I had an Affair with Tim in Canada
Written: Sep 14 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great donuts and cookies; good bagels and restrooms.
Cons: Staff attitude and the coffee.
The Bottom Line: I would stop at Tim Hortons without a second thought for their donuts, bagels and cookies. Then I'd have to find somewhere to get coffee.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Tim Hortons |
I was introduced to Tim Hortons last summer while traveling for 2 weeks in Canada. We spent a month in Canada this year. I got very familiar with Tim’s donuts.
About this restaurant:
Tim Hortons is more than a Donut store. I didn’t remember all the food they serve but then again I wasn’t taking notes to review the restaurants at that time.
This is a general review since I was in so many Tim Hortons this summer. Like Dunkin' Donuts some Tim Hortons are drive throughs. Some do not have that very convenient amenity. This was fine though because we often used their very clean and conveniently located bathrooms as we were traveling. In addition we can’t go through a drive through with our trailer behind us. Most of the restaurants were similar sizes with about 15 tables and chairs and a lot of displays hanging from the ceiling. I did come across one in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island that only had a counter. There was no seating at all. I visited one Tim Hortons that was in the Ferry Terminal in Halifax, Nova Scotia so there was no parking per se for this location. Most we went to did have their own parking lots. I must say that at one point I felt there were as many Tim Horton’s in the Maritime Provinces as there are Dunkin Donuts but that isn’t so. Their hours vary by location.
I try not to generalize, but in general I did not find the staff at the Tim Hortons I visited friendly. There are 6,000 Tim Hortons worldwide in 30 countries. I am generalizing about a small percent. However I did note this behavior for that percent. I wondered if it was because I was American. I wondered if it was because I didn’t always know how much Canadian money I had. Whatever the reason that was my experience. I found the staff efficient, quick and unfriendly. I often felt rushed. I ordered from one woman who hurried me and then with a wave of her hand she sent me to the end of the counter to pick up the bagels.
On one occasion I saw a fly in the donut case!
Background Information:
This information as well as the menu and nutritional information can be found at the website www.timhortons.com.
The very first Tim Hortons store opened in 1964 in Ontario, Canada. In the United States there are 260 “coffee shops” including Massachusetts which I didn’t know. I have never seen a Tim Hortons in my state. There are 2,400 in Canada.
Tim Horton was the founder of this chain. If you are a trivia buff you might know that he played in the National Hockey League for 22 years. "After many summers of hustling to make an off-season living, Tim decided to try his luck in the coffee and donut business. The first Tim Hortons franchise opened. In 1967, with three stores in operation, Tim became full partners with former police officer Ron Joyce."
At the age of 44 Tim was killed in an automobile accident. At the time of Tim’s death, there were only 40 Tim Horton’s stores so he didn’t live unfortunately to see his success.
About their donuts and stuff- what we ate:
Each time we went into a Tim Hortons I took notes! I got cookies on many occasions. I got 6 cookies for $1.99. They advertise these cookies on television and from the ceiling. I had the pecan caramel which was my favorite cookie. Threads of caramel weaved through a soft, often warm cookie with plenty of pecans inside. Though that was my favorite cookie I had them all. Different locations have different selections. The peanut butter and peanut butter and chocolate were just ok. I liked the peanut butter cookies better than the ones with chocolate in spite of how much I love chocolate. I found that the chocolate wasn’t rich and the peanut butter flavor in this combination wasn’t flavorful. At least the peanut butter cookies tasted like peanut butter. Macadamia anything is on the top of my love list but I found Tim Hortons macadamia nut cookies needing more nuts for me to have found them excellent. The M & M cookie was good. In fact it was very good if you like M & Ms. The cookies were filled with this little candy and as always were soft and fresh.
Sigh – the donuts are really good. I haven’t reviewed Krispy Kreme but their donuts remain my favorite. I think Tim Hortons are very similar to Dunkin’ Donuts but if I had to choose I’d choose a Tim Hortons donuut. I had the a cream donut with chocolate however the only chocolate were sprinkles on the top. That was fine because the rest of it was so good. I loved the fact there was no powder on it. The white cream was throughout the entire inside of the donut not just in one corner. Under the chocolate sprinkles was white frosting which was sweet and yummy. It was hard so I could pull it off like you can pull off the top of a Hostess cupcake. Another favorite were the toffee donuts. I had never had a toffee donut and it was good if you like the flavor of toffee. The donuts taste just like toffee. There is no toffee inside; it is the donut itself that is toffee flavored. I also got on more than one occasion the coconut cream. Like other donuts at Tim Hortons this one was filled with a cream with real pieces of coconut inside.
You can get Timbits (The equivalent of Munchkins.) for $.15 each; $1.50 for a small pack; $2.25 for a medium; and $4.49 for a large pack.
A couple of times we got bagels. The bagels were good. I’d say they were very similar to Dunkin' Donuts bagels- maybe a tad better. The Harvest was filled with raisins and sunflower seeds. It wasn’t doughy or too thick, which some bad bagels can be. There was so much light cream cheese that it was oozing out the middle. Unlike many Dunkin’ Donuts (I was told it was a legal issue and a health issue.) Tim Hortons allows the staff to spread the cream cheese. A bagel with butter is $.95. One day we got 2 bagels with cream cheese, a muffin and 2 medium coffees for $7.50 in Canada so even less with the conversion.
The muffins were good. I got a triple chocolate muffin which was very good. I had it as a desert one night. It was rich and filled with chocolate bits. I had the whole wheat carrot muffin which I called delicious. It had nice pieces of carrots and it didn’t stick to the wrapper like my husband’s blueberry bran muffin did. However I think the carrot muffin can use some nuts which would make it even more delicious.
The coffee is a step above 7 Eleven. We only got it out of desperation. I learned quickly that in the Maritime Provinces iced coffee is not made. Whenever I asked for it I was looked at strangely. The staff at Tim Hortons wouldn’t even suggest pouring hot coffee over ice. Once I asked for them to do so and they did but they didn’t use enough ice and it was worse than awful. As a point of reference we found a small donut shop in Prince Edward Island with a pleasant young girl at the counter. She was more than happy to follow my instructions on how to make hot coffee cold and she gave me extra ice with a smile on her face. Not so at Tim Hortons. I tried cream rather than low fat milk (There is no skim milk or Equal/Sweet & Low) and two sugar substitutes but it didn’t make the coffee better. Eventually I stopped drinking it. Truly we couldn’t wait to get to Freeport, Maine to go to Starbucks.
They serve many beverages including hot chocolate and tea. Their sandwiches some in regular and large and range from $2.99 to 9.75 including chicken club and garden vegetable. A Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich is $5.25 to 7.25. Some are noted as 8 grams of fat or less. You can get soup; you can take home their coffee and you can get one of their decadent desserts such as tarts for $.99.
My rating:
These numbers are relative to other coffee shop restaurants in which I have been.
Coffee- negative 1
Donuts – 5
Muffins - 4
Bagels - 4
Cookies - 5
Staff- 2
Cleanliness - 4
Price- 4
My overall rating is 4.
I really did enjoy most of everything I ate at Tim Hortons this summer. Other than the attitude of the staff and the awful coffee I really enjoyed my list above.
Links to my reviews of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island can be found on my profile page. Thanks for reading. jo
Recommended:
Yes
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Member: Jo
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On the road again until mid-January. Happy New Year!
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