Road Trip - Bayfield, Ontario

Wow, it's been a while since there's been a new post on this blog! Since we moved last December there has been lots going on and now that it's summertime, we're really enjoying our new yard and garden. 

This is one of the things we've been spending time on.  Our house's previous owner planted beautiful perennial gardens so every week brings a new surprise.  

But last weekend we decided to take a break from our garden and head on a little road trip to Bayfield, Ontario.  Bayfield is a little village on the shores of Lake Huron, between Goderich and Grand Bend.  It's only about an hour from home.  We've been there on day trips several times but this time we stayed overnight at The Little Inn of Bayfield, located right on Main Street in the centre of town. 

The Little Inn is an historic property recently under new ownership and it was a perfect place to stay. We had a little room with a king sized bed on the second floor. Service at the front desk was beyond friendly and helpful. In fact, service was absolutely fantastic everywhere we went in the Inn and its restaurants and bars. 

The first thing we did when we arrived was make a beeline to the Inn's weekly Backyard BBQ, every Saturday this summer from 11:30 am until 3:30 pm or until the food is gone. It's all you can eat for $19.99 per person and the food was surprisingly delicious!  We had pulled pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, corn, potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, amazing biscuits, and even pie for dessert. 

We also ordered some craft beer for Matt and a bourbon sour for me.  The BBQ is served outside in a lovely back garden with plenty of sun and shade. The service was once again terrific, especially from the young man handling the grill.

Next we headed for a walk down Main Street, which is great for shopping.  And then we walked down to the marina and main beach.  There are three beaches in Bayfield and we had a lovely time swimming in the lake.

For dinner we headed to the Black Dog Village Pub. We've had lunch here many times and we were looking forward to being able to stay longer and enjoy their extensive beer and cocktail list.  Unfortunately, service wasn't quite up to their normal standards so we were only able to order one cocktail each with dinner.  

The food was fantastic though!  This cauliflower & quinoa salad was so good I can't wait to attempt to make it myself. 

After dinner we were still thirsty so we headed to the Ashwood Inn's bourbon bar.  This place has been nicely renovated and has a huge patio.  

We headed back to our Little Inn for one last cocktail in their wonderful bar.  

We had a great sleep and in the morning we were delighted to find that breakfast was included with our room rate.  The breakfast buffet had eggs, bacon, sausage, cold meats and cheeses, excellent chicken and roasted vegetables, salads and desserts, plus juice and coffee. It was an unexpected treat. 

Before leaving Bayfield we stopped at the cutest bird store I've ever seen. Porter's Hill has a great selection of bird feeders and seed, plus other great gifts. And the service is extremely knowledgeable and friendly.  We will be back here for sure. 

On the way home we stopped by one of our favourite places, Twin Pines Cider House. We've been here several times but were pleased to see they now they have a new tasting room on the main floor.  We picked up some cider and glasses and headed home. 

It's so great to have such a wonderful getaway so close to home. Bayfield is definitely close enough for a day trip, but it was very relaxing to stay overnight. We will be back soon for sure!  

  

Southern USA Road Trip - Sweet P's Barbeque & Soul House

Back to our trip!  

I'm a planner.  Honestly I don't think there's anything I like better than planning a trip.  I've read research that says planning a vacation can make you happier even than taking one!  

When I plan a trip I start with an excel spreadsheet and Google Maps.  I try not to get too crazy with the spreadsheet, but I do like to plan a rough itinerary for each day, including any travel and pre-booked hotels, shows and activities. 

I use Google Maps to plot out locations we may want to visit and any travel routes.  Bars, restaurants, attractions, shopping, hotels.  This way I can see distances and which places are close to each other.  

This helped us make a few discoveries and plan our trip.  Initially we were going to drive straight to Nashville, but I happened to find Benton's Bacon in Tennessee, close to the Tail of the Dragon - a great mountain driving road I knew Matt would love and that was not far from Asheville North Carolina, one of the best beer cities in North America.  It was not hard to convince Matt to add a few days on to our trip to visit these things - they're right up his alley.  

But first, after our great night in Lexington, Kentucky we were spending a night near the airport in Knoxville to be close to our next day's route.  I hadn't planned anything for the area, so I used Yelp to find the best barbecue in Knoxville and luckily there was a place right near our destination.  

Sweet P's Barbeque & Soul House is located south of Knoxville on a country road near a marina.  There are a bunch of smokers outside.   You order at the counter.  The service was so friendly!

We decided to share the sampler platter of 1/4 rack of ribs, brisket, a pulled pork sandwich and three sides.  We chose mac & cheese, green beans and banana pudding.  On the table were three sauces, a thick East Tennessee tomato-based barbecue sauce, a thin North Carolina vinegar-based sauce and a hot thin sauce with chipotle.  I loved the thin sauce.

The meat was outstanding.  This was a late lunch/early dinner for us and it was so fantastic, we decided to get some take-out to have later on back at the hotel.  

