Don’t expect Roadfood at Ged’s Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge

It is fine dining at its best. Forget about Roadfood for one night, this is a special occasion and special occasion’s demand special attention. The Roadfood junkie gathered with family at Ged’s Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge in Brantford,On. to celebrate a 50th birthday. My! how time flies.

Along comes that special event; Eating out enjoying good food around the country at some wonderful family restaurants, diners and dives like we normally travel to just isn’t good enough. You need something special.....a memory.
In this case, it was dining at its finest.....Ged’s! which is located in a century home smack in the middle of a residential area that was once home of some of Brantford’s wealthiest.



The hostess makes your visit warm and inviting and service is tops. Food is superb. I would rate Ged’s as Brantford’s finest dining experience. Prices are also fine dining expectations. This is not a cheap diner but a special occasion, special event, share the love, kind of place. At least, until I win the lottery and then I plan on eating at Ged’s every day. You go to Ged’s, because you enjoy fine dining at its finest and because the quality of food is second to none, right along side the service.

I have heard comments from people who have traveled to various countries and they say Ged’s tops the list. Well I don’t have to travel the world, I know where to go and even though I am use to roadfood diner prices, I can enjoy the extra pampering.

We started the night with cocktails. My cocktail of choice, just happened to be my favorite......a draft beer. There are some things in culture I am not prepared to change. I am a purist. Others, opted for wine and mixed drink cocktails.

My appetizer was Wasabi-peanut crusted Ahi tuna (served rare) with a warm salad of shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, carrots, broccoli and citrus chili soy (wasabi and soy served on the side) $16. I now know for a fact that Wasabi is not for me, but the tuna was so good I ate it all before remembering to take a picture.

On this night I opted for something lighter than beef and chose a “Shrimp Scampi”: linguini, jumbo shrimp, organic olive oil, white wine, lemon and oven cured tomatoes with fresh spinach and grated Reggiano. $29


It was an excellent choice. When the other dishes came out I was doing some oohing! and aahing! but still happy with my choice. By design, I am a red meat eater, my wife is a switcher, from beef to chicken. She chose chicken.
A pomegranate glazed chicken breast with roasted fingerling potatoes, cabernet poached pears and grilled seasonal vegetables. $27

More often than not my wife won’t manage a full meal, so I get clean-up detail. I can tell you from first hand knowledge the chicken is very good.



Another mouth watering selection was the Char broiled “Delft Blue” 14oz veal chop with organic honey braised cippolini onions, whipped potatoes and grainy mustard demi-glace. $40.



Seems funny, how kids mature as they age. My daughter would never eat seafood in her younger years and now always orders seafood when dining out. She chose a lightly crusted Basa fish fillet that she deemed as excellent.



The Birthday Boy is definitely a traditionalist and chose the strip loin of Beef w/fries(By special request) and a draft beer.



You got to love a guy with good taste.Happy Birthday Wayne.



Cheese cake complete with sparkler topped off Birthday Boy’s meal.
I was a little slow with the camera and had to ask him to put the fork down, so I could get a quick shot of a Raspberry Cheese cake.



Everyone enjoyed their meal and I got a big surprise when we went to pay our bill. My kids had picked up the tab. Dining out in high style doesn’t get any better than this, especially when it is spent with a loving family.

Ged’s Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge is located at 97 Brant Ave. in Brantford, On.

Keg Restaurant

Well eating out in upscale restaurants is getting to be a habit. Friends of ours are leaving to head south for the winter and we owed them a night out of dining without the dancing. They had taken us out for hotdogs, which I enjoyed immensely. My kind of comfort food, I am a cheap date.

We arrived at the Keg Steakhouse and told that it would be a 20 to 30 min wait for the dining room but tables were available in the lounge. We chose not to wait and hustled off to the lounge. One thing you can always depend on at the Keg is excellent friendly service.

The menu's are huge and lots of great mouth watering selections. My munchies endorphins were kicking in, but we had come for the Prime Rib and I fought the urge to break the bank with ordering one of every item on the menu.Never go dining hungry.

A contingent of noisy Revellers kept our conversation at low levels of internal screaming and head shaking. We wanted to eat and get out into the world of sanity. Water for all, with a slice of lemon, was enough to rush our dinner along. We would stop for coffee and desert someplace quiet were we could talk without the scream.

Prime Rib meal came and it was lovely to say the least. The Keg has excellent food. Creamy garlic mashed potatoes were to die for, along with another of my favorites grilled vegetables. Colorful strips of peppers and green beans. The cut of meat was thinner than most prime rib of beef I have had there in the past(about 1/2")but deliciously cooked to perfection. There were no complaints, we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Dinner for 4 was just under $140 and that included the tip.

In hindsight,a Mom and Pop operation Brown's Country Restaurant would have saved a big bill. The atmosphere would have been normal chatting level. But what is a bill when your impressing friends?