Famous foods to try out on a road trip in the Ottawa Valley
People choosing staycations in the Ottawa Valley this summer can add a few stops to their road trip.
While it's easy to stop at any fast food location on the way to your campground, hiking trail, or beach; there are some hidden gems in the valley featuring some famous foods that are worth stopping for.
Wes' Chips
Roughly 40 minutes west of downtown Ottawa, Arnprior is home to Wes' Chips, a fry truck on Madawaska Boulevard that has been serving French fries for the last 63 years.
"The potatoes themselves come all the way from PEI, so that's probably the biggest secret in where the flavour comes from, is the potato," says Wes' Chips co-owner Lisa Hordichuk.
The fry truck serves one thing and one thing only, French fries - and they specifically do not serve poutine. Fry boxes come in small, medium, large, and extra large.
The fries are cut by hand every day with many regular customers choosing to get their orders "halfway", where only half the fry box is filled to allow salt and vinegar to go on before being topped off.
"Inside it's like a mashed potato and then a crispy outside," said Hordichuk describing what the fries are like. "They're just so good you crave them. You think of them and you crave them."
Bacon on a Bun
Continuing west along Hwy. 17 from Arnprior you will hit Renfrew, where the town of Renfrew and Bacon on a Bun are synonymous.
"It's peameal bacon, three slices of peameal bacon on a bun, with cheese if you want," says Janet Springer, who chairs the Bacon on a Bun stand for the Renfrew Rotary Club.
"It's a specific hamburger bun, because that's all part of the little secret."
Unlike other stops on this road trip where the eats are readily available, Bacon on a Bun is only offered for one long weekend per year - during the Renfrew Fair in September. Around 5,000 sandwiches are sold over the weekend, equaling roughly 2,000 pounds of bacon.
"People have tried to copy bacon on a bun, and it's just the taste I guess," says Springer on what makes bacon on a bun so unique. "People say, 'So and so did bacon on a bun but it doesn't taste like Rotary's Bacon on a Bun.'"
The Renfrew Rotary Club hosts a Bacon on a Bun stand in Renfrew. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)
The Granary Schnitzel Haus
Taking Highway 60 west out of Renfrew will eventually take you straight through the heart of Eganville where European cuisine and The Granary Schnitzel Haus have become renowned.
Owner Alexis Letourneau says they pound their schnitzel thin everyday before battering it and frying it fresh to order.
Twelve different kinds of schnitzel are on the menu at The Ganary, from traditional to mushroom schnitzel, Florentine schnitzel, carbonara schnitzel, and Zwiebel schnitzel being some of their more popular options.
"We do it with mashed potatoes and vegetables," says Letourneau. "Everything is homemade."
"All of our sauces are homemade so it just adds to the authenticity of our restaurant."
The Schnitzel Haus has been a mainstay on Eganville's Main Street since 1985.
The Granary Schnitzel Haus in Eganville. It's been a mainstay on Main Street since 1985. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.