Canadians love vinegar

Yes, vinegar and fries is a delight most Canadians love. It's a British thing. Except in French Canada, poutine is fries with cheese curds and gravy.

Columnist John Kass of the Chicago Tribune wrote a nice "homage" to Canadians. Chicago is the site where Conrad Black is on trial. If you don't live in Chicago or Canada, you probably don't know who he is.

Anyway, there are a bunch of Canadian journalists in the city covering the trial. So Kass wrote his thoughts on Canadians. Some of them are charming and a bit overstated. But here at Canadian Corner, you get perspectives from someone who knows and loves Canada. It's fun to see how other Americans view Canada.

In case you can't access the full article (the newspaper requires free registration):

Today, I ask all readers to slip a bottle of malt vinegar in their purse or pocket, or those mini-packs of white vinegar--in case you run into a Canadian who has just ordered french fries.

They'll no doubt ask for vinegar for their "chips" and we don't serve it that way, which will induce panic among them.

Canadians insist that we Americans are the loudest people in restaurants, but if you ever see a Canadian suffering vinegar withdrawal, you'd notice their lips pucker up as they twitch, stubbornly determined not to be loud like Americans, which only increases their pain.

So, if you see a Canadian hunched over a plate of fries having a silent panic attack, please reach over, without asking, and surprise them. Sprinkle vinegar on that stranger's spuds and say, "Welcome to Chicago, eh?"