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The New Embers Restaurant

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191 Charlotte Street, Sydney Not expected to be in business much longer In the old Fred's Creamery Location The UAG made its way to downtown Sydney this evening for our September outing. Traffic was extremely busy, but there was lots of parking on Charlotte Street; in fact, we should have known there was a problem when even the member who arrived late was able to park right in front of the restaurant. Ah yes, if only we had known what awaited us. Let me take you through our dining experience, which was one of the most bizarre in our two-year history of dining-out. This new Embers restaurant is designed to resemble a jazz bar, with tables placed at the front of the restaurant and the bar, kitchen and restrooms at the back. We know it's jazz because one of the television screens has a static notice telling us that jazz is playing. The other television screens all show weather data, which never changes and which appears to be someone's computer screen....

Fitzgerald's Restaurant

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PO Box 1607 Bras d'Or, Highway 105, Cape Breton (Sydney side of the Seal Island Bridge) View of Fitzgerald's from the parking lot This month, a small convoy of UAG members drove up Highway 105 almost as far as the Seal Island Bridge to Fitzgerald's Restaurant. This restaurant has had several owners in the past, so if you aren't familiar with this name, it's located across the street from the log house. One person asked if it was the white building? I said "yes" - here's hoping they never change the colour of the restaurant or move the log house. The log house across the street from Fitzgerald's Fitzgerald's sign There is a sign down by the highway to alert you to the location of the restaurant - this is the first in a series of restaurants in the area and the owners are keen that you don't miss out on their fresh homemade food. If you are travelling, please note that there is also a motel right next door that ...

The Lobster Kettle

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  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. ...

Simeon's Family Restaurant

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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. ...