Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Canadian (from Toronto) living in California here. We don't dip the fries in vinegar...it's poured on the fries. In junior high, we had chip shops ($1 for a box of fresh fries!) across the street, a popular combo was vinegar, ketchup, black pepper and gravy on your fries! I personally don't care for vinegar, but all the rest, in a gooey mess..it's so good (and artery hardening).
Canadian cuisine is heavily influence by so many cultures, it's hard to pinpoint. And it varies so much from east to west coast, north to the south. The majority of the population leave near the southern border, so the cuisine is very similar to the US. We do have have some unique products and lot's of british products (product of being a commonwealth country?) that one does not see stateside.
I don't think there is an emphasis on game for everyday "Canadian" cuisine. It's hard to come by in the city (except for high end restaurants, stores).

@gnomatic - agree with you on the fries. Soo good, must have vinegar on them with salt and pepper. Not exactly healthy, okay once every 10yrs or so.

Coming from Vancouver (born & raised), our cuisine is very blended with the many cultures that are here. It's very asian with plenty of fresh seafood, we're know as the more laidback city in Canada so all the food here is simple with fresh local ingredients.

I don't think there is a Canadian cuisine either, I think you will find things here that most Americans do not use in everyday cooking. But if you ask me what my comfort food is, something that reminds me of my childhood and what I grew up on, it would be a combo of fresh local salmon jerky, authentic chinese cuisine from china town and spicy Chana masala with naan bread.

More and more "traditional" cuisines are getting blended together to form sort of a new tradition of cuisine. I read an article about a month or so ago, saying the British were no longer enjoying their traditional recipes and were now enjoying indian curries and so on as sort of their staple meals. I guess my point is that a "cuisine" is all about embracing the cultures that surrond us and make our city/country what it is.

That to me is Canadian Cuisine. Not that I don't enjoy a good poutine once in awhile lol

Canadian cuisine = poutine, right?

I consider myself half Canadian, since my mother and most of my relatives live or lived there - Mom was from Ottawa. Since I learned cooking from my mother and grandmother, I'm not sure what Canadian influences I have. Two foods that say Canada to me are malt vinegar with fries and pea meal bacon. Many foods I enjoyed there were actually British or Irish. I think they have regional favorites just like the USA and many are based on what is fished, hunted, or grows well. The colder climate would make the biggest difference as compared to warmer regions in our country. They have a huge immigrant population as we do and those cultural influences spread over the country. I truly think the differences are miniscule. My relatives would tell you that Canadian beer is far better than any in the US. ;)

aside from what's specifically French Canadian in Quebec, not much really. It's basically the same as American...a foundation of continental, mixed with international (mainly Asian), paired with local ingredients.

FEWERteeth or NOteeth?.........'nuff said. LOL

First, let me say I LOVE Canada & Canadians, but their food? Not so much. Even in Toronto, surely a metropolis, you can give it a miss. Best is Asian fare out in B.C.

I live out in a suburb of Toronto (Brampton) so eating out is mostly chain-manufactured crap or Indian, since we have a strong Indian community (I'm originally from India too).
Theres a couple good ethnic places in Scarboro and Markham, but outside downtown Toronto, everything is basically either chain or immigrant-influenced (the latter being great, the former...not so much).

Also Canadian. I'll agree that defining a Canadian cuisine is pretty difficult because the country is so large, the immigrant population so diverse, etc. I have to say I am definitely not a vinegar on fries sort of Canadian, especially not malt vinegar. I just never liked it. Do love gravy on fries though. Poutine. Yum.

If you want to know what restauranteurs are considering "Canadian cuisine" look up a restaurant like Canoe (which promotes itself as Canadian fine food) and read the menu. Like you've all said it is a lot of emphasis on regional/local. I think, just as you would in the US, you find more regional cuisines based on what grows/is easily found/is readily available than a single unified national cuisine. Everyone knows you go to the Maritimes for lobster, Quebec has great artisinal cheesemakers and a strong seasonal/game tradition being celebrated in restaurants like Au Pied de Cochon, etc.

