For 73 years and counting, Stratford has been quenching its fried-food thirst with Ken’s Fries.
Make that Ken*s Fries, according to the artwork on two food trucks that announce they have been “Punching FRIES since ’53.”
Of course, the first question has to be, who was Ken? And I have failed, dear readers, to find an answer to that question. If anyone knows, please send me the story.
This French fry truck was a staple for many years in the downtown core and it will return for festivals or events, such as December’s “Winter Wanderland” in Market Square. Most days, however, the current two trucks have two semi-permanent booths, one along Huron Street near the Giant Tiger store and the second on Ontario Street, near the Canadian Tire.
Ken’s default condiment for its fries is salt and vinegar. Not malt vinegar. White vinegar. Apparently there was quite a controversy among long-time customers when, at some point, ketchup became an option.
The latest owners are Stratford residents Kevin and Laurie Zehr, who took over operating the trucks in 2024. A local restaurant group, Keystone Hospitality, had bought the trucks in 2020, in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they searched for ways to provide outdoor experiences when restaurants were closed for in-person dining. One of the trucks became the cornerstone for a seasonal outdoor restaurant and bar Keystone opened called Brü Garden, which continues to operate on Waterloo Street under different ownership. The Keystone era saw the Ken’s Fries trucks expand their menus, something the latest owners are setting aside. They are keeping poutine (adding cheese curds and gravy to the fries) and will offer aioli (garlic mayonnaise) as a condiment, but it’s back to basics for this Stratford food institution.
When you talk to locals – the born-and-raised kind – of a certain age, there’s one restaurant, and wrapped-in-nostalgia fried food, that repeatedly comes up: The Elizabethan and its cutlets. Located at 92 Ontario Street (Where the Wills and Prior home goods store is now), this interior photo shows wall murals reminiscent of an Elizabethan timber cottage and tables dressed in white-and-red gingham cloths. The owners, however, were not Brits yearning for the England of their ancestors: A Japanese couple, Yoshihiko and Chie Naka, ran the restaurant over three decades, from the 1970s to 1990s.
People wax rhapsodic about the chicken cutlet dish served there: Not exactly a schnitzel, but similar, with white chicken breast slightly flattened and coated with a crumb mixture that, when fried, turned crispy. Served, of course, with French fries on the side and a secret sauce drizzled over the chicken.
In late 2022, chefs Bronwyn and Aaron Linley returned to Stratford to open the Bluebird Restaurant and Bar. Aaron grew up here, and the couple met while students at the Stratford Chefs School. They went on as a culinary couple to open a Stratford restaurant named Bijou (later sold) and a Stratford catering business before they moved to the Toronto area for several years to further their careers.
When building the menu for Bluebird, they came up with “Naka-style chicken cutlet” – a recreation of the Elizabethan cutlet, named after that restaurant’s owners.
On one of our first visits to Bluebird, we went with another couple, one of Chris’s many cousins and his cousin’s wife. Both were born and raised in Stratford.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the chicken cutlet on the menu and ordered it. You will have to rely on her reporting that it is a delicious replica of the fried delight she remembers enjoying at The Elizabethan, draped with the sauce of nostalgia.
Photos of Ken’s fries and truck: Kelley Teahen
