Finding the best loaded fries in Charlottetown
Prince Edward Island (PEI) is famous throughout Canada for its produce: potatoes, beef, dairy, lobsters, scallops, mussels, and more. While those are delicious, it’s strange that the Islanders haven’t created specialty dishes with them. One exception is fries with the works.
It’s feasible to try all the restaurants in Charlottetown that offer this dish if you have the time, appetite, and companions to share the calories with. For those that don’t, here’s a quick rundown of the top contenders.
The PEI poutine
A quick introduction for the uninitiated. Fries with the works are fries covered with
- brown gravy,
- ground beef, and
- peas
That’s the minimum criteria. Other additions may include caramelized onions, cheese, and mushrooms. It’s similar in concept to a poutine, though Quebec and PEI would deny it.
Believed to originate from west PEI, the highest density of FWTW can be found in Charlottetown. Yes, I’m calling it FWTW since it’s a mouthful. The PEI Potato Board (yes, that’s a thing) publishes a helpful list of where to find FWTW in Charlottetown and beyond. The majority of them use PEI potatoes and beef.
Big Burger
The one from the fast food stall
Big Burger’s main location is in Royalty Crossing Mall, formerly known as Charlottetown Mall. It’s the most popular of the 3 stalls left in the food court there.
Unusually, they have a chicken FWTW. For the sake of fair comparison, I picked the classic beef FWTW.
The fries were medium-cut and a bit crisp. They had a consistent golden tone. The crumbled beef patty was lightly browned but there wasn’t a lot of it. The dark gravy was reminiscent of that of beef poutine and had a light herby taste. Sadly, some peas were discoloured and bruised. Still, all the components came together for a hearty meal. 8/10.
The bonus ingredients were onions and mushrooms. The onions could have been caramelized more to give a stronger aroma and were still quite white and crunchy. The canned mushrooms were ok.
Hunter’s Ale House
The one from the pub
This establishment looks and feels like a standard pub. For some reason, it’s also wildly popular for dinner.
The fries were evenly fried golden but soft. The crumbled beef patties had a rich and pure taste. The meat was hardly seasoned but the umami from browning gave it sufficient flavour. The gravy was gelatinous and glossy dark brown. The beef flavour was luscious, with hints of smoke. The peas were intact and remained vibrant green—the only restaurant in this taste test to accomplish this. 8/10.
The bonus ingredient was onions. My only nit was that they could have been caramelized more.
Ken’s Island Fries
The one from the food truck
2025 update: Ken’s Island Fries has moved to 20 Irving Avenue, Stratford
This food truck is stationed at the only Canadian Tire in Charlottetown. It doesn’t get too busy.
The name of this eatery is a dead giveaway about what the star component is. The fries were medium-cut and fried to an uniform gold hue. They were deliciously potato-ey but could be more crispy. Unfortunately, the ground beef was low-grade, like a frozen supermarket patty. It was neither browned nor crisp. On the upside, there was a generous amount of meat and gravy. The latter was medium brown and tasted like a standard poutine gravy. Overall, a quality food truck product, though it might be better to just order plain fries. 7.5/10.
The bonus ingredient was cheese. It was mild in taste and didn’t add much to the FWTW.
Maid Marian’s Diner
The one from the diner
This long-standing diner has all the classics like all-day breakfast, burgers, fish and chips, and of course, FWTW.
The fries were medium-cut, light gold, and had a slight crisp. The crumbled patty was thick and beefy. There was a lot of meat. The dark gravy reminded me of Bovril (a British beef extract) and was a bit acrid. One negative was that the peas were mushy. 7.5/10.
The bonus ingredients here were melted mozzarella cheese and onions. More caramelized onions could have transformed this dish.
Not FWTW but honourable mention: Cows Creamery
Cows Creamery is the packaged food giant of Prince Edward Island. They are famous for chocolate and cheese that are made with local ingredients. If you can’t make it to their headquarters/factory on the edge of Charlottetown, you can find their products at souvenir stores, the airport, around PEI, and even supermarkets in Toronto.
There’s a self-guided tour starting with a video screening, a short corridor to observe production facilities behind glass windows, and ending with memorabilia displays and a massive merch store.
Honestly, the products are typical tourist goods. They’re not bad but most of them are not outstanding. Cows Creamery is saavy at capitalizing on the reputation of the island’s produce. PEI dairy? Make cheese, ice cream, and milk chocolate. PEI potatoes? Make chips, dip them in PEI milk chocolate, and call them “Cow Chips”.
To be fair, the PEI stawberry ice cream I had was satisfyingly creamy. 7.5/10. But the snacks like chocolates and chips were average. The chips could be more crisp. 6/10.
One thing that’s worth buying is their Avonlea cheddar cheese. It’s a smooth, nutty, crowd-pleasing cheese. Not pungent and has a rich body. Maybe they can try incorporating it into FWTW. 8/10.
Other FWTW restaurants to try
There are a handful of promising places that I didn’t manage to try.
- Sam’s Family Restaurant. Another long-running diner.
- The Chip Shack. Open during warmer months.
- Black & White Convenience. The only FWTW inside a convenience store.
Where to eat FWTW in Toronto
FWTW is not available in Toronto, but poutine variants like galvaude come close. Smoke’s Poutinerie has a prime beef poutine with peas, onions, and mushrooms. However, the stuff you get in Toronto isn’t made with PEI beef and potatoes, which is the main draw of FWTW.
Cow chips are occasionally available at Loblaws supermarkets. For a reliable source, go to the Cows Creamery branch at Niagara-On-The-Lake.
Verdict
FWTW is difficult to mess up. Most of the contenders are quite close but I give the edge for cooking technique and gravy flavour.
- Hunter’s Ale House: 8/10
Rich beef taste. Peas weren’t overcooked. - Big Burger: 8/10
Combination of onions, mushrooms, and peas was greater than the sum of its parts. - Maid Marian’s Diner: 7.5/10
Generous amount of beef and decent execution. - Ken’s Island Fries: 7.5/10
If judged on fries alone, this would be a winner but the beef pulled down its score.
Practical information
Big Burger
- Rating
- 8/10
- Prices
- Beef fries with the works (small): $13.74 (including tax)
- Address
- Food court of Royalty Crossing, 670 University Avenue and 6 Prince Street
- Hours
- Monday to Saturday 1100h – 2000h
Sunday 1200h – 1700h - Date of visit
- November 2022
Hunter’s Ale House
- Rating
- 8/10
- Prices
- Fries with the works (regular): $18.39 (including tax)
- Address
- 185 Kent Street
- Hours
- Daily 1100h – 0200h
- Date of visit
- November 2022
Ken’s Island Fries
- Rating
- 7.5/10
- Prices
- Fries with the works (small): $8.50 (including tax)
- Address
- Outside Canadian Tire entrance, 20 Babineau Avenue
2025 update: moved to 20 Irving Avenue, Stratford - Hours
- Monday to Saturday 1100h – 1800h
Sunday 1200h – 1700h - Date of visit
- November 2022
Maid Marian’s Diner
- Rating
- 7.5/10
- Prices
- Fries with the works: $13.79 (including tax)
- Address
- 7 Ellis Road
- Hours
- Daily 0700h – 1900h
- Date of visit
- November 2022
Cows Creamery
- Rating
- 7/10
- Prices
- PEI strawberry ice cream (single scoop, regular cone): $6.04 (including tax)
Cow chips gift pack: $3.32 (including tax, on clearance sale) - Address
- 12 Milky Way
- Hours
- Daily 1000h – 2200h
- Date of visit
- November 2022