It’s about time Tim Hortons brought back the bread bowl

Is there anything more quintessentially Canadian than chili in a bread bowl?

Think about it.

It's hot -- we're (most of the time) cold.

It's portable -- perfect for tucking into on an ice-cold hockey arena bench.

It's eco-friendly -- you eat the freaking bowl! We like to consider ourselves friends of the environment, and what's better than having a meal to-go that leaves virtually no waste?

And while the beloved bread bowl disappeared from the Tim Hortons menu in the 2000s, we may have a chance at getting it back!

Tim Hortons announced the top contenders for its first-ever Bring it Back campaign today, and they're urging Canadians to choose one of five retro discontinued items to come back to their menu (and our bellies) sometime later this year.

Tim's chose one long-lost menu item from each decade for the past 50 years: the eclair from the '60s, the sugar twist from the '70s, the pecan butter tart from the '80s, the chocolate sour cream glazed doughnut from the '90s and the bread bowl from the '00s.

Since the polls opened to Canadians this morning, the eclair has reigned supreme, currently claiming more than 50 per cent of the votes.

But, if you ask us, the crown belongs to the bread bowl, which is is now (sadly) at 15 per cent.

Aside from the aforementioned reasons for reincarnating The Bowl, there's some pretty solid business angles that work in Tim Hortons' favour.

First, they've already got the marketing slogan -- who could forget the iconic "And then I ate the bowl!" ad that made early 2000s radio commercials so simultaneously fun and irritating?

Not to mention that the bread bowl was a huge draw for the lunchtime crowd, which Tims seems to be actively trying to drum up by launching their line of gourmet paninis.

Canadians have until May 14 to vote for their favourite classic menu item at TimsBringItBack.ca. The winner will be announced on May 15.

Which Tim Hortons menu item do you want to see back? Tell us in the comments below!