Roadfood-junkie Tours Restaurant, Diners, and Dives around Ontario's Small Towns

Small towns are some times swallowed up by a bigger town. The town of Aldershott is now incorporated into the much bigger city of Burlington, which is part of the city of Hamilton. Roadfood-junkie takes a step back in time to the sixties to a very real old fashion Hot Dog stand.

This place has been serving up Hot Dogs & Hamburgers since the early 1930's. It’s a roadfood-junkie dream of memories gone by.
A look at the place from the outside would turn most modern diners away and the inside is no better, but who in their right mind would want to take a chance and play with success…and modernize. No matter the appearance, this rugged old shack has patrons lining up to sample fast food, the way it should be; with out the glamour and the glitz. A gastronomical treat for anyone’s palate.
Picture Easterbrookes entrance


Lining the walls are paper plates with felt tipped menus. There are so many combinations of hotdogs and all priced slightly different that it is mind boggling to decide which to choose.


Patrons from times past have carved their initials, addresses and I love U’s into the counters, chairs, booths, walls and even the ceiling. There is a wall of fame from celebrity visitors and clippings from old news papers extolling the virtues of a Easterbrooke' hot dog.
Picture Easterbrooke’s wall


Service is fast and food is good. You order, and they give you a little tab off the receipt. The number on it is what they call out when the order is ready. Roadfood junkie always waits to get a booth, he likes to eat in style.

Picture Easterbrookes counter


Up until a couple of years ago, it was the only place you could still get a bottle of soda pop out of one of those old fashion water coolers. Now a person has to settle for those crummy cans. I miss selecting soft drinks out of the water cooler. They had far more old fashion varieties than just coke & Pepsi.
Picture Easterbrookes Hot Dog


Hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, and onion rings is the bulk of their menu. But you can order hotdogs in numerous configurations and by numerous names off the paper plate menus located along the ceiling.

All hot dogs are foot long dogs.
Choices range from Sauerkraut to Chili and everything in between and all named appropriately on the fancy paper plate menus. Anything fancier would spoil the décor.

The regular 12” dog is mustard, relish and onion priced at $2.35, the dog is plump and juicy, steamed no doubt; and the bun has a slight crust to it about as fresh as a bun can get. I have yet to try their hamburger, since my love affair for their hotdogs. Onion rings are dark golden but a have soft onion interior. They are very good, but orders are small. Save your money for another hot dog.

They claim to have real ice cream not that icy gloop and their milkshakes are still made the old fashion way. If for no other reason than to satisfy your curiosity take a drive and enjoy good eats at Easterbrooke’s. Remember, the Roadfood-junkie motto, goodfood, good service, good prices and good fun. And when I say rustic, I mean rustic

You can always work up an appetite with a walk around the Royal Botanical Gardens which is directly across the street on Plains Rd; then head on over to Easterbrooke's for a gourmet treat. It is worth a drive to smell the flowers and eat an Easterbrooke's Hot Dog. Enjoy the adventure and a trip back in time.

Roadfood Junkie Memoirs

Roadfood junkie a self proclaimed Connoisseur of unpretentious eateries around small towns of Ontario.
Perhaps, it is the childhood memories, the rustic atmosphere of diners, dives and good roadfood of bygone days. Food, like Mom use to make. The older generation grew up in a time when eating out was a special event. The younger generation has been weaned on fast food, the drive up micro-waved burgers and frozen French fries. Where is the fun in eating out and dribbling special sauce down your front? I’d rather be sitting in a booth conversing and joking with the wait staff, enjoy a bountiful plate of flavorful food and knowing I was getting value for my hard earned dollars.

They say you can't tell a book by its cover. Same goes for diners, dives and roadfood restaurants.

Eating out has its moments. When you walk through that door; it may, or may not bring back memories of days gone by. The decor does have something to do with the look and feel. A jukebox or a pinball machine may stir up memories of that Mom and Pop diner that you loved so much. The mood is hard to explain but many people, feel it, and the experience is memorable.
Booths offer more privacy, while an open table concept may be preferred by larger roadfood junkies. Counter stools may host the local gossip crowd, capable of solving world problems.

This roadfood junkie wouldn’t think of wandering into an unknown eatery and ordering a full course meal. Ambiance alone is inspiration enough to look at the menu over a cup of coffee. Sit back and watch the plates of food being delivered, watch for happy faces, take a few deep breathes does it exercise the senses and listen to the compadr’e. When I feel satisfied, I eat.Of course, we also base our decisions on recommendations.
We are not talking fine dining, this not where the average person eats. Remember, parsley is not food, it is a decoration for lack of food.

It is the ambiance and the anticipation that sets a Mom & Pop restaurant apart from a fast food, or drive through establishments. There is no mystery to searching out precooked micro-waved hamburgers and hot dogs.

