An address to savour: 13 Mountain Street in Grimsby

What a find! A 20-minute hike from Foran’s Marine in the little town of Grimsby we discovered the finest restaurant of the cruise: 13 Mountain Street Casual Elegant Bistro. It’s the former Gables Restaurant mentioned in the Ports Cruising Guide.

What a feast! For an appetizer, the Admiral had a ceviche seafood citrus salad with ruby red grapefruit and oranges and, for the main. the “rack and roll” which consisted of a roasted rack of Ontario lamb and a braised Ontario lamb shank with an Indian spiced dumpling and carmelized leeks. The Captain had the rich pheasant pistachio terrine, followed with a pan-fried Lake Erie perch, Whitemeadows maple syrup cured cabbage slaw and spiced Yukon Gold potato batons.

Our excellent server, Michael, was knowledgeable about the menu, the wines and the region. For a libation, we selected Megalomaniac Cabernet Sauvignon from John Howard Cellars.

Thing learned: Since 2005, licensed restaurants in Ontario have had the option of participating in the BYOW/THTR program (Bring Your Own Wine/Take The Rest Home). Thus, we were able to take our unfinished wine back to the boat.

Sous chef Abby Solomon, in charge of the kitchen as chef Josh Groom was away, served our dessert—vanilla creme brulee and a blood red orange meringue pie—and chatted briefly with us.

13 Mountain Street was all you want a dining-out experience to be, great food, great service, great decor. Kudos to owners Peter and Cheryl Martinello.

Across Mountain Street from the restaurant is a Food Basics where we acquired some neccessities for the balance of the cruise. On the walk back, we saw Dutch Shop for Dutch and European delicacies on Main Street near Mountain that will be worth checking out on a future visit. Upon return to the marina, we learned that Ed, the friendly taxi driver of Canada Day, had come by to see if we wanted a tour of his town.

All in all, Grimsby made for a wonderful stop in our travels where a shower just before departure cooled the morning.

Our only regret? That we were not carrying the Nikon as the presentation of food by Abby Solomon is picture perfect.