Nanaimo bars are great, though to me they are funeral food. Haha.

I think Canuckistanians should be proud of their food. Montreal Smoked Meat, poutine, tortiere, Nanaimo Bars, hell even Kraft Dinners LOL. Celebrate it. I loved my lobster rolls and Tim Horton's - their pastries are way superior to convenience stores in the US....the bearclaws are sublime. Celebrate Canadian cuisine - it exists, eh?

And just curious - to the commenters who think that canadian food is bad/food in canada is bad, what food are you talking about, exactly? 'Canadian' food, whatever that is? Or are you actually saying that there is no decent cooking in the country? (Which is patently ridiculous, considering that the kind of food and the range of quality is virtually identical to what you'd get in the states.)

I'm what they call a "new Canadian" - in Toronto approaching three years, transplant from Boston. I do complain about the quality of seafood available here except in fine dining (which makes sense, we're 500 miles from the ocean rather than the none that I'm used to), but I think there is a lot of great food to be had here. I sometimes work in Chinatown and mmm, dim sum and Vietnamese is right! But there's lots more, from all cuisines - there's a little place in Leaside with an Alsatian chef...drooooool...I haven't experienced that much specifically Canadian food - save for poutine, tourtiere, smoked meat and bagels - but cuisine IN Canada is just fine thank you!

I live in the Detroit area and frequent Windsor often. One thing I have noticed is that the hamburgers in Canada taste wierd to me. The meat reminds me of the soy burgers they used to serve in the high school cafeteria. Has anyone else ever noticed this?

Re the burgers - are you talking like at chains (ie McD, Wendy's etc) or at local places? If the latter, I wonder if they are cooked more than what you are used to - Canada is the land of slightly bigger government (grin), and ever since the Walkerton water disaster (negligent city workers allowed massive ecoli infection into the water and killed off six or eight folks - elderly and children), there has been laws about cooking ground beef to well done, no questions asked. A lot of restaurants have signs posted to that effect.

Anything maple is definitively Canadian. I know they make maple syrup in many places in the US, but certainly, a yearly visit to the "cabane a sucre" is in order for Canadian kids.

Laura Secord chocolate is wonderful - its not hand crafted but it is good quality (I have a piece on my desk as I type!). Ganong is great too - down east chocolate maker. BaHa you have obviously been in the Maritimes a fair bit! I worked for an outfit down there and travelled regularly from Ontario to NB - and I was married to a guy from NB for 10 years. I know that area well!

Phauxtoe--I would never equate trendy with good in any country.

@Maureen.......I'm curious. I never heard of it. It sounds Alaskan.

BaHa

Trendy - of, in, or pertaining to the latest trend or style, being up-to-date or chic.

The word "trendy" is not a referent to Quality!

Phauxtoe--I do know the meaning of the word trendy, which you used with approbation, something I would never do in regard to food.

Are Beavertails unique to Ottawa (and associated with skating on the Rideau canal)? I never heard of it until I lived in Ottawa for 16 months, and I think I only saw it available at the huts next to the canal. I think it ought be more popular..what's not to love about sugar covered deep fried dough?

Canada's immigrants are alot more integrated then the US. Also the immigration policy (excluding refugees) is skill base, not like the random bureaucratic crap shoot that is the US policy. It has nothing to do with compassion.

The immigrant population tend to be more educated and/or skilled . Language skills usually less of a barrier (you get more points for knowing english or french), thus faster integration to the society. I think that's how "ethnic" food integrated into mainstream "Canadian" cuisine faster. My mom learned to make an amazing Spanakopita (learned from her Greek boss..and they say she makes it better than they do), and my dad loves Panettone (got one from his boss every Christmas). We would get Jamaican beef patties for lunch, and go out for Pho after a day out in the cold Canadian winter. I think our stomach integrated fastest.

