A Special Dining-out Occasion with Special Friends

Pigtails and sauerkraut, Rolled Ribs stuffed with dressing, Schnitzel, sausages, pie, and draught beer the makings of, I have a dream.

Your invited out, Our Treat! was the phone message and I wasn't dreaming.
Friends Dianne and Murray were determined to take us out to a place we had never been too before.
They picked a good one. Kennedy's Country Tavern in St. Agatha, Ont. Approximately a hour plus drive from home.
I had never been to Kennedy's before, although it had been on my long list of places to try.
Sometimes, we get so entrenched in our thinking when we eat out, that we frequent the same place over and over.

It immediately had my attention when I seen pigtails on the marquee.

Seems the only place where pigtails are found on a menu is in Mennonite Country. St Agatha is Mennonite country, German food at its finest.

It has a interior that I love. Warm and friendly, good service and good fun.

Probably the stuffed rolled rib dinner is the top pick on the menu it certainly was my wife's first choice, plus our friends and by the looks of the dinner plates coming out of the kitchen, most every other diners choice.

I like to order, what I know won't be available at home, or for that matter, won't be on the menu of most other eateries.

The sauerkraut was not of the doctored up sweet kind. It had a nice tang but not overly sour. I really enjoyed it along with the good mashed potatoes and gravy.

The pigtails had a slight hint of curry, something I have never encountered before in any pigtails. My first taste, I thought, what the!!!! but, the balance of seasonings complimented the sticky gelatinous sweet meat. They were cooked to perfection.

I couln't help myself, I dived into them the second they hit the table and almost forgot a photograph.

 

About the only part of our dining out experience I didn't enjoy was the draught beer.

I like draught, not bottled beer, but I do not like the heavy hop, full bodied taste which is what I mistakenly ordered.

They had a long list of brews and I never chose wisely, for my taste. 

So I had to have a second brew. Same bad luck.

I need to stick to the common brands like Golden Horseshoe, Canadian or Budweiser. Hey! I never said I was a beer connoisseur.

I looked the brand up on the net when I got home and it said; a wet-hopped 'Harvest' India Pale Ale brewed with copious amounts of freshly picked Cascade and Fuggle hops from Pictou County.

It must have been those fuggles and wet hops, I never cared for.

For desert they had pie, beautiful pie and cheese cake.

The other three diners all ordered something different and I tasted them all (just a fork full).

 and it was down home goodness. My favorite would definitely have been the Pecan Pie which I rated the best Pecan I ever had.

They could give lessons to the state of Georgia, home of Jimmy Carter the Pecan King. Or was he that, Peanut King?

My wife shared her Cheese cake with Dianne for a piece of Pecan. Good choice, I got to sample both.

 Good old down home boy Murray ordered a good old down home desert of Apple pie and ice cream. Made my mouth water, so I finished my beer and tried not to be tempted.

I am not big on desert, after a pigtail dinner, I have enough calories to burn off.

Maybe I will go jogging tomorrow. Maybe I will just think about that statement for a while longer.

Damn! Those pigtails were good. I will definitely return wearing my reading glasses next time (which, I forgot)  to check out what other gourmet delights are on the menu.

GRILLING THE PERFECT HAMBURGER

I asked a cook one day, what kind of ground beef they used in their excellent hamburgers.
She said, regular ground beef because fat gave it flavor.

Okay! So I am going to reduce a few calories, risk some flavor and keep the fat monitoring police from stopping by.

Start with medium fresh ground beef.

When forming patties, handle as little as possible.

Loosely packed burgers are crisper on the outside and juicier inside.
Shape into thin patties, about 1/2 inch thick and larger than your bun. (the meat will shrink)

Season with salt & pepper and press in a bit of chopped onion on both sides.

Dress the hamburgers to your taste, mustard, relish or pickle, onion, tomato and lettuce are most common toppings.

A local hamburger stand noted for some of the best burgers around town; use to paint a little melted butter with just a hint of garlic onto the grill and grill the buns. A board was used to apply a light pressure to the buns.