Top 10 Chip Stands Across Canada
A fried-potato aficionado’s guide to some of the best Canadian stops, based on recommendations by the authors of The Chip Stand: 130 of Canada’s Iconic Food Landmarks.
By Anne Marshall | Illustrations by Chantal Bennett and Joel Kimmel
No car journey feels complete without some tasty road-trip food. And after putting on all those kilometres, car snacks just won’t cut it. Truck stops and roadside barbecues are popular all over the world, but the chip truck — or casse-croûte in Québec — is a Canadian cultural touchstone that occupies a special place in the hearts of road-trippers, cottagers and campers of all ages.
Over a decade ago, these unique roadside food stops inspired husband-and-wife writer-illustrators Chantal Bennett and Joel Kimmel, who live in eastern Ontario, to draw and document chip stands. The result: their intriguing, glorious full-colour guidebook, The Chip Stand: 130 of Canada’s Iconic Food Landmarks.
“School buses used to be the top vehicles [for chip trucks], but they’re slowly disappearing,” Bennett says. Newer stands, she notes, are opting for larger, more permanent structures instead. That’s another reason they wanted to capture the unique stands that are now being replaced.
Beautifully illustrated in wide-ranging styles to reflect the diversity of the stands themselves, the book details the finest roadside purveyors of french fries from coast to coast. Bennett and Kimmel recently lent their expertise to help us create the ultimate top 10 list of chip stands across Canada.
Check out the book and map out a few chip must-stops for your next road trip.
➊ P.B.’s Fries, Ingersoll, Ont.
What makes this a great stop? It’s not just the deluxe french fries and poutines made with locally sourced cheese curds, but the story behind its success and current owner, 23-year-old Daniel Destine. Destine, who began working at age 15 at the 1972 Airstream Land Yacht, an Ingersoll staple that had been serving chips since 1964, jumped at the chance just four years later to buy the business. Innovative menu offerings made P.B.’s an easy pick for the authors’ list of favourite chip-truck stops. Bennett recommends Pickle Fries — “pickles on fries, with the pickle vinegar on the fries.” Road-trippers eager to pucker up will find P.B.’s just a few minutes north of the 401.
ILLUSTRATION: CHANTAL BENNETT
ILLUSTRATION: JOEL KIMMEL
➋ Casse-Croûte de Lac Rémi, Saint-Rémi d’Amherst, Que.
The picturesque setting of this particular casse-croûte is half the draw for Kimmel, whose illustration shows the shack-not-quite-truck in winter, perched next to Lac Rémi’s frozen shoreline. While the fries and poutine are the main attraction, it’s also known for its sous-marins (subs) and club wraps. Gorgeous views of the lake draw crowds from early April through November, just 90 minutes northeast of Ottawa.
ILLUSTRATION: JOEL KIMMEL
➌ Goldie’s Fries, Winnipeg, Man.
A rare urban chip truck with character, Goldie’s has been serving up skin-on fries, burgers, dogs and even perogies to discerning downtown Winnipeggers since 1988. While current owner Darryl Leiman has put the business on the market, according to an interview last year with CTV News, he won’t retire until he has sold Goldie’s to a new owner who will keep serving the chip-truck fries beloved by locals.
➍ Serious Smoke Food Truck, Saint John, N.B.
Kids are sure to raise the alarm when their eyes spy something red. There’s no mistaking that this roadside food stand is actually a decommissioned fire truck. Customers keep coming back for the generous portion sizes, steak sandwiches, pulled-pork poutines and barbecue “grenades” — their signature 12-inch tortillas stuffed with savoury fillings and deep-fried to golden perfection. And if you still have room for dessert, they serve up deep-fried Mars bars, too.
ILLUSTRATION: CHANTAL BENNETT
➎ Mr. Spudds Poutinerie, Regina, Sask.
A classic GMC Value-Van features handwritten chalkboard menus and, painted on a side door, “Home of the Monster Truck Burger.” Mr. Spudds is the sole chip truck in Saskatchewan, as far as Bennett and Kimmel have been able to tell. The chip stand also solicits suggestions from the public for new menu offerings, with a recent addition of popcorn-chicken poutine proving very popular.
ILLUSTRATION: CHANTAL BENNETT
➏ Chubby’s Lunch, St. Peter’s, N.S.
“This one is interesting because it serves a lot of seafood,” says Bennett, who enjoyed creating a faithful miniature replica of Chubby’s for the book. Chubby’s real-life menu boards boast not only traditional fish and chips but also poutines, “Newfie fries” and seafood platters. And now with the food truck under new ownership, anticipate Filipino spring rolls (lumpia) and noodles (pansit).
MINIATURE: CHANTAL BENNETT
➐ Ken’s Island Fries, Stratford, P.E.I.
The menu board changes frequently at this P.E.I. institution, which moved from Charlottetown over the Hillsborough Bridge to Stratford a few years ago. In addition to classic and deluxe poutines, Ken’s serves up a rotating array of inventive gourmet fries. Currently on offer are the “Mac Style” deluxe french fries: skin-on chips, generously topped with ground beef, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions. The only thing missing is the bun.
ILLUSTRATION: CHANTAL BENNETT
➑ The Riv tied with Larry’s, Sturgeon Falls, Ont.
Not so much a tie, it is more of what Bennett describes as a “long-standing rivalry” between two chip stands in her mother’s hometown of Sturgeon Falls. These two legendary roadside food competitors inspired Bennett’s vintage illustration of a boxing match. The contender on the left is The Riv, which opened as Le P’tit Riv in 1973, named after the owners’ previous restaurant, The Riviera, which had burned down earlier that year. On the right side of the illustration is Larry’s Chips, located directly across Main Street and established a full 20 years before its upstart opponent, in 1953. The shock waves generated by the gutsy encroachment on Larry’s traditional chip-stand territory resonate in Sturgeon Falls to this day.
ILLUSTRATION: CHANTAL BENNETT
ILLUSTRATION: JOEL KIMMEL
➒ Jeffer’s Fryzz, Penticton, B.C.
The purveyor of the Okanagan’s finest french fries, Jeffer revealed that his older brother’s success in running “the old chip truck in Kenora, Ontario,” gave him the idea to bring the concept to B.C. and open his own chip stand in Penticton. Kimmel says Jeffer’s claims to have introduced poutine to the west way back in 1984.
ILLUSTRATION: JOEL KIMMEL
➓ Jee’s Spuds, Brockville, Ont.
Alongside traditional road-trip food favourites — burgers, dogs, chicken fingers and fries — Jee’s serves up deep-fried battered mushrooms, mozzarella sticks and pickle spears. Owner Jeff also sells his wife’s homemade haystacks for dessert, notes The Chip Stand guide. Her version of these crunchy no-bake treats made with oatmeal, coconut and cocoa are the perfect clincher for your roadside snack stop.
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