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| Restaurant Review - May 2008 | Fergus and London |
| The Breadalbane Inn 487 St. Andrews St. W., Fergus, ON Fergusson Room
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The Breadalbane Inn - London, ON
May 2008 - ARLENE MAHOOD
If you’re looking for a local romantic getaway with great food at a reasonable price, you need look no farther than the Breadalbane Inn. It has three dining themes: the Fergusson Room serves up an extensive menu of pub grub; the Maple Shade Dining Rooms offer sophisticated dining based on the “slow food” philosophy; and a Thai restaurant, which chef Dean Michielsen will open this month. His mission is to offer something delicious and healthy for everyone.
The Breadalbane dining rooms are intimate and allow Michielsen to mingle with the guests and expound on his philosophy of supporting local farmers by including a locally-grown ingredient with every meal course. Naturally, his presence is a must if you order the Chef’s Tasting ($59); Michielsen serves up a “blind” (his choice) five-course menu upon request.
During my visit, my guest and I chose to relax and enjoy the slower pace of dining in the Maple Shade Solarium, which blends the old with the new and enhances the inn’s 1860’s Scottish architecture. I delighted in the large stone walls, slate floors, ceiling windows and wainscoting. The room overlooks a Victorian garden and in the summer, the herb garden, fish pond and fountain make a beautiful backdrop for the many wedding parties held at the inn.
Befitting the just-a-taste portion size of an amuse-bouche, the smoked char came garnished with red onion and capers and a fresh, crusty bread. For our appetizer, we enjoyed a perfectly-dressed Caesar salad ($7) with a creamy garlic dressing, herbed croutons, hand-cut bacon and freshly grated Parmesan.
I dug into a generous portion of baked brie ($9) wrapped in filo and served with a Jack Daniels apple raisin chutney drizzled with a balsamic reduction and topped with alfalfa sprouts – delicious!
Next came a cranberry Merlot sorbet to cleanse our palates and prepare us for the main course. My guest ordered the centre cut 8 oz New York strip loin ($24; add an ounce for $3 per ounce) with Marhaven Farms smashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and a seasonal vegetable medley of red and green peppers,
cauliflower and carrots. I sampled the Canadian AAA 6 oz beef tenderloin ($12; add an ounce for $3.25 per ounce) basted with herbed garlic butter. We agreed that the meat, although tender, was a little overdone, and the vegetable medley was bland. The smashed potatoes were delicious with just a hint of cream cheese – comfort food at its best.
For dessert we shared an awesome lemon cheesecake ($9) with a touch of lemon zest served with a strawberry-rhubarb compote.
In 2004, the Breadalbane Inn earned the distinction of having the best VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) wine list in the province, awarded by the Wine Council of Ontario. I thought it a nice touch that the wines were displayed in wine racks embedded in the stone walls. Although the domestic list is decent, choices by the glass and half litre are limited.
For guests of the inn, the breakfast menu offers platters with a choice of pancakes, omelettes, eggs or French toast, Eggs Benedict and a fresh fruit bowl. Everything we tried was well prepared and gave us a hearty start to our day.
We’ve also enjoyed many quick and filling meals at the Fergusson Room pub. In contrast to the quiet solemnity of the dining rooms, the pub offers wooden-benched booths, a large bar and a cheerfully noisy atmosphere reminiscent of a traditional Scottish or English pub. The menu is extensive and includes 15 starters, a variety of greens and potages, sandwiches and traditional Scottish pub fare, including Haggis Neeps and Tatties ($8) and Scotch eggs ($8).
The inn features a complete menu as well as upcoming events on its website, so be sure to check it out. Enjoy!
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| El Ranchito Restaurant 111 Wellington Street, London, ON |
May 2008 - LIONEL MORISE
Many Canadians have taken to celebrating May 5 even though Cinco de Mayo isn’t a Canadian holiday. The holiday commemorates the victory of the Mexican army under General Ignacio Zaragoza over the occupying French in 1862. Oddly enough, Cinco de Mayo is considered a minor celebration in Mexico but in parts north of the border, it’s exploded in popularity, encouraging Latinos and non-Latinos alike to indulge in Mexican music, dance, food and drink.
