- Victoria
Cedar-planked salmon
Pacific salmon grilled, in a traditional Indigenous technique, on a cedar board
—Winnifred Procyshen (District 47 Vancouver Island)
- Algoma District
Wild game dinners at charity events
Wild-caught game donated by local hunters for fundraising dinners
“Deer, moose and fish are staple menu items, with duck and even raccoon or beaver. Bear is good in sausages but can be quite strong, as is beaver. Canada goose is best slow-cooked.
“The dinners reflect our hunting-and-outdoors lifestyle. A recent one here in Blind River supported our junior hockey team. Unfortunately, these dinners are becoming rare, but they’re worth looking out for.”
—Paul Astles (District 3 Algoma)
Paul’s insider tip
“We do occasionally dress up in the north — I happened to be wearing white tie last week — but for a wild game dinner, dress casually.”
- Thunder Bay
Persians
Deep-fried dough topped with a thick layer of pink berry icing
—Thérèse Beaupré (District 2 Thunder Bay)
- Sudbury
Pulla from Leinala’s Bakery
Cardamom-flavoured braided loaf with Finnish roots
“Pulla is a slightly sweet, special-occasion bread, a treat from Leinala’s Bakery. Postwar immigration — from Finland, Italy, Poland and other places — brought many food traditions to Sudbury. Leinala’s is part of that. I love the dense, dark-brown potato bread too. One slice, never two, because it’s so filling.”
—Lucie Lapalme Cullen
(District 4 Sudbury, Manitoulin)
Lucie’s insider tip
Porchetta sandwiches (crusty Italian buns loaded with dill- and herb-seasoned slow-roasted pork) are another long-time Sudbury specialty.
- Lake Erie
Fresh perch dinner
Pan-fried or deep-fried fish and chips along Ontario’s south coast
—Alfred Guidolin (District 12 Norfolk) and Anita Minov (District 14 Niagara)
- Kitchener-Waterloo
Schnitzel from Metro Restaurant
Pork, veal or chicken cutlet, pounded thin, then breaded and fried
“Schnitzel is a little slice of heaven, and the Metro is a lovely, warm family-run place. Go at lunch; it’s easier to get a table. I like the pork schnitzel with jaeger sauce, served with sweet red cabbage.”
—Brenda Moen (District 11 Waterloo Region)
Brenda’s insider tip
“Try the hole-in-the-wall restaurants near the universities, catering to international students. The signs outside may say ‘subs’ or ‘burgers,’ but sometimes there’s a secret menu of foods the kitchen staff prefer to eat.”
- Ottawa
Beaver tails in ByWard Market
Fried yeast dough with your choice of sweet topping
“The deep-fried dough has all these crevices to hold whatever’s on top. Cinnamon and sugar is classic; I like a squeeze of lemon juice too.
“Another Ottawa specialty is from House of Georgie Sorento’s — pizza with a ladle of gravy on top. Sounds weird, but it’s delicious.”
—Alain Dubé (District 27 Ottawa-Carleton)
Alain’s insider tip
“The best poutine I’ve ever had is across the river in Gatineau, at Pataterie Hulloise.”
- Acadia
Guédille au crabe and pets de soeur
Crab rolls and sweet pastries from the francophone Maritimes
“Acadian cuisine relies on local seafood and seasonal food, and summer savory is a favourite herb because it’s easy to grow. For me, guédille au crabe is a food for June — crab season in my part of New Brunswick. Pets de soeur, which means ‘nuns’ farts,’ are rolled pie dough, baked in a cinnamon brown-sugar syrup. Delicious. And very bad for you.”
—Chi Chi Godin (District 16 City of Toronto)
Chi Chi’s insider tip
Acadian meat pies, similar to Quebec’s tourtières but chunkier, freeze well. “I bring about 10 back every time I visit.”
- Halifax
Donairs
Spiced ground beef in a flatbread wrap, served with a sweet-and-sour condensed milk sauce
—Sandy Sinden (District 50 Atlantic)
Treats only the locals — mostly — know about
- Quebec’s pouding chômeur (literally, pudding of the unemployed: a dollop of batter baked in a pool of caramel)
- Winnipeg’s dill and honey sauce
- Calgary’s ginger beef
- Toronto’s sushi pizza
- Newfoundland and Labrador’s toutons (small, flattened rounds of fried bread dough topped with a dab of butter and drizzled with molasses)
- Saskatchewan’s Saskatoon berry perogies
