Because poking fun at ourselves is supposedly part of Canadian culture…

Tessa and Scott did this adorable interview which was posted on youtube. (Just like everything else these days.) It’s funny how I can take all of the things they mention for granted… until I see all of the confused comments from non-Canadian fans on the Tessa and Scott fan group of facebook.

So just as a guide to the video…

“Eh” and “aboot”… I actually have not heard that many people say “eh” and I have NEVER heard anyone say “aboot” unless it was for a joke. As for me, I rarely say “eh” but I did go through a “ne” phase (which I can be used sort of interchangeably with “eh”) after learning Japanese.

“Toques” or “tuques” are winter hats. I can’t find the clip with Brent Butt (a Canadian comedian) doing his comedy skit about toques but I did find an episode of “Corner Gas” which he stars in. Canadian shows tend to sacrifice the plot for “Canadian-ness” but this series is gold. (“Let’s build the world’s biggest hoe!”)

(Parts 3 and 4 are in the sidebars on youtube.)

I’m not sure why they would miss The Leafs… (Toronto’s NHL team) My friend told me a joke in high school and the sad thing, it’s probably true. So the joke goes: One day, the devil wakes up and it’s very cold and he sees that the people in his realm are wearing parkas and jumping up and down. The devil asks his deputy what is going on and his deputy replies, “The Toronto Maple Leafs have just won the Stanley Cup! (Meaning they are the champions of the National Hockey League or NHL.) I think the Leafs haven’t won the Cup in about 50ish years? Then again, I don’t think Toronto sports teams win very much anyways… I’m wondering if Toronto sports fans’ are somewhat masochistic…

What is this, you ask? Only one of the most delicious and artery-clogging things on the planet. Poutine is a French-Canadian dish made of french fries, smothered in gravy with fresh cheese curds on top. Om nom nom nom nom. There’s just something wonderful about the squeaky texture of the cheese curds and the taste of warm gravy on top of fries. I’ve had friends from Taiwan and Japan tell me that the food they miss most from Canada is poutine. Then again, Canada can’t boast many “purely Canadian” dishes… there’s peameal bacon sandwiches… maple syrup… Canadian bacon… Montreal style bagels… poutine… and more poutine…

Oh yes, and let’s not forget Tim Hortons, which was bought back from the Americans.

Oh Timmy’s… how do people live without Timmy’s? A “double double” mentioned in the video is a coffee with 2 milk (or cream) and 2 sugars. I usually like getting double double teas. Timmy’s is a Canadian staple, not because their coffee is absolutely mindblowingly fantastic (although their iced cappucinos are yummy) but it’s cheap and a lot of them are open 24 hours. (Perfect for students on small budgets.) Their drinks tend to be really sweet, but hey, it’s cheap. And their doughnuts, cookies and pastries are yummy. Their muffins, not so much. Lately, I’ve been a big fan of their chipotle turkey bagel and their iced coffee have helped me pulled a couple of all-nighters. Also, a Timmy’s phenomenon that you should know about:

Roll up the rim to win. It’s a Tim Hortons contest that happens every year in February and/or March (those months have been a haze for the last few years so I apologize for not being more specific). You buy any hot beverage in any size other than small and you roll up the rim. You either get a message saying something like, “You’ve won a ________________ (free drink, doughnut, gift card, barbecue, TV, car, ect;)” or, what I usually get, “Sorry, please play again.” You don’t quite understand how popular this is unless you live in Canada. I abandon the use of my travel mug to play roll up the rim. (I know, I’m sorry.) MacDonalds gives out free coffee so Timmy’s doesn’t take all the customers. Starbucks usually makes some sort of drink half off as well. Timmy’s cups litter the streets (unfortunately) and the long lineups at Timmy’s (sometimes, even on non-roll up the rim months, I go to the pricier coffee places because the lineups at Timmy’s go out the door) become even longer… It’s bloody insane!

One more thing you need to know about Canada/Timmy’s.

Timbits > Dunkin’ Donuts “Munchkins”

(For people who don’t have Timmy’s (you poor souls) or Dunkin’ Donuts, they’re just doughnut holes.)

The honey cruller and apple fritter ones are yummy. ❤

Hope you enjoyed this~!

~The Rinkside Cafe