Whatever you’re up to in cottage country, grabbing a warm, greasy, downright indulgent snack or meal from a chip truck is always the right thing to do.
Chips, or as they’re more commonly called, French fries, are said to have arrived in America in the late 1700s after Thomas Jefferson tasted them during a trip to France. The fried delights didn’t become popular across North America, however, until the 1900s. And when the dish finally caught on here, Canadians put their own spin on it, with poutine first appearing in countryside snack bars across Quebec in the 1950s.
Needless to say, we’re proud of our deep-fried spuds. We’re home to the French Fry Capital of the World (Florenceville-Bristol, N.B.) and McCain’s headquarters—did you know the company produces about a third of all fries eaten across the globe? Plus, we grow almost 400 potato varieties coast to coast, including the famous Yukon Gold.
While it’s clear that Canucks love fries, it’s hard to identify the origins of our country’s first-ever chip truck. Many fry historians consider Nova Scotia’s Glace Bay Chip Truck as Canada’s inaugural roadside snack purveyor, which originally opened in Montreal in 1942. The truck came to Glace Bay in 1946, after owners Mike and Rosie Minchoff were forced to relocate due to a “no vending” Montreal bylaw. The duo were slightly ahead of the grub-on-wheels trend: it wasn’t until ice cream trucks gained popularity in the 1950s that other modern food trucks—such as the chip truck—began popping up more regularly, serving a variety of affordable and casual fare.
Now, visiting a chip truck is an unmissable part of heading to the cottage, and picking the “best” one is a tough task. We wouldn’t turn down a French fry from any of the fine vendors around cottage country, but the dill pickle fries at The Chip Ship, in Port Rowan, Ont., make for a fun twist on the classic Canadian poutine. They’re tossed in a secret seasoning blend and then topped with a creamy sauce and stacked high with tart, shredded pickles. Meet you there?
Editor’s note: Looking for our list of the best chip trucks in cottage country? Use the arrows in the photo gallery above to scroll through the top selections.
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