To some Americans, the extent of Canadian food and snack knowledge is limited to our beloved coffee chain Tim Hortons. So recently redditor u/RGV_KJ asked, "What are some amazing Canadian foods I need to get back to [the] USA?" Here's what people said:
1. "If you drink, get some Clamato so you can make Caesars at home! Like a Bloody Mary but sooooo much better!"
2. "If you can get ahold of em, Nanaimo bars."
3. "Just bring back a regular Coke so you can realize how shit the pop/soda/Coke is in the US."
4. "Quebec has outstanding craft beer. Start with Dieu du Ciel!"
5. "If you're actually in Quebec, get a damn poutine. I’m from the West Coast. I’ve never had a Montreal poutine… get one. Let me know what it’s like."
"Go to a casse-croûte, smaller diner/roadside stand type places. As a Montrealer, the bigger the restaurant, the worse the poutine, you really need one with big greasy fries."
6. "Do me a favour? Buy an American Kit Kat and cross the border with it. Buy a Canadian Kit Kat and test 'em both. You will wonder why American Kit Kat is so much worse."
7. "There are a lot of things flavoured with maple syrup or brown sugar that are originally from Quebecois cuisine. Desserts: Tire d’érable/maple taffy, grandpères (dough balls cooked in a maple syrup mixture), tarte au sucre (sugar pie made with brown sugar), sucre à la crème (traditionally cream fudge made with brown sugar but also common to add a little maple syrup for flavour.)"
8. "Get yourself a Coffee Crisp. Get several, you'll want that. We have different flavours too."
9. "Milk is better is Canada, but dairy products (cheese, yogurt, ice cream) are better in the States."
10. "Lay's Ketchup Chips. Specifically Lays."
11. "I prefer Kraft PB. In the USA, Skippy is close but Kraft tastes better IMHO."
12. "Back bacon aka Canadian Bacon. You can take it over the border as long as it’s in a store package (as oppose to Butcher shop paper, they want to be able to trace where it came from). I did ask going into the US one time. America has ham disguised as Canadian bacon."
13. "Smarties. Like M&Ms but better. My US colleagues always pick some up when they visit."
14. "It's not fancy, but I love Habitant pea soup."
15. "Hawkins Cheezies."
"That Hawkins only makes the one product, Cheezies, and that they've been going strong since 1949, is a testament to just how good Cheezies really are."
16. "If you have access to Costco in Canada, pick up a bag of Dunn's Famous BBQ chips (they are a BBQ place from Montreal). The taste of these BBQ chips are dialed in perfectly, not too salty like Lay's and is on the sweeter side. I'm willing to bet these are the best BBQ chips you will ever taste."
17. And finally, "IMO Montreal bagels are perfect toasted with butter to complement the sweeter dough, but i'm sure it's good with other things like cream cheese as well."
