A&W

Best Teen Burger I have had. .. . No kidding — Calgary Airport! And, the fries were stacked full in the paper cup, nicely dry-​fried.
The thickest patty I’ve seen on a Teen Burger (was it hunger and jet lag or just Alberta beef?). Fresh bun and generous lettuce, tomato slices, bacon, pickles, cheese and condiments.
This is the guilty pleasure that makes me not mind a connection at Calgary Airport. Forget Chili’s, Jugo Juice and Subway. .. Hit the A&W around the corner in the Food Court. .. .

Ali Z’s recommendation to save money and calories by preparing your own meal is well-​heeded by most air travelers. Be sure to chow down on your gourmet goodies before you hit the unsmiling security people who confiscate your roasted red pepper tapas or cilantro chicken wrap for themselves.
Unless, of course, you just spent the last 3.5 hours traversing the Prairies without so much as a corn niblet or a sushi rice grain in sight. Weary beggars in this era of no-​meal airlines cannot be choosy, especially on a 57 minute layover. After stumbling off the WestJet ramp, the beau and I fixated on the food court signs and mulled over an array of options spread out before us.
After dithering between Subway and A&W, the novelty of root beer and crunchy onion rings won us over. Prices for a simple meal of a Mozza burger, onion rings, and a drink tip the scales above average, but raging demons of appetite will consider dining on a cardboard fry box if properly seasoned by ketchup and a ripple-​cut dill pickle. What I got wasn’t pretty or impressive, just a pile of lettuce and cheese slapped between two pasty white buns paler than Billy Idol’s derrière in February. But it did the trick, being heated (I suppose they learned to operate the grill in the week since Ali went) and suspiciously crunchy fry stubs to delight any toddler. I think maybe three of the eponymous French nubs actually qualified as fries by even a generous definition.
On the other hand, French fries — together with avocados — have become my secret weakness while I’m expecting, so French nubs might be better to my health all around. I couldn’t tell you whether they were actually tasty, given they exuded more heat than flavour.
A&W loses a star for being stingy with serviettes and offering none at their counter (seriously?), overloading their drinks with ice in a subterfuge I come to strongly resent, and the cashier looking cross-​eyed at my beau when he asked if his root beer flavoured ice might come with a refill. It’s an honest question. She was serving up beverages worthy of walruses, and supposedly it is a criminal offense to inquire.
On the plus side, check out the neat Canadian airport memorabilia on your tabletop. Lots of hidden gems there about Canadian aeronautic pioneers help enliven a travel-​tired mind.

There is a magical line somewhere past the security station. Something about having your carry on x-​rayed and being patted down acts as a transporter into a new and different world. They do use a magical (metal detecting) wand after all. Once you are on the other side of this magical line things change. People become more aggressive, prices for convenience goods go up and the quality of things goes down.
A&W. Simple hamburgers available throughout the country and always the same. From Halifax to Victoria you can get the same burger, with the same taste and the same sides. Everywhere except at YYC. The A&W inside the WestJet terminal looks like an A&W, is priced slightly higher than an A&W, however tastes little like an A&W.
Waiting for my flight I braved the food court and decided on A&W (I know, my mistake, hush now). The service was what you would expect at a fast food place; it was fast. The food however was less than expected. The burger patty itself was A&W if a little cold. The bun was overdone originally and then allowed to harden into a hockey puck like substance that could be chewed on like rubber. The fries appeared to have come from the same heat lamp as the burger, though while not soggy were definitely long out of the fryer. On the bright side they did give me a super pack of ketchup which easily covered the fries without having to spend the extra valuable second opening another regular sized ketchup package. I think that second saved may have kept the bun from petrifying into stone.
My recommendation; eat at home.

Decent onion rings, friendly service. The pop soda is a little bit flat, but overall not bad.