Sometimes, I hang out at the Tim Hortons website. You know, these are things that I just do. I see they have this new Holiday Spice Hot Smoothee, a delectable concoction of ass-tasting coffee with ginger, nutmeg, all spice and cinnamon.
Honestly, I never thought I would miss my (un)friendly neighbourhood T-Ho, filled with high school kids and the homeless. Their coffee is uninspiring and insipid, but I still drank gallons of it as a student. I love that Canadians don't frown upon double-cream double-sugar medium coffees the same way the English would with their "just a splash of milk, thanks" righteousness! (That's right Gonz - righteousness!) I want the words "double-double" tattooed on my ass.
You can't write about T-Ho without commentary on national symbols, so I am going to attempt one. I never bought into the whole "Timbit nation" theory, it seemed absurd and offensive to reduce contemporary Canadian national identity to the Tim Hortons franchise and "I Am Canadian" beer commercials. I left Toronto about a year ago, I used to just think of T-Ho's as being nothing more than an unpretentious place where you can go and get yourself a freaking coffee without having to complicate your life. But now, I think there is something more to it. It's not just the patriotic marketing and the shipping off of T-Ho's goods to soliders in Afghanistan that makes it Canadian. It's the fact that it exists in every street corner, from Scarborough to Rosedale (well, Yonge street on your way south to Bloor from Rosedale station, but still a posh area!) and the universality of its logo that makes you think of Tim Hortons everytime you think of Canada (well, Toronto). You need to break a 20? Step into T-Ho's. Need to get out of the cold? Step into T-Ho's. T-Ho's: 42 years of convenient locating. And I don't who the hell this guy Tim Hortons was, but he is now just a coffee place that also sells deep-fried batter. But it is CANADIAN deep-fried batter, damn it! And it's coming to a location near you.
Remember those painfully cheesy commercials "based on real life" where Canadian foreign students write to the company and ask for coffee to be sent to Scotland or something? That is so going to be me. Except I am going to ask for a year's supply of their chocolate danish. You can keep your coffee!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Ya Timmy's is great. There is no doubt. I would probably miss it a lot more than I think I would if I ever left the country for an extended period. I would have to go to such places as "Dunkin' Donuts", if I could even find that! It is in every little hick town in this country. I remember going to Anne's little town and even there, population 5000, there was a Timmy's. It is a staple. Single Single for me please. With a chocolate glazed donut.
Come back already so we can share a cup and try to warm up in our freezing winters.
Post a Comment