We travel a lot to roadfood destinations; quite often with other foodie friends. We all have a common interest in good food, but likes and dislikes differ dramatically. When we all agree about a fun food time, we enjoyed our meal, and feel like we got value for money, I write and give praise where I feel praise is due, and sometimes, we agree, when the experience is not memorable. I write about that too.
I like to leave with a smile and that warm fuzzy feeling, that a good meal and good fun, was had by all. We’ll be back.

Food is a celebration of life and should be shared.

Breakfast for one

Some days a big breakfast gets you through the day but when is a breakfast too big?


Mario's Cafe in Warren Street, London, has a big breakfast for 10 pounds (about $16 Canadian). Eat it all in 20 minutes with no drink to wash it down and you get it free.



It's 10 eggs, 10 bacon strips, 10 sausage links, 10 pieces of toast, 5 black puddings (oh yum!!!!), tomatoes, beans and mushrooms. No Chips !!!

Do you think this could rate as too big?



The breakfast packs in 5,000 calories - nearly twice the recommended daily intake for an average man.. A spokesman for the British Heart Foundation said: "Eating this amount in one sitting is not a good idea.". No Sh*t Sherlock!

Roadfoodjunkie Christmas Get Together

Our annual Christmas get together was held at David’s a beautiful restaurant situated on a cliff overlooking Lake Erie just east of Port Dover, Ontario.

It had been in the works for months, voted on by the wives and agreed to by the husbands. Roadfoodjunkies would try another stab at a fine dining restaurant after having a couple of other disappointments. We opted for something a little more special. We had eaten previously at David’s, for Mother’s Day, and had an exceptionally excellent Prime Rib dinner.

David’s is a wonderful place to go to in the day-time; to have a drink, and sit in the beautiful lounge. Choose a table by the window, taking in the millionaire’s view of the lake. Night time is nothing special, still great ambiance but it is too dark to see anything. We had an evening sitting by the window and a dark view. I would rather have been by a fireplace. The room was too cool for dining and not at all comfortable.
What was nice, eight of us had our own room and privacy. We could enjoy conversation.

The specials of the night were a mixed grill of pork tenderloin, veal and shrimp served with grilled vegetables. $34. Mahi-Mahi was the seafood special of the night. $38.
I chose the mixed grill special and my wife had beef tenderloin from the menu.

We shared an appetizer of Brochette bread. 1 glass of wine (for her), 2 bottles of Ricker’s Red (for me) and one serving of key lime pie, for a bill totaling $127.50 minus tip.

The beer was good; I find beer chef’s usually consistent.




Our friend Gerry had a surf and turf. Steak and 2 pcs of perch.
It came with Fritos, which is not the usual fine dining gourmet fare, especially frozen fries. But Hey! What do you want for $35 or $40 bucks?




Fine dining means; exorbitant prices, gourmet food, exceptional service and ambiance. It means special; a night to remember. It was a great night with friends so it will be remembered, in fact, we will reminisce about the night many times over but it will not all be positive.

The wine was a half glass of Pinot Grigio for $9.00. Talk about a rip!
2 beer reasonable at $9.50 (or so I tell the wife).
The appetizer was wafer thin rounds of French bread. It was very good but way over priced at $10.00. Strike 1.

The mixed grill was an abomination reserved for amateur cooks. Grilled vegetables, peppers, snow peas, mushrooms. and purple potatoes. Lost amongst the vegetables were a couple of medallions about the size of a silver dollar, of pork and veal, on the side maybe 3 shrimp. There were no flavor bursts, no special sauce, nothing that stood out as different or should I say special. Not much of a bargain at $34 for an average dinner. Strike 2.

Unfortunately, even my camera was shaking.




My wife enjoyed her beef tenderloin ($39) although, she couldn’t eat the mashed potatoes. She wasn’t alone, a couple others felt the same way. They tasted as if vinegar had been added plus some unknown seasoning. I tasted them and they were definitely different. The women found them uneatable.
A consensus among others in the group was one of a less than a satisfying meal. Not one happy camper. The steaks were small, or they were not tender, the fish was just alright, or the vegetables were cool.
The Caesar salads were terrible, very little dressing and wilted lettuce. Strike 3.

Deserts were fine. Key lime pie


or a pecan tart with a very small scoop of vanilla ice cream were more of a bargain at $8.50.


And there was a lemon square that was supposedly very tasty.


A small cup of coffee($2.50) topped off the meal. There were no complaints with the service, in fact, what we were really paying for was ambiance and service; the food was below average for fine dining and way over priced.

There was perhaps, two other tables being served. The restaurant was not busy. Not hard to fathom, why?

That’s it for me and fine dining.
I have vowed to never again venture out fine dining and putting on the Ritz with over inflated prices. Hell, I will fill my own water glass, grind my own pepper or buy a whole bottle of wine if that is what it takes to classify an eating out experience, as Fine Dining. Maybe even have some Fine Dining Poutine.

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?

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.