Pizza Delight

My husband and I had a list of places we wanted to eat before coming back to Ottawa. Lucky for us, dinners were being served left, right and center. Not so lucky for us, we only had a few days to fit it all in. So we didn’t get to hardly any of the places on our list. Except this one, Pizza Delight. Unfortunately we don’t have one of these anywhere near us now. I’m guessing if we did the luxury would be gone anyway. But since we don’t, it becomes one of our stops when we go home to the Maritimes. We waited right up to the last minute for this one, stopping in Edmundston just before crossing into Quebec.

My husband ordered his usual, a Donair, and me, just a regular ol’ pizza with the works. I’ve always loved their crust, thin, but not so thin you have to eat 10 slices to be full. Just the perfect amount of cheese and the usual yummy toppings that goes with the works. They have many different kinds to choose from now too. A comparable pizza in Ottawa is hard to find, but the Dewie is pretty close.


My husband isn’t so lucky with his Donair. You can’t get anything remotely close in Ottawa. In fact, I don't think Donair sauce even exists outside the Maritimes (although I've heard rumors there may be some, I've yet to find it). That unique, sweet tasting sauce has had east coasters wrapped around it’s little finger for a very long time. And the meat, donair meat, is also impossible to come by. There are no comparable options for this dish in Ottawa. One of the supposed-to-be “maritime” bars has tried and failed, using mayo for the sauce and ground beef for the meat – why even bother.

We snacked on these lovely treats all they way through Quebec. Yum!!

Rossmount Inn – St. Andrews

$$$

My husband treated me to a golf package at the Fairmont Algonquin for my birthday this year. My father-in-law also happened to be in St. Andrews at the same time bringing a travel writer for a tour of the area, so he and his wife decided to take us all out for dinner at this fabulous restaurant, which comes in as my second 5 star rated spot. This inn was formerly a family home that burnt down and was rebuilt as a 3-storey manor house hotel, using moldings and other key pieces from the St. John Hotel that was being torn down at the time. The hotel wasn't very nice and didn't do very well until the new owners Chris and Graziella Aerni took over and changed it to an inn and restaurant. Their focus was the restaurant and they did so well that they were able to use the profits to improve the rooms. It's now a wonderful place to eat and stay. As usual, I had a terrible time deciding what to order. Everything looked absolutely amazing. My father-in-law fixed that for me by requesting a chefs tasting. I LOVE doing that! I was so excited I could barely sit still. We started off with a bottle of white wine and an amuse-bouche of lobster ceviche, then they brought us a salad of candied baby beets and shaved fennel figs with toasted pecans and warm chèvre fritter. Our next plate was the Wolfhead (local smokers) smoked salmon with chive-potato pillows, horseradish-caper mousse and pickled shallot. Then came the sweet potato crab cakes with beet-shallot salad and celery root-apple remoulade. Then we had a mouth watering pork belly dish with summer squash purée and basil-arugula drizzle, followed by the seared tuna loin and “corriander crunch” roasted corn-zucchini fritter and watercress-pickled red onion salad. Our final dish for dessert was a bee balm-vanilla poached peach and homemade blueberry ice cream. I also had a glass of port. A lot of their ingredients are local and seasonal so the menu changes regularly. Now if the descriptions above aren't enough to have you running to St. Andrews to eat there then you are just weird. The prices are insanely reasonable, starters range from $3 to $15 and mains from $17 to $28, the ambiance is relaxing and the service is great. We even got to meet Chris, the chef/owner after our meal was done because my father-in-law knows him well and brings many people through there on his tours. I'm not sure when i'll be in St. Andrews again, but i'll probably build another trip around it just so I can eat at this restaurant again.

www.rossmountinn.com

The Bell Inn – Dorchester

$

While on vacation in New Brunswick, my husband and I did an 85 km bike ride through Memramcook, Sackville, Shepody Bay and Dorchester. As I always do, I ended the ride with a food reward which was the Bell Inn Restaurant, a spot my husband often went with his grandmother as a child. This house was built in 1811 and is the oldest stone structure in New Brunswick. It used to be a stagecoach stop in the 1800's and is now a highly rated restaurant. They serve traditional home-cooked comforting foods, which was exactly what we needed. We were lucky to get a table when we arrived. As we walked through the rooms of the house almost all the tables were reserved, and the ones that weren't kept getting the signs put on them every time the phone rang. I started off with a glass of lemonade, so refreshing and was my second choice to the beer I didn't get because they aren't licensed. Then they bring you the best homemade biscuits you've ever had. That is by far their specialty. I ordered the daily special, meatloaf with boiled potatoes, gravy, vegetables and coleslaw and it was delicious. I mashed my potatoes up with the gravy and mixed my veggies in with it, I've always done this with turkey dinner, it's how I love to eat them. My husband had the biggest lobster roll i've ever seen (I think it was a whole lobster in a bun), which came with potato salad and coleslaw and a side garnish of dulse - also delicious. And I know this because my husband can't order anything without me getting him to give me taste or splitting his plate with me (we often do half and half with our plates). The service was professional and prompt and the prices were very reasonable. I'll definitely be back when i'm in New Brunswick, but i'll make sure to make a reservation. I think we got lucky.

Bell Inn