Miners' Village Restaurant
42 Birkley Street
Glace Bay
This month, a fair number of the UAG headed to the Miners' Village Restaurant in Glace Bay. This seasonal restaurant has been in business for many years, with a variety of owners and managers. None of us had been there in a few years, so needless to say, we were excited about our visit. The restaurant is located on the grounds of the museum, snuggled in amidst historical buildings. There is a large parking lot at the foot of this sidewalk where I stood to take this picture. And to the left of this image is the Atlantic ocean. We arrived on a lovely fall evening as you can see below.
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| That's the Miners' Museum in the distance. The restaurant is in the green building. |
of lie on it:
This was the two-piece Fish and Chips with tartar sauce and coleslaw.
Just look at those thick homemade fries!
When asked about her meal, this member briefly noted that the fish was "nice and light" and then returned to eating.
You know it's good when diners don't like to stop and discuss their plate.
The portions were just right as well, not too much fish and not too many fries.
This selection was one of the Specials for the evening and several members chose it for their dinner. Excellent choice again!
Can you see those fresh vegetables alongside the breaded haddock? And those mashed potatoes?
Just like Mom made.
This wonderful looking meal consists of pulled pork, tossed in a barbeque sauce and grilled on a flatbread. The member chose fries as her side, as you can see in the top of the photo.
The comment made about this meal was that it had a "nice smokey taste" and yes, again, it was as good as it looks. You will have to order a steak knife with this dish, however, as it is a full meat dish.
Well, Heavens to Betsy, isn't this dish something else? That's a good selection of both shrimp and scallops sitting on top of linguini with alfredo sauce.
Not too many noodles - not too much sauce.
Here you can see a roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings and yes, that's real gravy, fresh vegetables and a good helping of a sage bread dressing.
We were all feeling the love by the time we started eating our dinners. This was very much like being at home for Sunday dinner and having lots of family over.
Of course, we didn't know anyone else in the restaurant but I think we must have been related to each of them somehow.
It just felt like family.
And what would Sunday dinner be without a nicely sliced roast beef, with lots of vegetables and mashed potatoes?
And take a good look at the side dish...guess what that is! That's home-made pickled beets! What a wonderful surprise and soooo good.
Again, so thoughtful.
As you know, we always stop before dessert arrives to comment on the tea service.
The tea was served in good strong mugs, with a selection of milk containers and creamers. We are getting used to this type of tea service; if the tea is good, we won't complain about the lack of a teapot.
Andrea, however, was very attentive and repeatedly came to our table with a pot of hot steeped tea, just in case we needed "topping up." Well, we did - thank you Andrea.
So we can tell you that the tea and coffee are, in fact, very good and the serving of the tea and coffee is even better.
So...how were the desserts? Firstly, here are pictures of each of the desserts and let me assure you that they were heavenly.
Edna, Edna, Edna....
I don't know who Edna is but just as the coal miners walked by these buildings with coal dust on their hands, Edna goes to work with fairy dust on her hands. She is the Baker at the Miners' Village Restaurant and she has magical baker's hands. Just look at the variety of desserts and each one of them was delightful. If Edna was on one of the Food Channel's reality baking shows, she'd be the last one standing with her apron tied tightly around her waist and a look of triumph in her eyes. Edna is a champion, no doubt about it.
We stepped out of the restaurant into a coal black night with not a whisper of wind or a sound from the ocean. We could have been standing on that location in any time in the last century...just an amazing feeling.
And I'll bet you that if we came back after midnight and pressed our faces to the windows of the restaurant, we'd see a room full of lamp light and laughter, with ghosts of coal miners of all sizes, shapes and ages, eating from full lunch cans. And what would they be eating? Well, roast beef and turkey sandwiches, homemade preserves and big slabs of blueberry pie, of course!
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| Home-style cooking? Yes! Delicious? Yes! Varied? Yes! |
When we entered the restaurant, it was as if we had walked into a twentieth-century front room parlour. The tables were all laid with white cloths and silverware and each table featured a miner's lamp. The walls were adorned with mining photographs, paintings, displays of old china dishes and lunch cans - it was warm and cozy. Immediately, we left our busy work days behind and relaxed.
