradition that you may notice in nearly every small town is the Chinese-Canadian restaurant. A lot of the reason for this is the role Chinese immigration played historically in the early settlement of Canada, particularly in the building of the railroad. These establishments sell the usual fast food Chinese cuisine. In Toronto and Vancouver, two large centres of Chinese immigration, one can find authentic Chinese cuisine that rivals that of Hong Kong and Shanghai. In Toronto, visit the Chinatown area of Spadina-Dundas; if north of the city, consider a visit to the Markham area, which has recently seen an influx of newer Chinese immigrants.

Montreal is well known for its Central and Eastern European Jewish specialties, including local varieties of bagels and smoked meat. In the prairie provinces you can find great Ukrainian food, such as perogies, due to large amounts of Ukrainian immigrants.

If you are more adventurous, in the larger cities especially, you will find a great variety of ethnic tastes from all over Europe, Asia and elsewhere.You can find just about any taste and style of food in Canada, from a 20 oz T-Bone with all the trimmings to Japanese sushi indeed, much of the salmon used in sushi in Japan comes from Canada. Consult local travel brochures upon arrival. They can be found at almost any hotel and are free at any provincial or municipal tourist information centre.

Americans will find many of their types of cuisine and brands with subtle differences, and many products unique to Canada, such as brands of chocolate bars and the availability of authentic maple syrup.