S- O- O- O SECRETLY DELICIOUS

There was a chocolate doubloon, glass of milk and a condiment cup of ketchup at the stern. In the hold, beneath the drinking straw mast, a Legendary burger with Triple “O” sauce, a slice of dill pickle and fries on the side. At the bow, a serviette, spoon and cup of vanilla soft serve – the ice cream gradually melting as you ploughed through your junior menu item.

Having grown up in 1980s B.C., White Spot’s cardboard- clad Pirate Pak looms large in my childhood fast- food memory. Flavour-wise, though, just one element of the Pirate Pak sticks: the topsecret, tartar- esque Triple “O” sauce. Established in 1928, White Spot is the longest- running restaurant chain in the country with more than 100 locations in Western Canada and Asia. To this day, the ingredients in its signature burger sauce remain a closely guarded secret.

Contrary to the belief that the name hints at three ingredients, Triple “O” actually has nothing to do with the composition of the sauce. Rather, as Dr. Mary Gale Smith (one of the founding members of the B.C. Food History Network) tells me, it’s a relic of the drive- in era. Carhops used the abbreviation “ooo” to denote extra burger toppings.

Dr. Smith remembers family trips to the White Spot drive- in on Granville Street in the 1950s. “Just eating in the car was something sort of unique and kind of wonderful,” she says. As an adult, she tried her hand at recreating Triple “O” sauce. “I thought it was that Kraft Sandwich Spread mostly because I thought the colour was right, but the taste wasn’t.”

Nearly 89 years after the first Legendary burger hit the first White Spot drive- in, people are still pondering the trademark sauce. And White Spot has capitalized on the mythology with a chain of takeout burger joints called Triple- O’s.

Could the condiment be as straightforward as a combination of mayonnaise and red hamburger relish? Or a concoction of mayo, honey and paprika mixed with relish? There’s a Reddit thread devoted to approximating it and speculative recipes posted on blogs. Many have attempted, but so far, no one has succeeded.

And so, the allure of the secret sauce continues.