By Kate Musgrove
June 8, 2015There are more than 800 A&W locations in Canada, but up until last week, I hadn't ever been in one. On Friday, though, my boyfriend and I were about to embark on some shopping at the Eaton Centre and he wanted to grab something to eat at A&W before we started. He ordered a burger, onion rings and a co*ke. After he'd gotten his food and we were sitting so he could eat, I remarked, "weird, your drink doesn't have any ice in it!" He replied, "yeah, A&W Restaurants don't have ice."
As it turns out, my boyfriend actually worked at an A&W restaurant when he was in college and he explained that the thinking was that ice would dilute the good taste of A&W root beer, so they serve it in frosted glasses instead. And I understand that the company might feel like their root beer is best served cold without ice, but I honestly thought my boyfriend must be joking when he said that there was no ice in the entire restaurant. What about the other beverages? What if you get your meal to go -- then you're drinking out of a paper cup, not a frosted glass mug. And what about people who want an ice-cold drink in frosted mug with ice? (That would be the ideal scenario for me -- after all, when all three components are cold, the ice melt is kept to a minimum and the drink is not diluted.)
He wasn't kidding, though -- A&W confirms their restaurants literally don't have ice. Even if you ask for it!
I know that not everyone loves ice as much as I do. Some people order drinks without ice because they want to get the maximum amount of beverage possible. Some people have sensitive teeth that extra-cold drinks can bother. But for me personally, if I'm having a pop, I want to drink it with ice.
What's more surprising to you, the fact that A&W doesn't serve ice, or the fact that I had no idea that they didn't? And do you like ice in your drinks?
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