UAG Dines Out

  41 Strathcona Street  Louisbourg (20 or so minutes out of Sydney) View from the road View from the back deck of the restaurant Deck furniture packed up ahead of the hurricane       We arrived at the Lobster Kettle just ahead of Hurricane Arthur and in a heavy fog and mist. Quite an adventure for us!  But we travelled in a Honda Odyssey and my heavens, it was fun just getting there. So, was the Lobster Kettle worth the drive from Sydney? We ordered quite a variety of meals and desserts, so we have lots of photos and comments for you. Tea Service The first item to arrive at the table was the tea and you can see immediately that there's a problem.  The tea pot lid was bent so that it wouldn't close, meaning that it was not possible to have a hot cup of tea.  What you can't see is that the sugar top had the opposite problem - it was stuck closed.   But after the drive in, the tea was welcomed no matter what. ...

581 Grand Lake Road Sydney, NS Whenever I travelled up to visit my grandparents at their apartment in London, Ontario, they would treat me to a nice dinner out. Grandma would put on her short-sleeved polyester dress with the matching belt and her plastic white pearls and Grandpa would give himself a good shave and change his shirt. The three of us would go down into the underground parking lot and climb into their brown Chevette. Somehow, Grandpa drove us across the eight lanes of traffic in front of their apartment building to the restaurant at The K-Mart. This memory is always triggered by a visit to Simeon's Restaurant. Perhaps it's the plastic tablecloths, the pine wainscoting, the pink colour scheme or the tiled bathroom - this restaurant screams the 1970s. But with this look, Simeon's is boldly saying that it knows it looks dated, but those were good years and we don't have to change because we both know that you're going to enjoy your meal here. ...

Bonnie Prince 50 Reeves Street, Sydney The April outing of UAG took us to the Bonnie Prince, just down from where the Canadian Tire used to be and across from where the Giant Tiger is going to be.  This restaurant has been in business and in the same location for many years, although its neighbours have changed. The Bonnie Prince restaurant has seen at least one renovation over the years, but some things haven't changed.  It's a wild and wonderful place to eat on a Friday night at supper time! Patrons in the line-up waiting for a seat ranged in ages from 6 months to those well passed the legal drinking age.  We had all noticed the delicious smell of cooking onions on our way in from the car to the front door and none of us were leaving the line-up. And just like at the Cedar House, we all knew someone either in the line-up or already seated. We were enjoying ourselves even before we sat down together to have supper.  Now, as most Cape Bretoners know...

Hong Fa Restaurant 462 Prince Street, Sydney      This month UAG spent an evening at Hong Fa Restaurant - February is such a tough month what with the cost of all of our monthly bills going up and up, we decided to have a cheaper outing. This decision attracted our largest number of members yet!  There were ten of us for dinner on Friday night. And how was our cheap night?  Were we disappointed in our decision to go downtown instead of uptown?       Not at all! Although none of us spent more than twenty dollars, and that's with dessert and a tip, we each had a wonderful meal. The atmosphere was relaxing, the service was not terrible, and the food, well, the food was delicious. The servings were so generous that several of us had a lovely lunch the following day. Here are the two appetizers that were ordered: Fried Wontons Hong Fa makes the best deep fried wontons - there is just no argument on this.  And look at the gravy b...