That is why I decided that this month’s review should be a Mexican restaurant. Choosing just one, however, wasn’t easy. London has a number of wonderful Latin and Mexican restaurants but I decided to select one that offers up some of the most authentic Latin cuisine.
The food at El Ranchito is certainly not haute cuisine but rather more of a “home-style” cooking, especially if you consider home to be Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua or Mexico. The restaurant even feels like someone’s home, the tables and comfy chairs not dissimilar from many kitchen dinettes at which I’ve eaten. The walls, decorations and plates are colourful and friendly, as are the staff. Although the decor won’t be appearing on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens anytime soon, it’s clean and relaxing, encouraging diners to sit back, relax and take it easy for an hour or so.
The assortment of appetizers and entrees is a Latin cuisine lover’s delight. A quick look at the menu reveals a variety of dishes ranging from Carne Guisada (Salvadorian beef stew) to Nachos Ranchitos (homemade corn tortilla chips) to paella (saffron-flavoured rice with seafood, chicken and sausage).
The evening we visited El Ranchito, the restaurant was far busier then I had ever seen it and we got the last available table.
My guest selected the tilapia as a main course and the Yuca Frita for an appetizer. The appetizer turned out to be a much larger serving than expected and quite tasty. Strips of cassava root were steamed until tender and then fried until golden brown. This was topped with a Salvadoran coleslaw called curtido (delightfully tangy) and chicharron (thickly sliced “pork chips” with an aroma similar to bacon, but less fatty both in texture and taste.) Although the cassava looks similar to oversized french fried potatoes, the similarity ends there. Cassava is a bit sweeter and has a less doughy texture than potato. The curtido adds just enough bite to keep things interesting.
The tilapia was prepared whole, which might cause some diners to hesitate if they prefer their fish filleted. The waiter offered to have the head removed before serving, if my guest had preferred, but not being the squeamish type, she opted to leave the head on. The meat of the fish was light, flaky and quite tender. The spices covering the skin were boastful but tasty. If you found them too intense for your palate, you could easily peel the skin from the meat to enjoy a less poignant flavour. The dish also included a small chunky green salad as well as a combination of beans and rice.
I ordered the Combo Dos (that’s right, Combo #2) which includes one of my very favourite Latin foods, the pupusa, in particular Pupusas Salvadorenas. These hand-pressed corn shells are stuffed with a variety of savory ingredients including cheese, pork and/or refried beans, then grilled. They’re served hot, slightly crunchy on the outside but warm and moist on the inside. Topped with curtido and a little of El Ranchito’s homemade salsa, they make for a full meal all by themselves. The combo also includes a couple of flautas de pollo (corn tortillas stuffed with chicken and potato, then deep fried), which are simply delicious with pico de gallo and sour cream, and a Salvadoran enchilada with chicken, lettuce and tomato piled high on a soft corn tortilla. Personally, I like to embellish the enchilada with a little hot sauce and salsa.
El Ranchito has several Latin American wines, including one served from the barrel, Villa Magna Cabernet Sauvignon (product of Argentina); it was full-bodied, soft and earthy on the tongue. El Ranchito also offers a variety of other drinks, including other wines, Mexican soft drinks and a rather unusual but highly enjoyable beverage called horchata, made with roasted rice, sesame seeds, Morro seed and cinnamon. It’s light and refreshing and a wonderful change of pace.
The short but sweet dessert menu includes a caramel flan, deep-fried ice cream, Tres Leches (a Nicaraguan sponge cake covered in three sweet and creamy milks) and Platano Bolero, a whole ripe plantain deep fried and topped with Bolero (chocolate and caramel) ice cream, cinnamon and chocolate sauce. Unfortunately, we had tickets for Orchestra London and had to skip dessert.
In addition to the meal being both delicious and filling, the service was quite good. I have noticed an improvement in this over the last year or two, which might account for the increase in popularity of the restaurant. So if you have a yearning for a little Latin home cooking, whether it’s May 5 or not, you should try El Ranchito. Since I had to skip the deep-fried ice cream this visit, I know I’ll be heading back. Maybe I’ll see you there.