Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons is a Canadian chain that has made inroads in Jackson in recent years. Not only can one get coffee, ice cream, donuts, and sandwiches here, but they speak Canadian, which allows we Michiganders a convenient place to practice our second tongue, Yooper-ese. Yah, ey? So recently I stopped in to have a dine-in late lunch at the West Michigan Ave. location. First impressions: wow, this place looks really clean! And it smells great. The aroma of brewed coffee mixed with pastries baking primes the appetite. Service at the counter was prompt and friendly. In fact, all the staff appear to be in a jovial mood, cracking jokes with each other. This is unusual for a fast food place in my experience. I order a ham sandwich lunch meal, which comes with chips and a pop (see? this is Michigan - we drink pop here, not soda, not Coke. Unless your pop also happens to be a Coke...but I digress). The food comes out pretty quickly and I go to find a seat. Upon closer inspection, several of the dining room tables have crumbs on them but nothing egregious. I choose a table that is as spotless as the rest of the restaurant looks. As I get into my meal, my ham and cheese sandwich was made to order and was nicely prepared. Although maybe not as picturesque as the menu photo would suggest, I'd describe my sandwich as neat and tidy. The rustic bun is substantial and has a nice crunch to it. The ham, Swiss, tomato, lettuce, and mayo are fresh and well-proportioned. All in all for a chain offering, this is a very nice sandwich. It tastes every bit as good as it looks. The kettle potato chips now come in a bag, there are enough of them (1.5 oz), and they are a nice salty and crunchy counterpoint to my Sprite soft drink. But they don't hold a candle to the way Tim Horton's used to do potato chips, where they were scooped out of a heated hopper and served to you toasty warm in a wax paper sleeve. Not only was this a more eco-friendly packaging way to deliver the chips to the customer, but the sensory experience of warm, salty, crunchy, slightly greasy chips just can't be matched by any chips in a bag. Oh well, I'm sure there is an accountant somewhere at Tim Hortons HQ who is happy about this change, my opinion's notwithstanding. Speaking of which, my entire meal clocked in at $9.31 which at today's fast food prices is a bargain. Although I am more a fan of mom and pop restaurants and tend to avoid chains, Tim Hortons is an unusual Canadian outpost of quality and value, so I happily make an exception for them. There's something about this Tim Hortons. I don't know what they're doing, but they're doing something right. So check it out, eh?