Rack and Roll

3345 Plummer Avenue
New Waterford

Anyone who is following our Blog knows that this group of diners will go anywhere on a Friday night and we have been to several pubs through our years together. This month, we headed to downtown New Waterford to try the Rack and Roll on the main drag. People were surprised - yes, the Rack and Roll can be quite the hot spot late at night, but at the supper hour, it's just plain fun.

This pub is surprisingly spacious; the bar, the kitchen, the washrooms and the Chase the Ace ticket table are all situated towards the back of the building. The front two thirds of the building is open floor space filled with wooden tables and chairs, a large stage and one billiard table (there used to be more).  The result is that you have a clear view of the band and of everyone else in the room. It was like being at a wedding reception where it wasn't so bad that you didn't know anyone; you just knew that you'd all be friends by the end of the evening. 

The band was scheduled to begin playing at 6:00 pm and because we have had terrible experiences with live bands setting up during our meal, we were prepared to eat quickly and vacate the premises. However, this band, Kelly's Brew, was totally professional. Their set-up routine just meant that they started playing earlier. And were they ever good! An entire extended family of MacIntyres that played country, folk, and old hits just loud enough that we had fun shouting to each other but not loud enough that we couldn't hear them or each other.

Kelly's Brew (that's Shirley Kelly MacIntyre on the far left)

The other surprise was the large menu - there were pages of selections, including a Senior's and Children's menu that, wait for it, included fountain pop, milk, juice or tea or coffee. This is a first for any restaurant that we've been in and the inclusion of milk caused quite a stir at our table, I must say.

We ended up ordering three chicken dishes: Maple Chicken, Sweet Chili Chicken, and Grilled Marinated Chicken, with delicious mashed potatoes, fries, or a salad:

The men in the group both ordered burgers, the Paul Bunyan Burger and the Turkey Burger Platter:

There were also several orders of Pan Fried Haddock:

And even an order for a Fishermen's Platter that had everything on it:

And this was yet another surprise - we knew we weren't going to be served gourmet dinners at the Rack and Roll, but the food was hot and tasty and our waitress couldn't do enough for us. We really enjoyed our meals.

Are you ready for the biggest surprise of the evening? The tea service might have been the best yet!

That is a large thermos of tea that contained two Tetley tea bags and enough boiled water to get us through our entire meal. That's sugar, sugar substitute, creamers and milk - everything you could want. We were so excited to see that Rack and Roll uses Tetley Tea!

So now that the band was rocking away at the front of the room and the place was filling up with happy faces, we decided to try two of the three desserts offered. We ordered the Butterscotch and the Coconut Cream pies:

Well, after all that tea and pie, the next stop was the Ladies Room. And yes, another surprise! Don't you love it? We've been in many pub bathrooms by this point in our travels and usually the surroundings encourage the quickest of visits. Well, the Ladies was a treat - we had to take a picture of the pretty sinks:

So there you have it - an evening of surprises - one after the other. Just as Rack and Roll's ad states Great Food, with Great Drinks with Great Friends, we had a great time in New Waterford.