We ordered 1/2 a rack of ribs and a dozen wings but somehow we ended up with a full rack of ribs!  

The wings were delicious and the ribs were perfect but it was way, way too much meat!

This was a very lucky discovery and we were so happy to try all these Southern specialties at such a nice, friendly place.   

Southern USA Road Trip - Bourbon, Bacon, Biscuits, Beer & Barbecue

We just returned from a seven-day road trip through the US South.  We drove through Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina and we ate and drank everything!

Before we left I made a list of regional specialties I wanted to try.  We managed to hit almost all of them.

#1 Cincinnati Chili

The first regional specialty we came across was Cincinnati Chili.  For this we went to Skyline Chili, a chain with locations all over Ohio.  The chili is a thin meat sauce spiced with cinnamon and cloves, served over spaghetti in a variety of "ways".  Three-way is spaghetti topped with chili and cheese.  Four-way adds onions and five-way adds beans.  It's served with oyster crackers on the side.  I have to say, I wasn't expecting much, but this was really tasty.  I was surprised by the warm spice of the sauce and the amount of cheese on top!  Also, the staff couldn't have been friendlier.  When we told them it was our first time, our whole meal was free!  Unbelievable.  

#2 Kentucky Bourbon

We only spent a short time in Kentucky, but we managed to try a bit of bourbon.  We toured a bourbon distillery and tried some samples and bourbon cocktails.  I even brought a bottle home as a souvenir.

BBQ Beef Ribs

Beef ribs - a tasty summer treat!  I usually make pork ribs, which are a great meal on the barbecue, but I saw beef ribs on sale in the grocery store and decided to give them a try.   

The ribs came in a full rack, but the meat shrank on the bone and ended up looking a bit like short ribs in the once cooked.

First, I braised the ribs in beer!  Cut the ribs into single-rib segments. 

Spatchcock Grilled Chicken with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

I've spatchcocked a chicken before to roast in the oven.  I've even spatchcocked a turkey.    But this may be my favourite spatchcock yet!  Grilling the chicken is quick and easy and doesn't heat up the kitchen.  The skin is crisp and the meat is juicy and delicious.  

Short & Sweet Sunday - Shmokey Rob n' Sons

This weekend we had takeout and it was so good!  Shmokey Rob n' Sons is in an old mall near our house.  There's not much else in the mall but it's worth the trip.  

I can't speak to how authentic their BBQ is, since I've never had the opportunity to taste real southern BBQ, but I can tell you their food is delicious.  We've tried a few things on their menu, but our favourites (so far) are the brisket sandwich and cassava fries.  (Cassava is a starchy, tuberous root that has a taste and texture slightly similar to potatoes but more starchy and firm.  They hold up way better than french fries for takeout too.) 

Aside from the brisket and pulled pork sandwiches, fries and cole slaw, they also have specials like ribs and "burnt ends" which are smoked, braised brisket ends.  We've never had the pleasure of sampling them since they've been already sold out every time we've visited, but some day!

I had my brisket with some Julian Cherry Bomb hard cider which is deliciously tart.

If you live in London or come to visit, I can't recommend this place enough.  The mall atmosphere isn't fantastic, but the place itself is super cute with table service and beer on tap as well as takeout.  Give it a try!

Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks

Barbecue chicken drumsticks are one of my favourite summer meals.  We actually grill them all year round.  Whenever drumsticks are on sale I buy a bunch, remove the skin, and freeze them in a marinade so they can thaw in the fridge while marinating and be ready for the grill any time.  

Let me show you a tip that changed my life.  I used to pay a premium for skinless chicken drumsticks because I found removing the skin myself to be frustrating and complicated. I was using a knife or just my fingers to cut and peel the skin off and it was a huge, slippery hassle. 

I found a tip online that is so simple it is hard to believe.  Use a paper towel to grip the skin and just peel it away.  This is a miracle and makes removing the skin so easy! (I also wear gloves but that's not necessary.) The skin is full of flavour but removing it lets the marinade penetrate the chicken more easily and drastically lowers the fat content.  

Toss the chicken drumsticks in a large freezer bag.

Then add your marinade.  My favourite marinade to use on these is a store-bought spicy Buffalo chicken wing sauce but you can marinate them any way you like. Olive oil, dijon mustard, garlic and white wine is nice.  

You can throw these in the freezer, which allows the marinade to penetrate the chicken while freezing and thawing, or leave them in the fridge overnight to marinate.

Heat your grill to medium hot.  It's a good idea to use a nonstick spray on the grill when grilling drumsticks without the skin.  

Drumsticks are much more forgiving than chicken breasts so you can err on the side of overcooking them without worrying about drying them out, according to my grill-expert husband.  Flip them when golden to cook the other side.  

When they're 5 minutes from being done, brush with spicy barbecue sauce.  My favourite is Diana's spicy barbecue sauce, which is impossible to find.  Any sauce you love will do!

Bring these in on a big platter to share.

I served them with steamed green beans and roasted cauliflower.  Delicious, summery treat that's great all year round.