INTERNATIONAL

The Canadian cultural mosaic is nowhere more richly varied than in our most beloved fast-foods. From takeaway curries to over-the-counter soups, late-night beef wraps to delivery rice- noodle spreads, this country’s tapestry of take-out could hardly be more diverse – assuming you live near a food court. Here are your best international options:

1. Steak Burrito (Chipotle) When the world was introduced to Chipotle – a little over a decade ago now for most of us, though the chain has been in operation since 1993 – the question immediately raised was how on Earth they managed to make what seemed to be nothing more than a straightforward burrito so inexplicably appetizing. Mysterious the secret remains, though it doesn’t much matter: that nonpareil tube of Mexican culinary genius looms above all other express cuisines and enjoys a well- deserved harmonious international ubiquity. And of course we recommend the burrito with guacamole. Pay the surcharge and relish the verdant splendour.

2. Chickenjoy (Jollibee) Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee is among the most fervently beloved takeout restaurants in the world – so much so that thousands had been clamouring for the company to set up shop in Canada for years online before our country’s first- ever Jollibee outpost opened its doors this winter. And opened in Winnipeg exclusively, of all places – at least for now. Their signature “chickenjoy” – a marvellous take on fried chicken – is the most popular dish in all the Philippines, and it isn’t difficult to understand why. “Langhap-sarap,” declares the Jollibee slogan: “deliciousness inhaled.” Indeed. There’s no better way to put it.

3. PERi- PERi Chicken ( Nando’s) The Portuguese have long been revered for their seemingly pressure-blasted with salt – and therefore irresistible – chicken. But the chicken at Portuguese chain Nando’s – marinated for 24 hours in their proprietary (and astonishingly tasty) PERi- PERi sauce, then flame- grilled to order in what amounts to perfection by simplicity – towers well above even that high national bar.

4. Tuna Pita ( Pita Pit) Tuna salad may not be widely accepted as a traditional middle- eastern pita style. It may therefore be considered an improvement of international synergy: one of the greatest of all sandwich types bettered by the leavened breaded pocket.

5. Pad Thai ( Thai Express) Iconic street- food in its homeland, and a major figure of the international dining landscape abroad, the humble, tantalizing pad thai is like nothing else available to the hungry would- be diner – a peculiar stir- fried rice noodle dish that has proven among the most widely popular in the world.

6. Gyoza Dumplings ( Teriyaki Experience) The dumping has a strong claim to being a perfect selfcontained morsel of food, and while its North American fast- food iteration lacks for some of the finesse of the Japanese izakaya or street- food varieties, the countrywide availability afforded by a national chain like Teriyaki Experience has certainly made food- court dining all the richer. Douse these beauties in some soy sauce and bask in the salty delight.

7. Butter Chicken ( Amaya Express) Routinely ( and unfairly) dismissed as the Americanized special of the Indian menu, butter chicken is in fact a thing of rare and precious beauty: a toothsome robust sugar- rush that is the highest form of curry. Has anything so rich, so divinely sumptuous, been devised by chefs in this country? It takes an Indian flair for purity and balance to get it exactly right. But skip the lunch buffet, please: a dish this delectable ought to be enjoyed in the traditional manner, as a godsend of speedy mall food court takeaway.

8. General Tso Chicken ( Manchu Wok) Chinese food, despite its ubiquitous presence in cities large and small and its decades-long dominance of the takeout market, cannot be easily embodied by a single representative dish; the range of takeaway options at even a humble Chinese chain like Manchu Wok defies this kind of simplification. But if there’s one meal that seems a prevailing go-to for western diners, it’s the trusty chicken of a certain General Tso. That vaguely artificial quality of the meat itself is part of the blessed charm.

9. Classic Souvlaki ( Mr. Greek) One regularly yearns for the skewered roast-meat majesty of a good Greek souvlaki. One regularly regrets, shortly thereafter, having sought to gratify that yearning with a trip to Mr. Greek.

10. Naked Chicken Chalupa ( Taco Bell) As a mere foodstuff, the Naked Chicken Chalupa hardly qualifies as edible: the shell itself is composed of the flesh of a chicken, which rhymes nicely with the fleshy shell of the life led by anyone sad enough to order it. But as a culinary experience it is almost transcendently gruesome – a nightmare glimpse of the unspeakably grotesque, in simple fast- food form. You may, if you are lucky, recover one day from the horror of its Spicy Ranch Sauce.