Where I grew up in New Brunswick, every little village has a canteen. In fact, my father and I spent many contented hours together at our local establishment. I loved the hamburgers topped with fried onions, the crispy and sweet onion rings—and what’s not to love about hand-cut fries? These memories are reminiscent of carefree, endless summer days.
Canteens tend to fall into two categories: permanent roadside set-ups that are open all year long, and seasonal outfits, which operate just during the busiest months of summer.
In New Brunswick in particular, Poutine Quebecois is a popular canteen food, especially when made with cheese curds so fresh that they squeak when you eat them. But a New Brunswick canteen’s poutine might also be topped with spaghetti sauce or chicken salad.
Thirty-three years ago, my cousin Mel Bossé bought our grandmother’s house in Saint-Jacques, NB, and brought in a little 9’x12’ trailer. He equipped it with a kitchen, and Chez Mel was born right there on the property. He invented a beef burger based on a traditional dish—that our Sicilian-born grandmother used to make on special occasions—thinly sliced beef wrapped around garlic cloves, and simmered in tomato sauce.
Mel did what canteen chefs do best: he turned this dish into a hand-held feast, sautéing thin slices of beef with onions, then throwing in some of Mel’s brown sauce (a secret-recipe gravy he created). He then melted cheese on top and added relish, ketchup and mustard, then put it all on a grilled hamburger bun. Et voilà: It was the juiciest and moistest burger I’ve ever had.
Mamma Leone might not have approved wholeheartedly, but for the kids it was a weekly favourite!
When Mel passed away at age 45, his business was sold; it’s now owned by Gilles Couturier and continues to thrive—it has gone from a seasonal to a year-round operation, with 36 terraced outdoor seats and another 36 seats indoors. Gilles says Mel’s remains a popular hangout in the village of Saint-Jacques, and that his burger is still a number-one seller.
In Nova Scotia, canteens sometimes take the form of a burger bus. These converted busses tend to show up at county fairs and exhibitions, and are often found at roadside locations to attract people on foot or in cars.
However along the Brule Shore on the Northumberland Strait just before Pugwash, it’s an old converted fishing boat that advertises the best “Fish and Ships” around.
More traditionally, along the South Shore, just outside Chester, you’ll find a shiny, new “patty wagon” that sells not only the usual fare of burgers and fries, but delicious seafood chowder as well.
And Spring Garden Road in Halifax has, for many years, been home to “Bud the Spud” canteen. People of all ages have passed a delightful half hour or so sitting on the wall in front of the public library, swinging their legs as if the age barrier had disappeared, sharing crispy hand-cut fries with the legions of pigeons and starlings that have also come to know and love the site.
The appeal of the canteen is not just the food—although it tends to be delicious (albeit not something you should treat yourself to every day). It’s the experience of eating something as simple as French fries outdoors with your fingers, while feeling the sun on your back and hearing crashing waves or tinny carnival music, or watching the world go by on a bustling sidewalk. It’s the kind of experience that brings back memories, offering proof that sometimes the simplest things in life can bring the most pleasure.