This was the first dish that our lovely server, Andrea, brought to the table. Yes, that's a bit of steam that you can see rising off of the hot biscuits and fresh Cape Breton oatcakes. How good were those biscuits? Well, a grand debate ensued about our mothers' baking - we all thought back to how our moms had made biscuits and how these compared. You can tell when food is home cooked because it brings so many memories with it to the table.
What did we order? We ordered a bit of everything! The dishes all arrived at the same time, so no one was left waiting - the service was topnotch.
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| French Onion Soup |
This was the first order to arrive and just like every dish that followed, it arrived fresh and hot out of the oven.
This member ordered the soup as her full supper and it was a marvellous decision. It was as flavourful as it looks - dark and rich.
That tinfoil? That was to protect her from the heat of the dish. Tell me that's not totally thoughtful.
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| Fish and Chips |
This was the two-piece Fish and Chips with tartar sauce and coleslaw.
Just look at those thick homemade fries!
When asked about her meal, this member briefly noted that the fish was "nice and light" and then returned to eating.
You know it's good when diners don't like to stop and discuss their plate.
The portions were just right as well, not too much fish and not too many fries.
 |
| Fresh Atlantic Breaded Haddock |
This selection was one of the Specials for the evening and several members chose it for their dinner. Excellent choice again!
Can you see those fresh vegetables alongside the breaded haddock? And those mashed potatoes?
Just like Mom made.
 |
| Miners' Pork Delight |
The comment made about this meal was that it had a "nice smokey taste" and yes, again, it was as good as it looks. You will have to order a steak knife with this dish, however, as it is a full meat dish.
 |
| Seared Shrimp and Scallop Platter |
Well, Heavens to Betsy, isn't this dish something else? That's a good selection of both shrimp and scallops sitting on top of linguini with alfredo sauce.
Not too many noodles - not too much sauce.
 |
| Roast Turkey |
Here you can see a roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings and yes, that's real gravy, fresh vegetables and a good helping of a sage bread dressing.
We were all feeling the love by the time we started eating our dinners. This was very much like being at home for Sunday dinner and having lots of family over.
Of course, we didn't know anyone else in the restaurant but I think we must have been related to each of them somehow.
It just felt like family.
 |
| Roast Beef |
And what would Sunday dinner be without a nicely sliced roast beef, with lots of vegetables and mashed potatoes?
And take a good look at the side dish...guess what that is! That's home-made pickled beets! What a wonderful surprise and soooo good.
Again, so thoughtful.
The tea was served in good strong mugs, with a selection of milk containers and creamers. We are getting used to this type of tea service; if the tea is good, we won't complain about the lack of a teapot.
Andrea, however, was very attentive and repeatedly came to our table with a pot of hot steeped tea, just in case we needed "topping up." Well, we did - thank you Andrea.
So we can tell you that the tea and coffee are, in fact, very good and the serving of the tea and coffee is even better.
So...how were the desserts? Firstly, here are pictures of each of the desserts and let me assure you that they were heavenly.
 |
| Homemade Coconut Cream Pie |
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| Edna's Homemade Ginger Bread with Hot Butter Sauce |
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| Homemade Butterscotch Pie |
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| The Bull Whip: Deep-fried apple rolled in cinnamon sugar with a hot brown sauce |
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| Homemade Blueberry Pie |
I don't know who Edna is but just as the coal miners walked by these buildings with coal dust on their hands, Edna goes to work with fairy dust on her hands. She is the Baker at the Miners' Village Restaurant and she has magical baker's hands. Just look at the variety of desserts and each one of them was delightful. If Edna was on one of the Food Channel's reality baking shows, she'd be the last one standing with her apron tied tightly around her waist and a look of triumph in her eyes. Edna is a champion, no doubt about it.
We stepped out of the restaurant into a coal black night with not a whisper of wind or a sound from the ocean. We could have been standing on that location in any time in the last century...just an amazing feeling.
And I'll bet you that if we came back after midnight and pressed our faces to the windows of the restaurant, we'd see a room full of lamp light and laughter, with ghosts of coal miners of all sizes, shapes and ages, eating from full lunch cans. And what would they be eating? Well, roast beef and turkey sandwiches, homemade preserves and big slabs of blueberry pie, of course!
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