Confessions of a Tim Hortons Addict
Written: Jan 04 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Superior coffee, great food, innovative service
Cons: pm Service slower
|
|
|
| researchellie's Full Review: Tim Hortons |
I have got to be the biggest Tim Hortons addict of all time. I've driven far out of my way several times to get their coffee, and received bunches of their gift certificates as a Christmas gift!
When life gets busy, I frequent the drive-thru at fast food establishments. After weeks of unsuccessfully begging the attendant to stir in the cream and sugar I started to get a little disgusted. These places spend millions advertising that the customer is at the wheel, then lower you out this mess of steaming coffee, individual cream and sugar packets and a coffee stirrer (if you're lucky). You’re then shooed out into traffic, hot coffee spilling, sugar and cream and empty packets everywhere while you’re trying to navigate the road. I don't understand it at all--do they hand you your hamburger with all the condiments on the side and expect you to fix it in your car? There's got to be a better way!
Fortunately I moved to an area that had a Tim Hortons. A girl at work brought in a box of doughnuts one day, commenting on how unusual it was to buy them at the drive-thru. DRIVE-THRU? Hmmmmmm......I decided to give the coffee a try, and was thrilled to find that not only did they put the cream and sugar in, but it was served at the perfect temperature and was the best coffee I had ever tasted. I also ordered a toasted sesame bagel, and they not only put the cream cheese on for me, but cut it in quarters for easier handling. What a difference! There were about 5 cars in line ahead of me--I expected a long wait, but it took all of 2 minutes! Fabulous! It was maybe a few pennies more than other places, but definitely worth it.
If you've never tried Tim Hortons coffee, you are really missing out. It's better than McDonald's, better than Dunkin' Donuts, better than any I've ever tasted. If you drink it with cream and sugar, you will want to know that I think their "spoonsful" are a little more generous than what you're probably used to, so maybe order it with less than you normally take. People who drink it without cream find it too hot to hold the cardboard cup, but just ask for a sleeve. In all fairness, Dunkin Donut's really has a big yummy sesame bagel that’s better than Tim Hortons, but they don't toast it, don't put the cream cheese on, and around here we don't have a Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru.
Most people love Tim Hortons doughnuts because they are so fresh and light. If you prefer a heavy doughnut with heavy frosting and chopped nuts, you won't find it here. But their honey crullers are delicious, and the sour cream glazed TimBits (doughnut holes) are good, too. They also have chocolate and maple frosted, a blueberry doughnut that's glazed, as well as other varieties. There are several kinds of bagels and cream cheese flavors, too.
We've recently discovered other items on the menu that are equally delicious: their sub-style sandwiches--they are a very good and real food. You can get ham and swiss cheese, roast beef, veggie, chicken salad, turkey, and tuna salad. And their chicken stew in a bread bowl is just wonderful. The bread doesn't taste like frozen cardboard stuff--it's delicious. The stew has big chunks of real chicken, along with peas, carrots and celery. It is soooo good! My daughter even volunteered to pay for everyone's dinner to entice me to go and get some one evening!
I have actually been inside the restaurant a time or two--it's clean and pleasant, with cute little cafe style chairs and nice lighting. The staff are usually friendly and fast! To add to the pleasant atmosphere, they decorated with lots of beautiful Christmas lights this year, and had special Christmas coffee cups. (When you eat in, coffee is served in china mugs).
I have had many many good experiences, but also a few negative ones. Once the morning rush is over, service is usually slower--I'm sure there's less staff at that time. One evening I couldn't even get anyone to answer on the drive-thru speaker, just to drive around the corner and find the young staff members all playing outside! And then after waiting forever I started down the road just to find they'd given me the wrong coffee. That was frustrating. Good thing most of the time the service is great!
As long as I don't encounter too many situations like that I will remain Tim Hortons biggest fan. I even assisted my son in a school project on the founder Tim Horton. Did you know he played hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs? And beat Bobby Orr to the slapshot? And Tim wasn't his real name?
My family is big on the "made in America" issue, so they were a little hesitant to accept a Canadian coffee house chain into our little town. But hey, the coffee isn't grown in America anyway, is it? And if the American chains would get it in gear and come up with a better system, I might give them a little business too. In the meantime, Tim Hortons is my very favorite addiction. My brother even occasionally buys a can of coffee at their drive-thru now. And I never feel bad about using my Canadian coins there!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
researchellie
|
|
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 4 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.