Canada’s fast food landscape can look pretty similar to that of its southern neighbor, with no shortage of big names like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway. Yet, there are some homegrown heroes that compete with those major international fast food players — and one that stands out is a burger chain called Harvey’s.
Harvey’s was founded in 1959 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, just outside Toronto. The focus is on burgers, and while the standard menu arguably isn’t wildly different from many U.S. chains, it stands out for the way it lets customers customize the toppings on their burgers. And it’s not just little tweaks like asking staff to hold the pickles: Harvey’s offers a so-called “garnish counter” where you can choose exactly what goes on your burger. There are three categories — first is veggies, which includes your classic lettuce, onion, tomatoes, and pickles, but also olives, cucumber, jalapeños and relish. Then you can choose sauces: Again, classics like mayo, mustard, and ketchup are on the list, as well as a few hot sauces like chipotle and ghost pepper, and others like roasted garlic and the secret “Harv sauce,” which, based on its ingredients, appears to contain mayo and mustard. Finally, there are a few premium toppings that cost extra: bacon, cheddar cheese, and onion rings.
The garnish counter means the Harvey’s burger menu is pretty simple: You’re really just choosing the base (usually the number of patties, plus extras like cheese or bacon) and building the rest yourself. The customization doesn’t just work with burgers: You’re also free to pick toppings for chicken burgers and wraps.
Read more: 12 Fast Food Burgers, Ranked
What else to know about Harvey’s
Close-up of Harvey’s poutine with bacon – HarveysCanada/X
Harvey’s is more of a mid-size fast food chain. It has a little under 300 locations, located more in the country’s east around Ontario and Quebec, and none outside Canada. (By comparison, gigantic Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons has comfortably over 3,000 locations and has expanded internationally).
Yet despite its size, Harvey’s is one of those places that has been around long enough to feel woven into Canadian fast food culture. The customizable approach to burgers has been there since the beginning, back when the first location opened in a defunct car dealership (incidentally, the chain took its name from the dealership, also called Harvey’s, as it saved the founder from needing to invest in new signage). Harvey’s is now part of a larger Canadian conglomerate called Recipe Unlimited, which mostly owns other Canadian chains like rotisserie chicken favorite Swiss Chalet and full-service Italian chain East Side Mario’s, to name a couple.
While the garnish counter is perhaps what most sets Harvey’s aside from competitors, its menu has a few other somewhat unique elements. There’s a whole poutine section centered around the Canadian favorite of fries, cheese curds, and gravy — that’s the classic version, but the menu also features options with bacon, Buffalo chicken, and crispy jalapeños. (That said, fast food poutine isn’t totally unique in Canada — chains like McDonald’s offer it too.) Unlike some other burger chains, Harvey’s also has hot dogs, but otherwise sticks to classic items like nuggets and shakes.
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Read the original article on Chowhound.
