Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Prince Edward County - Arts & Restaurant


Psychgrad did the introduction to our weekend in Prince Edward Country and shared our "Taste" and winery experiences with you. After a full day of tasting both foods and wines, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R before leaving for our evening dinner at a highly recommended restaurant in the area. The drive was about 28 kilometers but it was pitch black down winding country roads so we decided to put our hands into trusty "Emily", aka GPS. I'm not sure Emily knew the shortest route and directed us in what we later realized was a much longer drive. Since nobody really trusts my driving (I don't get it personally - just because my night vision is slightly impaired), lucky "R" got to be the driver.

Psychgrad's note: The GPS was affectionately named Emily after the automated attendant that works for Bell, a telephone provider that we all hate.

Now "R" is not the guy to use profanities very much but this ride was different. I thought keeping my mouth shut (a novelty for me) during this stressful, lights glaring in your eyes drive was a good option. A half hour late for our reservation we arrived at a very quaint looking place called The Waring House .

Psychgrad's note: I'll have to disagree on this one - R really held back on the swearing (and yo mama jokes) for my mother's sake.



We noticed that a variety of events were happening that evening - a busy pub, a happy looking wedding and a more subdued restaurant.

Psychgrad ordered a local wine from a local winery called The Grange



Good pick Psychgrad - a really lovely wine. The next day we actually visited The Grange looking for that specific wine but unfortunately it was sold out.

Psychgrad and I shared the Heirloom Tomato Salad - local heirloom tomatoes - really delicious in the height of their season. It was a promise of great things to come.
I must apologize for the pretty lousy pictures - it was pretty dark in the restaurant.



R ordered the pork chop. Is it me or do pork chops just seem rare on a fine dining menu?



No matter, "R" was pretty happy with his meal.

Psychgrad ordered the steak that turned out to be a good pick

I seem to have lost the picture of the chicken dish that I ordered.

The food was ok - not spectacular but ok. Since we had heard so many good things about both the restaurant and the chef we thought we must have hit a tough night. Service was slow and we thought our waiter, who seemed unfamiliar with the menu and the wines, was the owner's good friend helping him out in time of need.

Psychgrad's note: If you're going to charge top prices, the service should match it. To be fair, though, I think that this was a tough night for them. With the influx of people for Taste!, I would guess that the experience would be better on a different night.

I also think we were also anticipating having to drive back the 28 km in pitch darkness.

The next day we continued our journey visiting a variety of artisan shops that are well organized on what they call The Arts Trail.



Although we wished we could have more time (and money) to visit all of the artists, we also knew that it would be impossible so we stuck to particular ones of interest within close proximity to one another. I'm always amazed at the incredible talent and dedication artists have. Here is just a smattering of some of the very beautiful things we had the pleasure of seeing.









Sadly, the time flew by so quickly but what a great way to spend a weekend and I'm committed to going back and visit the places we missed this trip.
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22 comments:

Lo said...

What a great weekend... I love the idea of the arts trail, and it looks like you had your fill of great food too! Perfect, if you ask me.

creampuff said...

Everything looks lovely! Just the other day I was talking to someone about Prince Edward County ... must get there soon!

Irene said...

Oh, how lovely! I absolutely adore the stained glass window with the maple leaves. And also, why can I not have the polka-dot bowls?? WHY?!

Núria said...

He, he... I hate our GPS too! No name yet, but I like the idea of calling her something... maybe Gertrudis ;D

What a fantastic weekend! I agree with Psychgrad if prices are top, food should be top too!

Hopie said...

That heirloom salad looks good - it's too bad the rest wasn't as spectacular as you were led to believe it would be! Looks like a fun trip though, and what beautiful art!

April was in CA now MA said...

Looks like such a fun time! I just love how y'all share this blog with each other. It's always so much fun reading different accounts of activities or recipes. Family..it's such a wonderful thing. :o)

kat said...

That stained glass with the leaves is beautiful.
Its a shame you had a so-so time at a top rated restaurant. the same happened to use lately & mainly it was because of the service.

Anonymous said...

Looks like an awesome meal! What a night.

Ivy said...

Lovely art work. It seems that the stained glass is very popular. I liked it very much.

grace said...

amen, psychgrad--there's nothing worse than food that's overpriced and not tasty enough. :)
meanwhile, cool art! i totally appreciate people with those talents--i have zero artistic ability. :)

Bunny said...

I hope you can go back to the restaurant and have a better dining experience. The food looked great. I loved the pictures of the stained glass and the dishes, I so envy people that have that kind of talent!

Lori said...

For a minute I thought you were going to say Prince Edward Island. I love that place, well I love NS in general.

I love the idea of an Art Trail. THey had one in Ithaca this past weekend. I so wanted to follow the trail but I dont think my husband was into it. I will have to plan soemthing with my girlfiends.

Adam said...

Haha you name your GPS too? I love it. Mine is Lara, because she is British like Lara Croft :)

Anyways, the art look wonderful. I love the stained glass the most, but everything is very, very nice. Do you find it weird how things like wine and art only get appreciated the older you get?

giz said...

Adam - I'll let you know how that goes when I get older :)

SYD said...

The colorful dishes look so unique. Love it.

Miss Ifi said...

That heirloom tomato salad looks delicious!!!
I love the fact that the GPS was named ^_^ even though the drive was not so good.
p.s. thanks for the chicken soup through modem *giggles*

Lori Lynn said...

Sounds like fun! Too bad the restaurant wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.
I am eyeing some of those artsy platters...

Rosie said...

Looks like such fun and wow that art work is amazing!

Rosie x

Darius T. Williams said...

That's some good looking food right there!!!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I love these kind of tours. There is a tour in the fall in the Haliburtons as well which is a perfect time to see the fall colour as well.It is a beautiful area. They also have a Ganaraska Tour which is more of a farm tour closer to Oshawa.

Cakelaw said...

Looks like you guys had fun. I would love to visit PE island some day - I am an Anne of Green Gables fan and live in hope that I will bump into Gilbert one day ;)

PG said...

Cakelaw - PEI (Prince Edward Island) is on my list of places to visit as well.

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