Food Sparks: Eating in Ontario farm country

We spent a day in Ontario's farm country this week, starting with a visit to the St. Jacob's farmers' market - an annual ritual for us. We arrived just in time for an early lunch at one of the best fish places in the area - Vandijk's Fish truck offering Alaskan pollock in a light crunchy batter at the fantastic price of $6 served on your choice of multigrain or white bun. This is topped off with the yummiest apple fritter ever - this comment from someone who wouldn't go near a donut. There is usually a lineup out the door for this treat on weekends. A weekday visit makes this a more pleasurable experience - you head straight to the cashier, pay your dollar and a freshly made fritter is in your hands!

Fried fish from Vandijk's

Vandijk's truck

Apple fritter!

On the way out, as the market neared closing time, we got great deals on cantaloupes (look at the size!), big juicy peaches, and leeks, cherry tomatoes and potatoes.

We next headed to Stratford for the afternoon performance of 42nd Street followed by a leisurely dinner at a new restaurant at the Mercer Hall Inn in the old location of the former Tango restaurant. It was a complete makeover - all tastefully done, in more ways than one - and best of all, the focus is local.

Reminded of the California ban on foie gras, we decided to "indulge" as the menu suggested on the foie gras appetizer. You can see how puny each of the 2oz servings were - they looked like sides with the ample serving of crustini. My rating - serving too small to provide meaningful "indulging" - although it was uniquely good, as only foie gras can be! What was actually a better deal were the seared scallops - done to perfection. The seared duck on pulled duck and rice was excellent. The schnitzel, a bow to Mennonite farm country, was an unexpected delight - two pieces of thin moist pork in light batter served with a warm potato and bacon salad with fennel and green apple slaw. It was one of the best schnitzel we've had, certainly comparable or even better than the ones we tried in Berlin, if only because it was a more delicate serving size and likely local. It was a wholly satisfying day for the palate!