Lunch in High Style

The Roadfood junkie put on a change of denim jeans, shaved, and combed his hair, he was about to experience a fine dining lunch.
We were invited out to lunch by a friend from the West Coast (Vancouver Island). She was flying east to Ottawa on business and we invited her to stop over for a couple of nights. As luck would have it, she was also meeting, a might have been sister-in-law, that is, if her friend had not passed away. They were meeting for the first time. The sister-in-law chose the eating place, a fine dining Country Bistro and our friend was treating. This was not the time to kick up my heals and cry, "I'm hungry, I want roadfood".

Devlin’s Country Bistro is located in Mount Pleasant, On.
704 Mount Pleasant Rd. (519)484-2258 Reservations are recommended.



The interior is charming. I was surprised at the size of the rooms and the number of people this place could potentially seat.



They even had a lounge side.



and a bar.



On the menu it promotes its self as Contemporary Italian Cuisine with a California Flair.
For starters (not appetizers but starters) they had some of the following delectable choices.
Caesar Salad $8.00
Smoked Salmon & Sweet Corn Chowder $8.50
Chinese Duck Pancake $14.50
Pumpernickel Toast w/Chevre & Mixed Mushrooms $14.50
Fried Soft Shell Crab Sandwich w/sweet potato fries $15.00
Nut Crusted Goat Cheese w/Fig Compote $11.00
3 BBQ Lamb Chops w/Gin & Mint Sauce $14.00

Pizza and Pasta
Thin Crust Pizza w/Glazed Onions, Olives & Gorgonzola $14.00
Zucchini Ribbons w/Marinara Sauce, Artichokes & Roast Garlic Toes $13.00(And you thought garlic was all fingers?)
Penne w/Smoked Chicken & Pesto Cream $15.00

We tossed around the Chef’s Surprise a 6 Course Dinner at $75 per person.
But there were so many main courses to choose, we decided a 6 course dinner might be a little over the top- for lunch. After all, we are watching our waist-lines grow fast enough and I figured, I might have to save room for a foot long hotdog depending on the portions.

So! It was on to the main course. (after the starter’s you must have the finisher’s) Well! Maybe not for lunch.

Black Cod w/Spring Onion Sauce $34.00
½ House Smoked Chicken w/Garlic Mashed $23.50
New Zealand Rack of Lamb w/fresh Rosemary Jus $34.00
Filet Mignon Stuffed w/Stilton $36.00

Or how about, bringing it down to a Roadfood level....how about a Burger?
Kobe Burger w/Grilled Vegetable Skewer $18.50
Double Pork Chop w/Root Beer Glaze $27.00

I was so pleased to get to go out to lunch and try something truly different, exotic and expensive, something from a small Country Bistro. I was even over-joyed that I was not paying the bill.

We had a lovely lunch, each of us choosing something different and declaring it has very good to excellent.

We started with Clams Casino. I did find the Clams Casino were not my favorites. I have had much better.



I moved on to my next choice.
A lovely light and tasty Smoked Salmon & Sweet Corn Chowder.



I was determined to finish this lunch with grace, flair and few calories, so my final'ly, was a simple Caesar salad wish I loved and could have ate several more but I was saving room for a hot dog and a beer.



Our friend chose PEI Mussels w/Chorizo, Leeks and Pesto Cream



It is not as if a rowdy bunch had invaded the Bistro but this was the only table occupied on a beautiful luncheon day in the country.



It was kind of nice to have the place to ourselves and the waitress was friendly.

Those worthless money saving devices called a freezer

Are freezers really the money saving devices you believe them to be?
They are long lasting appliances that come in a couple of styles, upright, chest or a section of the refrigerator. You shop for those bargains from the supermarket, and store them away for another day.

A few months later, you root around the freezer like a possum on a garbage bag looking for that cut of meat, you know, just has to be there somewhere. Along the way, you find a few bargains that really need to be disposed of.

Just how long can you keep a bargain buy? Between hydro bills and disposal that good buy just may be costing you more than the trip to buy fresh ingredients.

A suggestion that we find helpful since there is only two of us.
We break most all meat purchases down into individual units. For instance a package 6 chicken breasts, would get laid onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and froze overnight. The frozen meat will be packaged into freezer bags, that have been identified and dated. Pre-freezing prevents sticking together. No more thawing out a package of six or more units for a two unit meal.

When Hunger Strikes a Roadfood junkie

I can’t always be running the roads in search of roadfood. There are days when work around the farm just has to get done.
‘Hungry as a horse’, ‘feed the masses’, ‘stomach is touching the back bone’, whatever justification I can use for eating out sometimes gives way to getting out the fry pan and cooking up a storm.

When the roadfood junkie cooks, it has to be fast and simple but tasty. I ignore calories. I also like to trial recipes that I pick up around the web. I have found that tastes differ dramatically from web cooks, or is it, that some recipes are just plain out to lunch? Did they forget a few ingredients? Also, does the recipe feed one hungry person, or an army of diners? I have wasted a few ingredients by not digesting the recipe first.

A person surfing the web late at night can be sure the munchies will take hold of ones inner-self like a claw hammer, and pound you into submission if you are not strong enough to resist temptation.

I came across a site talking about Spam. Suddenly! the lights of food from days gone by came on.....Spam! Wasn’t that what we sometimes ate as a kid? Next day the Roadfood Junkie's fat mobile made the trip to search for Spam. Never realizing, Spam, is still a popular food. I made the purchase and headed straight home to make my very own Spam sandwich.

Spam and Sauerkraut cooking

Sauerkraut and Spam, touch of mustard on White.
Top it off with some dill slices and a slice of cheese, and you have a sandwich fit for any roadfoodie. Hey! a fellows got to use what is on hand.

How to build a quality Spam sandwich

Finished product ready to enjoy. Maybe an Italian roll would make a difference but it was awfully good on fresh white bread.

Spam sandwich on white

Another recipe I was dying to try was Texas Hot Sauce. Hot dogs smothered in a sauce with mustard and chopped onion. Being the hot dog freak that I am, and being that the clock had not struck midnight and not afraid to turn into a pumpkin, I cranked up the heat and put a pot on the burner.

Cooking Texas Hot Sauce

The finish product was quite good. The recipe made enough to open my own hot dog stand. I put the left over sauce in ice cube trays and froze the remainder for another day.

Texas Hots

The finished product was grilled Schneider wieners with mustard, onions on steamed buns and smothered in Texas Hot sauce.