But all that was when I was kid...I see alot less integration now (I started noticing when I was in highschool). Part of the reason I don't like to visit much anymore. Various ethnic groups tend to stay in a certain area, just like the US. People don't mingle with other groups as much anymore. It's sad.

@gnomatic, Beavertails in Canada are similar to if not the same as Elephant Ears in the U.S., a staple in food trailers at carnivals and fairs. I have pics posted from an Elephant Ear trailer at a county fair in Michigan this past summer ... they're here if you want to see the similarities.

Transplanted Vancouverite now living in Washington DC here. Nothing says "Canada" more than butter tarts, financier cakes, and smoked BC salmon.

one thing i have noticed as a vancouverite who travels to long beach/seattle a lot is that canadian restaurants tend not to serve massive portions of food.

@Maureen........did you get my email? I'd love to see that recipe also. I'm surprised I never heard of it.

I'm another Canadian Serious Eater, but I don't have much to add in the way of defining Canadian cuisine. We seem to have a hard time defining Canadian culture, so cuisine tends to follow I guess. I know when people have visited us from elsewhere (US, Asia, Europe) they have enjoyed the butter tarts, nanaimo bars, tortiere, and various types of candy that aren't available in the US (i.e., Smarties-kind of like plain M & Ms, but better!)-those seem to be the things they hadn't heard of before coming. My Belgian cousins are also fascinated by Tim Horton's and all things maple. That said, I've eaten many yummy things here, from the traditional British roast beef dinner, to a broad variety of ethnic cuisines. There are many culinary adventures to be had in the various regions as others have pointed out.

I live in Nwe York state just 5 minutes from Niagara Falls, when it was easy to cross the bridge into Canada without waiting a hour like it is now I would go there for groceries, my mom grew up in Toronto and we love to cook. There are some things we buy there that I can't get in the US. It was always good to go when the US dollar was worth more. Now all the Canadians are flocking across to the US because most places take the Canadian$ at par. Whenever I go anywhere shopping there are more Canadian cars in the parking lot than New York ones. It has even gotten to where the Canadian shoppers don't want to declare thier purchases at the boarder so they wear old clothing to the US and toss them anywehre they feel like (in our malls & parking lots) and wear the new clothing & shoes home. On a Sunday afternoon when the mall closes we are left with a huge mess! ANd they are SO RUDE!!!!!

Geez, there's a lot of comments here! Okay, my step-mother and step-sister are Canadian, and one of the things I remember most is breakfast, which was a bird-in-a-nest and some real pea meal bacon. Bird in a nest is basically an egg fried into the center (or, in Canada, "the centre") of a piece of toast. That bit you removed is also toasted in the pan, for dipping. This can be done on any side of the border where a slice of bread and an egg can be found, but what about the bacon? Believe it or not, it can be had (for a price!) here in the good ol' U-S-of-A, at a place called ...

Real Canadian Bacon

You can get it sliced or in roasts. If you're well heeled enough, you can get it by the gross, if you want. I find it's not too far off of the "real" stuff, but with a lot of extra water added that cooks out. What I've not done (and should) is a whole roast, THEN sliced.

Anyway, chips-n-gravy, chips-n-curds, amazing steaks served with butter on top, and great game. That, along with some good produce in the summer puts off the "I can't be bothered with you" attitude you sometimes get in Toronto.

Torontonians are not the most well-liked people in Canada. I grew up in central Ontario and moved to the GTA a few years ago. They are very snobby and rude, I guess they are the American equivalent of New Yorkers. Must be because its city life.

As for cuisine, most people have touched on it. Wild game, seafood, poutine, maple syrup, beavertails (but I grew up with them being called Moosetongues), peameal bacon etc.

The prepared foods in Canada are unique, such as dill pickle chips, coffee crisp, crispy crunch, kraft dinner, and Tim Hortons. Other than that, I think our cuisine is very similar to American.