4 Canadians are crossing the Trans-Canada Hwy to eat at every chip truck

These 4 Canadians are trying to eat at every chip truck along the Trans-Canada Highway

A journey along the Trans-Canada Highway might just be the most iconic Canadian road trip out there, not to mention the ultimate way to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary.

The 8,030 km route linking all 10 of Canada’s provinces spans coast to coast through Maritime wilderness, vast swaths of farmland and into the mountainous regions in the west.

You know what else links these disparate landscapes? (Other than Tim Hortons…)

Chip trucks!

Dotting the highway, these nostalgia-inducing bootstrap businesses deal in everyone’s favourite food. Unfortunately, unlike Timmy’s handy locator, there’s no directory to pinpoint these gems and not enough intel on Yelp to inform travellers which chips are worth holding out for.

Until now that is.

Four Toronto friends have made it their mission to cross the country stopping at as many of these chip trucks, fry stands, and spud-centric roadside attractions as possible.

Trans-Canada Fryway

For Patrick T. Lo, Chris Solomon, Zachary Muir-Vavrina, and Paul Parolin, the Trans-Canada Fryway began last summer as they set off to complete the Ontario leg of their adventure in a ’74 Airstream trailer.

With one province down and nine more to go, the “Fry Guys” are planning to set out again this summer to continue their cross-country adventure. For now, check out the Ontario leg of their journey as documented in episodes 1 to 5 of their on-going web series, Trans-Canada Fryway.

Daily Hive recently sat down with the “Fry Guys” and asked the important questions:

What inspired you to set out on this journey?

We all grew up traveling The Trans-Canada Highway in some capacity, it literally brings this country together, and yet we all feel it’s greatly under appreciated. We simply want the Trans-Canada Highway to get the attention it deserves – how better than to do so by shining a spotlight on one of its key attractions – French fries!

What did you learn on the first leg of the trip?

The list is endless, but one thing that really stood out was learning just how many delightful individuals there are serving the countless Canadians traveling our great highway – from a family run institution that’s been serving its community for more than 50 years, to a pair of 21-year-old entrepreneurs purchasing and expanding a 60-year-old operation, to a busy fleet of five.

What makes a great chip?

In order to review each chip stand we created a rating system – the Fryway Fork rating system – consisting of five criteria: fries, gravy, service, ambiance, and value. There’s more to it than how long the potatoes are soaked, how many times they’re fried, or whatever other trick of the trade you might hear – it’s equal parts the fare, the value, the people, and the atmosphere that put that good taste in your mouth.

Can you name your top three Ontario discoveries?

The three chip stands having received a perfect five Fryway Forks – Wes’ Chips, Mississaugi Fry Co, and Ye Olde Chip Truck – would be the obvious answer, but aside from that, I would say just how huge and stunning Ontario really is. Being able to wake up in the morning and take a dip in Superior – the water is so fresh you can drink it (which we did, mixed with a nip of whiskey on the advice of my father) really stands out.

Secondly, how many chip stands there actually are in Ontario! We set out starry-eyed thinking we could try every one – that ideal was squashed very early into the trip after eating 8 fries in a 100 km day!

Lastly, I would say the hospitality of Ontarians. Not knowing us from a hole in the ground we were invited into people’s homes, to sit for meals, given a place to stay for the night, etc., more often than not.

What are you most excited about as you set out to cross Canada this summer?

A cross-Canada road trip is a right of passage for Canadians and it’s something none of us have had the opportunity to experience. Simply getting out on the road, meeting people, finding out who has the best fries in Canada, all while getting the chance to document a tradition that is such a part of our national heritage is more than enough to get us excited.

Want to go on you very own Trans-Canada Fryway adventure? Daily Hive has mapped every stop on the Ontario leg of the Trans Canada Fryway for you to follow along yourselves.

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