Harvey’s (Brantford – Henry St)
218 Henry StreetI get a nice long road trip from work about once a year.
Last year, we went to Wilmington, NC. This year it was Boston.
We chose to drive these for a couple of reasons. One, it obviously saves the company money. Flights are expensive. Two, it gives my colleague a chance to do a lot of work on the trip. It’s quite and uninterrupted. He gets more done on our drives than he does sitting in his office because there’s no one to come in an bother him.
The shortest route between Michigan and Boston is to go through Canada. I asked him to bring his passport and we’d cut a couple of hours out of the ride.
We met in Lansing around 7 AM Wednesday morning and started the drive. All along, I had an idea for lunch. I wanted to stop at a fast food place that’s unique to Canada. The problem was, I didn’t know if we’d pass one at lunch time. I thought we were going to be pretty much through Canada before noon.
We got a few hours in to Canada when it was time for a bathroom break. We were both pretty hungry and I passed a sign for the restaurant I wanted to find. It was just before 11:00 and I was hoping they were open.
We stopped in Brantford, ON at a Harvey’s location. The Canadian fast food chain is one of the longest standing Canadian owned and operated restaurants. They have almost 300 restaurants located in every province except British Columbia. The one we stopped at is on Henry Street and Wayne Gretzky Parkway just south of the interchange with ON-403/Alexander Graham Bell Parkway. The restaurant is about fifteen years old and located in a shopping center with some other restaurants and a furniture store.
You know how I first learned of Harvey’s? It was an episode of How I Met Your Mother way back in 2009. Robin met a wrestler from Canada who showed her his collection of Harvey’s trays. I thought it was just a joke in the show but then learned Harvey’s is actually a real place and I’ve been intrigued by it since. I just haven’t been to Canada since then.
Harvey’s is sort of set up like any other fast food joint. It’s all done via counter service and that counter is right at the door as you walk in. The menu is also pretty similar to most fast food places. It hangs from the wall behind the counter TV monitors. What makes this a little different than the typical fast food burger joint is there is a sandwich line set up next to the register that more resembles a sub shop than a fast food burger spot.
I put in an order for Angus Burger with Cheese and Bacon plus a regular order of Bacon Double Cheese Poutine. The cost was CA $20.55. I tried to pay with my Discover as I usually do on work trips but it didn’t work there so I just put in on my debit card. In US, the cost came out to $14.95 plus my bank charges $.45 International purchase fee.
The reason for the sandwich type bar is because when you order, you’re just ordering a plain burger. Once it’s cooked, it’s handed to someone at this toppings bar and you pick your toppings right there. I actually really like this. You don’t have to guess at what’s on the burger when you order because there is nothing on it. I chose just to put lettuce and pickles on my burger. The guy putting it together asked if I wanted sauce. I considered the BBQ or hot sauce but decided to just skip it.
We decided to just sit and eat. We had been in the car for a while and needed a break. This was fast food so it wasn’t going to set us back too far as far as time goes. We got there pretty much right after they opened at 10:30 so the dining room was empty. We grabbed a booth in the back corner to sit and eat.
I had to order a poutine because it doesn’t get much more Canadian than that. I picked the Bacon Double Cheese Poutine which comes with fries made with 100% Canadian potatoes, a vegetarian gravy, cheese curds, shredded cheese, and bacon. The small box is just a mess of toppings and flavors. The guy who put the order together threw a fork on the tray and that was the only way to eat this. The fries are crispy skin on fries that soak up a lot of the flavor. The main thing you can taste in this poutine is the cheese. I didn’t even notice the gravy there until I got down towards the bottom and most of the cheese was gone. I’ve only had poutine a few times so I’m definitely not an expert but I really liked this. I’m sure it’s more of a fast food equivalent of poutine but as someone that’s not Canadian, I love the idea of having poutine as a fast food option.
The burgers at Harvey’s are flame grilled quarter pound Angus patties. The one that I ordered comes with Cheese and bacon. You can also order the Big Hav which comes with patties plus Swiss and cheddar “style” slices or the original beef burgers that aren’t made with Angus. Like I mentioned early, I really like being able to pick toppings instead of asking to leave things off. The sandwich was a pretty typical fast food burger. It didn’t stand out as anything super unique but it was tasty and filled me up until dinner time once we got to Boston.
I can check Harvey’s off the list now. You’ll never come across one of these unless you go to Canada. The vast majority of the locations are in Ontario and being from Michigan, that’s most likely where you’ll go if you go to Canada. And if you are in Canada and want something quick, don’t stop at an American fast food chain that you can get anywhere. Go to the Canadian one and get the poutine.
SW Michigan Dining 
Trackbacks