After flying for most of the day, I finally made it to my final destination, the Paris of the Prairies, beautiful Saskatoon. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, my stomach was growling.
Thankfully, our Caucus meeting HQ were at the Delta Bessborough Hotel, at the corner of Spadina and 21st Street. And what is right across the street? If you answered the Freehouse, you are right. But that’s not what I am talking about.
No, I am talking about the Saskatoon Bus Stop Refresments.
A classic red-and-white 1949 Bristol double-decker bus, which served London until 1965, was brought to Saskatoon from Niagara Falls in 1985 by Laurel Beaumont.
At first, the food truck served fish and chips at Agriculture fairs across the province. In 1989, the Routemaster was parked and became a Snackmaster.
I checked in, dropped my bags in my room and off I was to the Bus Stop.
The menu is quite simple: Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Floats, Milk Shakes and Fresh Popcorn. But what I really wanted was one of their “soon to be World Famous” Riverbank Franks.
For $5.00, you get a big hot dog, with 4 toppings amongst these: mustard (hot or regular), ketchup, relish, mayonnaise, onions, pickles, sauerkraut, horseradish, salsa, hot peppers and hot chili sauce. You can add extra toppings for a quarter each, and if you’d like to add cheddar cheese, you will have to cough up an extra buck and a half.
I decided to go spicy or go home. And since I couldn’t go home, I went spicy. I ordered a Riverbank Frank topped with salsa, hot chili sauce (which it turns out was Sriracha sauce from Huy Fong Foods), hot peppers and hot mustard. It didn’t take very long for the Riverbank Frank to be ready – a couple of minutes.
And here it was in all its splendor:
The frank was good, a beef version it tasted like. The toppings were pretty standard, but were layered expertly – no drips to ruin the experience. The downside – the bun was a little stale, I thought – but I’ve seen worse.
I chased the dog down with one of their Thirst Aid items – homemade lemonade, refreshing, not too sweet – while enjoying the sun in Saskatoon’s downtown core.
Great spot!