A&W Restaurants - USA vs Canada

[@duncansolloway2497]

cdn here- the onion rings and frozen mugs alone make it stand out from the rest let alone the burgers

[@thesodafry]

I really need to go back and do a more in depth tour of the menu

[@billmcdonald4335]

I own a large glass A&W mug. It lives in my freezer. In Canada, I can get A&W root beer in clear, long-neck glass bottles. It's the perfect amount for the mug. It tastes like you get at the restaurant. I'll put a bottle in the freezer for about 15 minutes before opening it and pouring it into the chilled mug. It forms its own delicious root beer slushy. I've tried other brands, even A&W in different packaging, but no other root beer does that like the long-neck glass bottle stuff. It's the pure.

[@thesodafry]

That's awesome. It's great quality stuff.

[@dguy321]

Should have just gotten a teen burger. The ratio would've been more similar to the double cheeseburger in the US A&W.

[@thesodafry]

Totally agree. It was a stupid mistake, but I misunderstood the menu.

[@angrycanadian6979]

Great video! One thing missing about the Canadian A&W, Unilever sold it to A&W senior management in 1995.

[@thesodafry]

Thanks for the comment!

[@Tigger4Theo]

I'll take real cheddar cheese over that processed (aka "American") cheese any day. Also, the Canadian root beer tastes better because it is sweetened with real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. And just a personal question from me - how could you go to A& W and not have the onion rings? That's one of the things they do best! 🤤

[@thesodafry]

The onion rings were an obvious miss, and I'll make sure to fix that soon! They deserve a proper comparison. Regarding the cheese, that's a totally valid preference, but I love a super melty American cheese on my burger.

[@maitrehg]

The cheese A&W uses is a mistake. It melts poorly and has a questionable color when it does. American cheese all the way on a burger.

[@thesodafry]

@maitrehg did we just become best friends? How do you feel about the mozza burger?

[@maitrehg]

@thesodafry Very neutral taste. The sauce tastes almost nothing. A burger without onions and pickles is a real sacrilege. The Teen is better despite its inappropriate cheese.

[@terryhomeniuk1720]

The US A&W dropped the burger family dropped the Burger almost altogether (except for the Papa burger). A&W Canada retained the Burger Family (Baby, Teen, Mama, Papa and Grandpa). They also have the Buddy burger, Mozza burger, Uncle burger and Beyond Meat burger. The Great A&W Root Bear is gone, as well as Chubby Chicken (although there's a Chubby Chicken Cruncher). A & W Canada is committed to hormone-free, steroid-free grass fed beef and chicken. Their foods are all natural. Also, A&W Canada retained the A&W logo from before the split, while A&W USA changed theirs and added "All American Food". As well, A & W Canada advertises a lot. Allen Lulu does the commercials, highlighting the restaurant and deals. Some humerous, some talking with customers. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooXCgYKpp658eNU kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKizqmqorpKDhrc

[@thesodafry]

Thank you!

[@pinchpeak5203]

I'm sorry, but stating that cheddar cheese is inferior to processed for burgers completely invalidates your entire review Kidding! Mostly... Thanks for doing this experiment :)

[@thesodafry]

I love cheddar, but I want something more melty on my burgers. Extremely controversial, I know.

[@omegasend]

When I heard this i thought he was joking. A&W CA states that it is real Canadian cheddar. And the meat has no hormones.

[@thesodafry]

A lot of fancy chefs here in the US hold the same view. American cheese > Cheddar on a cheeseburger. Sodium citrate is magical.

[@thesodafry]

@omegasend thanks for watching and commenting, btw!

[@MrJWTH]

Not sure about the US restaurants but I really like the onion rings in the Canadian ones.

[@stickynorth]

You had me with the superior Canadian root beer blend, you lost me with cheddar being inferior on a burger... American cheese isn't even cheese. It's a cheese product filled with binders and fillers and no real taste... Canadians including myself cringe at American "cheese" in almost every context except for maybe post-drinking late-night binge grilled cheese and that's again mainly for simplicity... ;-)

[@thesodafry]

Agree to disagree about American cheese. I think of it as more of a sauce than a cheese.

[@thesodafry]

If you have recommendations for other stuff to try, please let me know!

[@jeraldmartell8404]

On Canadian burgers it is processed cheddar. American cheese is processed cheddar.

[@thesodafry]

I suppose they're all processed, right? American cheese has a lower melting point than what was labeled as "cheddar" in Canada, and it becomes more of a cheese sauce when it's heated.

[@Tigger4Theo]

No, The cheese used on Canadian A&W burgers is not processed. It is actual sliced cheddar cheese.

[@thesodafry]

Per the A&W CA website, the cheddar cheese contains milk, modified milk ingredients, cream, salt, bacterial culture, annatto, calcium chloride, and microbial enzyme

[@thesodafry]

The "Sharp American Cheese" in the US is "Cultured milk and skim milk, water, cream, sodium citrate, salt, sorbic acid, sodium phosphate, artificial color, acetic acid, lecithin, and enzymes." So, it's arguably more processed (sodium citrate is a special salt that emulsifies the ingredients), but it's not as different as you might assume.