Monday, April 8th - it was a food lovers weekend for sure

It's currently 1' at 5:30 a.m. and overcast. We should reach a high of 6' later this afternoon but we may have some mixed precipitation this morning.  It was a pretty nice weekend weather wise. Saturday was cold and windy but with some sun and Sunday was milder and very sunny.

It started out Friday after work when I met Brenda, Bernie and Lloyd at The Maple Grill for the first taste of Burger Love. We ordered two burgers and split them. The burger here is called The Goddess and is a:

Maple Glazed 7oz Island Beef Burger with Double Smoked Bacon, Goat Cheese, creamy Spicy Asiago Aioli, Spinach and Tomato on a House-Made Herb & Spice Bun

Our second burger of the evening was at the Dundee Arms. I hadn't been to this restaurant before and it's very much like a place we used to go to in Ontario - a lovely old house converted into a fine dining restaurant on one side and a pub on the other.  The burger here is called the Griffin and is an:

8oz seasoned Island Beef Burger with Date BBQ Sauce, Smoked Gouda Cheese, Crispy Pancetta, house-made Caramelized Onion Goat Cheese and Cranberry Spread, topped with Lettuce and Dill Pickle on a house-made Roasted Onion & Sage Bun with Sesame Seeds    

After some discussion and another beer, the boys decided they should try one more.  So off we headed to the Rustic Redwater Grille to sample The Butchers Block which is:

8oz Island Beef Chuck-Brisket Burger stuffed with Pulled Short-ribs, topped with Sweet Corn & Bacon Aioli, Cherry Tomato Jam, Apple Moonshine BBQ Sauce, Baby Arugula, Island Aged Gouda, garnished with Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Chipotle Cream Cheese Stuffed Pepperoncini Pepper on a Vidalia Onion Brioche Bun    

Brenda and I declined the third burger but we did have a bite. We opted instead for a cup of tea and a shared piece of Margarita Cheesecake. It was delicious but the main reason we ordered it was because the proceeds from it's sale was for charity - that's our story and we're sticking to it! 

In the end the burgers ranked thus: 

1. The Goddess
2. The Butcher's Block
3. The Griffin

We'll have to do some more research next weekend. 

Bernie was going away for the weekend so we invited Brenda over for supper on Saturday. I was at work and Lloyd spent the day planning and executing the menu. I got a call part way through the morning with a shopping list of things to pick up on the way home.

We started with a Caesar Salad then followed with a Roast of Pork with an apple sauce, rice pilaf, spiced carrots and steamed asparagus.  Dessert was something he found called a Ding Dong Cake- chocolate cake in four layers filled with whipped topping and then iced in chocolate frosting. Will was apparently quite happy to see the left over cake arrive at their house.  All in all a very delicious meal.  Many thanks to Chef Lloyd, as Brenda and I sat at the end of the island sipping our wine while he worked. 

Sunday was very sunny and above freezing so we decided to try one more ski outing. I had suggested that there was still lots of snow on the road into the Dromore Trails. We took the kids there last weekend and since we really hadn't had a lot of rain this week we thought it might still be okay. The snow had gone down quite a bit but we were still able to get through. The main road had large ruts in it where someone had gone in with a truck but part way we found a side road that hadn't been touched. So we headed off there where the skiing was much better. We eventually ended up at the bridge. The sun was warm and there was no wind - it was a gorgeous day and we were so happy to have one more chance to get out on our skis.  When we got back we enjoyed some Hot Spinach and Artichoke dip with nacho chips and rice crackers. A little white wine to wash it down worked well too. We had worked hard and felt we earned it! All in all it was a great weekend. On our way home we stopped to take a photo of a very special tree - more on that Wednesday. 

Catching a few rays on the bridge