Erie Belle - Kincardine

We spent the day in Inglis Falls and then caught a movie in Owen Sound before heading back to Kincardine for dinner. 

 

Inside the Erie Belle

Menu

We sat outside on the patio first - until the mosquitoes and flies overwhelmed us - and we asked to be moved indoors.  The outdoor patio experience at Erie Belle was very different from the experience at The Bruce. 

Seafood Combo Platter

Fried fish, fried shrimp, crab salad and a baked potato - there was a lot going on! 

I love fake crab - so I was happy to eat it (the salad was really just a bed of lettuce leaves which I guess is the 'healthier' part). The fried fish and shrimp were okay for the most part. 

Website: http://eating.inkincardine.com/restaurants/erie-belle/

Jean's Family Restaurant - Kincardine

My friend said Jean's was a great place for breakfast (and would beat the alternative of McDonald's down the street) 😊

Texas Club Sandwich

Hamburger, lettuce, tomato and bacon

I couldn't resist ordering this when I saw it on the menu! A hamburger club sandwich - this I had to try. It was actually pretty good! I was happy and there were so many fries. 

Western Omelette with Home Fries

 Huge omelette with ham and onion and these potato home fries on the side. Very filling and pretty good. 

Overall: Quick and good service, huge portions of food and it was pretty good. 

Website: http://eating.inkincardine.com/restaurants/jeans-family-restaurant/

The Bruce - Kincardine (ON)

We made it back from Sauble Beach in time to catch the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band and followed them down to The Bruce. 

Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band parade and sunset near the water on the patio of The Bruce.

Three Cheese Spinach Dip with fried pita points

The pita points were thick crispy around the edges pieces that made dipping fun (no breaking of chips here)! The dip was pretty thick and hearty too - wished there was a bit more though. 

Prime Rib Special for $19.95

We came on a great night! Huge prime rib, baked potato and a Yorkshire pudding for a great price! It was also pretty tasty too with the au jus on the side. 

Baja Fish Tacos

Tacos were tangy with a little hint of spice - pretty decent overall. The rice side was a little weird though. 

Overall: Decent meal at The Bruce and the patio out the back is FANTASTIC! We had such an amazing view of the sunset - which was the perfect end to our day. 

Website: http://www.brucesteakhouse.com/

Beach Burger - Sauble Beach (ON)

It was the perfect weather for a lazy beach day at Sauble Beach!

We got here early to save our spots on the beach. 

Menu

Beach Burger
I got their signature burger (because why not?) and it had grilled pineapple, bacon, cheese, tomato, lettuce, onions and secret sauce.
Pretty good - I really like grilled pineapple and this one was really sweet. The burger was a great compliment to the hot beach day.

Website: http://saublebeach.com/company/beach-burger/

Shawarma Land

We stopped by Shawarma Land for dinner before our long road trip to Kincardine.

Huge Chicken Shawarma!

Good thing my friend and I were sharing because I definitely wouldn't be able to handle this by myself. I couldn't believe the massive portions they served and it was really good! All fresh and tasty ingredients. 

Shawarma Poutine with beef and chicken

We were probably a little overzealous when we ordered our food - but we hadn't eaten anything substantial since lunch and didn't really anticipate such gigantic portions. The poutine was REALLY good! I would definitely order this again. Crispy fries, lots of yummy shawarma, savoury 

gravy and cheese curds - so good and great value for money. 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Shawarma-Land-552798798120671/

Cafe Hollywood

Minestrone soup and Cream soup with rolls
Soups were okay, but not great.


Beef with gravy sauce and spaghetti
The beef and gravy sauce was okay, but I wasn't a fan of the vegetables that came with the dish.


Portuguese Chicken
The sauce was a little too salty and rather one-dimensional, but the chicken was tender.


Deep Fried Chicken Wings and Fries
This dish was definitely the best out of the three - we got HK style and Honey Garlic and we were so impressed! The wings were super crispy and so juicy inside and the fries had that great crispy outer layer as well. The gravy was so good with all of the fried food. I would definitely come back for the wings (probably during their happy hour to try out their other flavours like curry flavour and sriracha hot chilli.

