The Calgary Verve: Peters' Drive-In
08. Mar, 2010 
5 Comments
I’m 5 months away from leaving my life behind in Canada and traveling the world. This means I’m staying home more and resisting the urge to take mini trips when those tempting-crazy-cheap sales pop up. As I’m currently living in Calgary I thought it would be interesting to breath a little life into the city, hence this new series of articles, The Calgary Verve.
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for sudden cravings or homesickness. If you’ve been to Peters’ and currently far from home, stop! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! Thank-you.
Peters’ Drive-In
Peters' Drive-In
I was sitting at home this afternoon craving a float and creeping on Twitter when @nomadicchick suggested I go to Peters’ Drive-In. Peters’ Drive-In is a Calgary institution located on 16th Ave (Trans Canada HWY 1) near 1st St NE. . In business since 1962, their prices have changed a little but their menu has not. What’s on menu? Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Fries, Onion Rings, Floats and more than 4,000 possible milkshake combinations!
One of the things I love about Peters’ is that it’s mostly windows, which means you can see everything happening inside. Unlike some drive-ins from the 50′s and 60′s (A&W’s) that are still around, Peters’ is still very much the same as it was all those years ago. In fact Peters’ use to be a favourite stop for my parents when they were younger.
My original plan was to drive over to Peters’, buy a hamburger, onion rings and a float using some change I had laying around my apartment as well as my credit card. I know, you can’t get more pathetic than that. However when I arrived at Peters’ I was reminded of one thing that has been the same since the day they opened- cash only! Eek! My plan was foiled. I quickly sat down and counted my change, looked at the menu on the window and decided what I was going to order while the guy inside chuckled at me.
Cheeseburger & Onion Rings
Eating at Peters’ in not cheap. I was more hungry than thirsty so I opted for a cheeseburger and onion rings which cost me $7.60. But the food is worth it. The service at Peters’ is out of this world. The staff are friendly, patient and FAST. I think it was all of 60 seconds between placing my order and receiving my order.
Although my original plan was to order a float don’t worry, I still figured out a way to have a yummy A&W float with my dinner. How? I drove to 7-11, bought a large ice cream sandwich and a small bottle of A&W Rootbeer. When I got home I pried off the cookie part of the ice cream sandwich, dropped the ice cream into a mug and poured the Rootbeer over top. MMmm
Stay tuned for the next The Calgary Verve: Crave…
Author Info
I know you put that warning out, but I can’t help myself. Now I really want to go to Peter’s…. I always love their milkshakes. Edmonton sadly doesn’t have anything close to Peter’s, guess I’ll have to make the venture down to Calgary soon enough. Looking forward to reading more about Calgary, a city I’ve visited but never really in depth.
Haha! I try to resist driving anywhere near Peters’, but the temptation was too great that day.
I feel like a heroine addict whenever someone talks about Peters Drive In. Every road trip through Calgary NEEDS (underlined a billion times) a quick stop at this delicassy. The shakes and burgers and the 8 pounds of fries. Gluttony at its finest.
You are such a mean person… I’m heading there directly from my flight on Sept 1st!
I did this out of love. I promise