People choosing to stay in the Ottawa Valley this summer can add a few stops to their trip.
While it’s easy to stop at any fast food place on the way to your campsite, hiking trail, or beach; there are some hidden gems in the valley featuring some famous foods that are worth stopping for.
Wes’ chips
About 40 minutes west of downtown Ottawa, Arnprior is home to Wes’ Chips, a chip truck on Madawaska Boulevard that has been serving up fries for the past 63 years.
“The potatoes themselves come all the way from PEI, so probably the biggest secret to where the flavor comes from is the potato,” says Wes’ Chips co-owner Lisa Hordichuk.
The Fries Truck serves one thing and one thing only, fries – and they specifically don’t serve poutine. Frying boxes come in small, medium, large and extra large.
The fries are cut by hand each day, with many regulars choosing to get their orders “half-off,” where only half the box of fries is filled to allow the salt and vinegar to continue before being topped up.
“It’s like mashed potatoes on the inside and then crispy on the outside,” Hordichuk said, describing what the fries are like. “They’re so good you crave them. You think about them and you crave them.”
Bacon on a bun
Continuing west on Hwy. 17 from Arnprior you’ll hit Renfrew, where the town of Renfrew and Bacon on a Bun are synonymous.
“It’s pearl bacon, three slices of earl bacon on a bun, with cheese if you want,” says Janet Springer, who chairs the Bacon on a Bun booth for the Renfrew Rotary Club.
“It’s a specific hamburger bun because it’s all part of the little secret.”
Unlike other stops on this journey where food is readily available, Bacon on a Bun is only available for one long weekend a year – during the Renfrew Fair in September. About 5,000 sandwiches are sold over the weekend, which equates to about 2,000 pounds of bacon.
“People have tried to copy bacon on a bun, and it’s just the flavor I guess,” Springer says of what makes bacon on a bun so unique. “People say, ‘So-and-so made bacon on a bun, but it doesn’t taste like bacon on a Rotary bun.'”
Renfrew Rotary Club is hosting a Bacon on a Bun Stand in Renfrew. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)
The Schnitzel House Granary
Taking Highway 60 west from Renfrew will eventually take you right through the heart of Eganville, where European cuisine and The Granary Schnitzel Haus have become famous.
Owner Alexis Letourneau says they pound their schnitzel thin daily before battering and frying it fresh to order.
Twelve different types of schnitzel are on The Ganary’s menu, from traditional to mushroom schnitzel, schnitzel florentine, schnitzel carbonara, and schnitzel Zwiebel, which are some of their most popular options.
“We make it with mashed potatoes and vegetables,” says Letourneau. “Everything is homemade.”
“All of our sauces are homemade, so that just adds to the authenticity of our restaurant.”
Schnitzel Haus has been a mainstay on Eganville’s Main Street since 1985.
The Schnitzel Granary House in Eganville. It’s been a Main Street mainstay since 1985. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)
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