Okay, when I saw the Ragtag prompt was “sandwich,” I decided I simply must rerun this post from 2016:
Today dawned rainy and foggy with a prediction it would last all day, so instead of spending five hours on the Cabot Trail before heading southwards for another three hour journey to get my car returned to Hertz by 9 p.m., I decided to head immediately for the airport and my overnight stay at the very classy Alt hotel which is located right at the Halifax airport. Very handy. Enroute, I noticed an A&W Drive-in and had to stop. I thought they’d gone out of business years ago but here is proof that they are still alive and thriving in Nova Scotia. Thanks, WordPress, for the very timely prompt. I didn’t even know what it was until I got to the wifi of my hotel in Halifax. Nice coincidence that I was already supplied with an illustration for today’s prompt of “Sandwich!”
A&Wsome Burgers
The first drive-in I went to when I was just a kid
(before there was McDonalds or wax cups with a lid)
was an A&W sixty miles from home
with root beer served in frosty mugs and sporting heads of foam.
I haven’t seen another for years, so I believed
there weren’t any anymore—a fact that I have grieved.
So while driving into Halifax, imagine my elation
when I saw an A&W next to a filling station!
I had meant to fill my rental car before I turned it in,
‘cause the prices when Hertz fills them up are really quite a sin,
but all thoughts of filling up the car vanished in a blink
with thoughts of luscious burgers and foamy things to drink.
There’s mama burger, papa burger and even a teen,
but still no baby burgers, or anything between.
They have onion rings and French fries and something called poutine?
An addition to the menu? I found it most obscene.
Now it has been a long time since I have had the fun
of consuming family members stuffed into a bun,
but I am really very sure that poutine is a new one.
In all my life I’ve never before had the chance to chew one!
I asked the friendly sales girl for a bit of erudition
that could clue me in to this Canadian addition
to what I thought was sacrosanct—an act of pure sedition.
Just what has the world come to when franchises have permission
to add things to the menu? It simply is not right
that they can think up something new for us to bite!!!
She filled me in on what it was and said it was delicious.
French fries, cheese curd, gravy??? A mixture most pernicious.
What good are French fries served with cheese that’s certain to taste boggy,
topped off with gravy that no doubt would make the whole mess soggy?
I bought a teen burger and naked French fries at their best—
then left to eat them in my car—a sure sign of protest.
But in the end my protest was paid most dearly for.
For when I took my food to go, slamming shut the door
and roaring off to eat my food in another place,
I ended up with poutine all over my face.
For I forgot to buy my gas which would have cost a third
of what I had to pay to Hertz—a total most absurd.
Yet even though my protest in my budget put a crimp,
at least I did not stoop to eating French fries that were limp!!!
The prompt for RDP is “Sandwich.”
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
Poutine is served in the New York Cafe, in Ketchikan, Alaska! Thanks Canada!!
when I graduated from college I had a job at Herfy’s hamburger joint before going into the Peace Corps in North Africa! I had to get my fix to hold me for the 2 years I’d miss out on such fare! I made $40. to take home & put on a Halloween party!
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Where in North Africa were you? I taught in Ethiopia.
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The frosted mugs! The mama and papa burgers! Those are such fond memories from my childhood. I’d love to run into an A&W again.
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We had to drive 60 miles to get to one.. First drive-in I was ever in. There was a Frosty Freeze in my little town but you had to go up to window to order.
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Ragtag Daily Prompt.
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I had forgotten about the Mama and Papa and Teen burgers. I have never liked root beer but I remember loving their cheeseburgers and fries.
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Great post Judy 😄
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Many thanks, Poet!!!!
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🩷
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A & W memories! When I was pregnant with my first (1981) there was an A & W near my workplace. I’d go, get car service of course, and have a teen burger, fries, and a root beer float. Then, several times, it tasted so good I’d get another float! Hey! I was pregnant!
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You certainly earned those second helpings once you went into labor!!! And a hundred times since, I’ll bet…
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That ending made me laugh, Judy — classic irony! 😄 I’m with you on skipping the poutine; some experiments just shouldn’t happen between fries and gravy.
~David
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LOL great post, we were recently out in Halifax and actually did the Cabot Trail – incredible – blog post coming this week of photos! We purposely said to ourselves, we have these in Ontario and aren’t keen on them there so we are eating authentic while in Cape Breton 😉
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I grew up in a small tourist town on Lake Huron in Michigan. Our only “chain restaurant” was an A&W, and it closed during the winters. I remember they had little, free “baby” root beers for young children. I’ve never tasted better root beer than A&W!
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I love that they had free Baby Root beer!!
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