"Toront-Dough: Dough Canada: The Great Bite North: Swiss Chalet with Alana Johnston 🔪" is an episode of the podcast, Les Doughboys, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Toront-Dough: Dough Canada: The Great Bite North: Swiss Chalet with Alana Johnston 🔪" was released on October 17, 2024.
"Tomorrow… with Alana “The Knife” Johnston 🔪" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
Alana "The Knife" Johnston 🔪 (@theonlyalanajohnston, Self Esteem Party) joins the 'boys to talk Toronto adventures, landmarks, and chains before a review of Swiss Chalet. Plus, a Canadian edition of Drank or Stank.
Nick's intro[]
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
1883 in Canada:
- John Campbell transfers power to Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice as Governor General.
- The nation officially adopts Standard Time.
- And, Thomas Patrick Phelan founds the Canadian Railway News Company, an innovative pursuit to sell food and newspapers at passenger-train stations for the burgeoning national rail system.
A family business from its inception, the workforce was at first composed of Phelan’s brothers, cousins, and nephews, and has remained in the bloodline up until the present, surviving a destabilizing fail-child succession crisis in the 1990s, as recently reported by Canadian Business’s Isabel B. Stone. As national transport evolved, so too did the company, expanding to offer airline catering in the 1930s, and shortening its name from Canadian Railway to Cara in 1961 to reflect its split focus. But its current identity is linked to its 1977 acquisition of a Toronto rotisserie chain, which would shift its corporate emphasis from the transportation sector to brick-and-mortar food service.
The meat-spin chain in question was founded in 1954 by Rick Mauran, serving spit-roasted chicken in the style of his father’s home country, its namesake neutral European hub state — which also informed its distinct dining-room decor featuring wood paneling and exposed ceiling beams. Mauran would later found Canadian burgery Harvey’s, which Cara also purchased in the deal.
And based off its success with the dual concepts, in the 21st century, Cara Operations began gobbling up provincial eateries like a hungry chain chomp, acquiring such north-of-the-border favorites as East Side Mario’s, New York Fries, The Burger’s Priest, and Quebec’s answer to Mauran’s rotisserie, St-Huber. And with Cara’s merger with sit-down concept The Keg in 2018, the once-Canadian Railway News Company fully rebranded as Recipe Unlimited. And its flagship operation — the rotisserie-chicken chain so beloved that Canadians view it as a point of national pride — continues to thrive, with nearly 200 locations, the most of any brand in its 1,300-plus dining-rooms portfolio.
This week on Doughboys… we continue Toront-dough: Dough Canada: The Great Bite North: a month-long culinary tour of the Six, with Swiss Chalet.
Fork rating[]
Doughboys at Swiss Chalet
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
4.5 forks |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
4.5 forks |
| Alana Johnston 🔪 |
|
4.5 forks |
| shared |
|
With these scores, Swiss Chalet joins the Golden Plate Club!
Alana 🔪 also offers her rating for Harvey's: 4.5 forks.
Drank or Stank[]
Clearly Canadian Country Raspberry Sparkling Water
Clearly Canadian Mountain Blackberry Sparkling Water
In Drank or Stank, the Doughboys have a drink and rate it either 'Drank' or 'Stank.'
For this episode of Toront-Dough, they try Clearly Canadian Country Raspberry Sparkling Water. They also have Mountain Blackberry, which everyone liked, but I think preferred the Raspberry.
| guest / host | Country Raspberry rating | Mountain Blackberry rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Drank | Drank |
| Mike Mitchell | Drank | Drank |
| Alana Johnston 🔪 | Drank | Drank |
Roast Spoonman[]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
| “ | Prime Minister Justin Food-Dough | ” |
–Mark from NZ | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | Without Canadians, we wouldn't have The Mask. We wouldn't have Fat Bastard, the burrito or the man. | ” |
–Mike Mitchell | ||
| “ | Mitch: What's the big difference, Wiges, between Toronto and The Bayou? Nick: Up here, the gators are cold. |
” |
–The Doughboys | ||
| “ | You cost me ten grand in green cards because you wouldn't marry me! | ” |
–Alana 🔪 to Mitch | ||
The Feedbag[]
| “ | Canada is America's hat. If you could reshuffle geography to have a different neighbor to the north, for culinary or fashion reasons, what country would you pick? | ” |
–Jeff | ||
| guest / host | country that should swap places with Canada |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Mexico |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
| Alana Johnston 🔪 | Dubai |
Drops and Plugs[]
| reference | notes |
|---|---|
| Better Than Ezra "Good" | in Mitch's drop (by The Sour Bros) |
| The Disinvited | Alana's 🔪 horror movie |
| Big Brothers | Mitch's short film (directed by Matt Mazany) |
Related Episodes[]
| Toront-Dough episodes | Alana Johnston 🔪 episodes |
|---|---|
|
|
Photos[]