Website: http://www.cafehollywood.ca/home_en.html

Night It Up! (Markham Night Market)

We got here a little early for Night It Up!, but it was pretty busy:

There's lots of things to enjoy like stage performances and sports as well as checking out all the food! It was an Asian foodie paradise...until you saw the line-ups.

WOWffles with mango pieces and ice cream
I can't say I was terribly impressed by this. It was Chinese egg waffles + vanilla ice cream + chunks of ripe mango. I admit I was expecting mango ice cream and it just didn't seem as original or interesting as the other options.


Chocolate WOWffle with Oreo and ice cream
The chocolate wowffle option was much better!

Ooo Squid

It was really yummy!  The squid was a little difficult to eat since (1) it was all on one skewer (and I was afraid of dropping the skewer when I was pulling the squid with one hand and savagely ripping the squid with my teeth on the other side) and (2) it was really hot since it was fresh from the fryer.
It was on the salty/peppery side, but the mayo or sauce was a really good compliment.


Fried Chicken!
This was much better than Hot Star since it was not as salty and it was tender and juicy chicken underneath the fried and crispy skin. However, it still wasn't as good as the chicken I had in Taichung's Night Market (but that's a high standard to follow).

Website: http://nightitup.com/

Bannock

Another $18 Summerlicious Lunch at Bannock:

Ontario Heirloom tomato salad with green radish labneh, sunflower and pumpkin seed garlic brittle

When I heard tomato salad, I was actually picturing a salad of greens and some tomatoes sprinkled in - but this was a plate of pretty tomatoes. It was okay - but definitely not what I'm expecting to pay $18 for.
 

Summer Green Vegetable Alphabet Soup

Caramelized Pulled pork bannock burrito with green tomato, cucumber and lime relish, tomato jam and monterey jack cheese

Baked Atlantic Haddock on a yellow split pea and charred corn succotash and preserved lemon and cucumber buttermilk

This was pretty good and very pretty on the plate. 

Crickets on a log with real crickets, mimolette cream cheese and celery

I probably should have known better than to order this: I don't like cream cheese or celery in particular, but I thought crickets as a dessert was kinda cool. It was kinda strange eating visible bug parts - but I couldn't really enjoy the sweet cream cheese or the celery part. 

Genelle's Vanilla Ricotta Cheesecake

I didn't like the taste of this cheesecake. 

Overall: The service was great, but the food was mediocre and there wasn't anything I really loved in the three course meal I had. The bannocks here are yummy, but I think I'd skip the Summerlicious experience. 

Website: http://www.bannockrestaurant.com/

Via Vai Pizzeria and Wine Bar

Update: Via Vai has closed.

I thought Via Vai had a good Summerlicious menu for $18, so I came with some coworkers.

Arancini
I'm not too sure what happened to the rice ball - but there was a lot of mozzarella cheese, some chicken and tomato sauce. I think this got a little lost, but it was yummy (since you can't go wrong with tomato sauce, fried food and melted mozzarella cheese).

Eggplant Parmesan
I think this would have been better if some of that cheese and sauce from the arancini moved to the eggplant. It definitely could have used more sauce.

Chicken Parmesan
The chicken was huge, but the plate of pasta was a little sad. The tomato sauce was lovely and tasty.

Spaghetti

Margherita Pizza
The pizza was nice - classic margherita with a nice crispy crust.

  

Tiramisu
It was okay, but I didn't like the raspberry sauce on the side - it was a strange addition.

Overall: The space was beautiful with the murals, but the service was a little slow and the food was only okay. 

Bach Yen Vietnamese Cuisine

My friend and I were in the area kinda late and there were only a few things open (one of them being Bach Yen). 

Beef pho, Spring Rolls and Nuong

Everything was okay, but not really the best Vietnamese cuisine I've had. The nuong was okay - the fish sauce was pretty good.  Interestingly enough, it was kinda busy on a Tuesday night (but that might be because it was the only thing open late in the area), so we had to wait a bit for one waiter to take our orders were taken and serve our food. 

.