10 Canadian Comfort Foods That Put American Snacks To Shame

If you love: Elephant Ears

Just like your favorite carnival treat, Canadians stretch this fried dough to look like a beaver's tail and dress it up with sweet toppings.

If you love: French Fries

Our Québécois friends have improved this staple side dish by loading on cheese curds and savory gravy. 

If you love: Bagels

A bagel is a bagel, right? Not to Canadians. At first glance, Montreal bagels appear smaller with a bigger hole. But the real difference is in their sweet, dense dough that is boiled in honey-infused water then baked in a wood-fire oven. Yum. 

If you love: Pastrami on rye

Stacked high like the NY deli classic, Montreal smoked meat is more heavily spiced and typically dressed in yellow mustard. 

If you love: Munchkins

Our northern neighbors have very strong feelings about the superiority of Tim Hortons' Timbits over Dunkin' Donuts' Munchkins. From what I can tell, they're both doughnut holes.

If you love: Bloody Marys

A Bloody Caesar is like a Bloody Mary's seafaring best friend. Same tasty tomato juice and vodka drink with a kick of clam broth. 

If you love: Shepherd's Pie

Made with layers of ground beef, corn, and mashed potatoes, pâté chinois is pretty close to your traditional shepherd's pie. It's just...Canadian. Also, the name translates from French as "Chinese pie" although the origin of the recipe is not Chinese. Weird, eh?

If you love: Pecan Pie

This quintessentially Canadian dessert is a lot like a southern pecan pie, without the pecans. Nut and raisin toppings are optional and delicious.

If you love: Oreo bars

Named for a city in British Columbia, these no-bake bars hit the dessert trifecta: crunchy cookie base, creamy custard middle and melted chocolate top. 

If you love: "Maple" Syrup

Well, duh. Instead of high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors, real Canadian maple syrup comes straight from the tree.