You Gotta Eat Here

If a man knows not what harbour he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

Seneca, Roman philosopher (ca. 4 BC – 65 AD)

My soul flows with water thanks to growing up in a city that literally looks out to its harbour and being raised in a family of sailors and stevedores and so it always feels good to visit the docks and exciting to stand in the shadow of the lakers. I, myself, get seasick every time we sailed out of the harbour into Lake Ontario but nonetheless the freighters stir feelings of exciting adventure deep down in the depths of my stomach where emotions churn.

It was my stomach that brought me and out-of-town friends down to the bay area where a local restaurant has done the hometown proud by being featured on a TV food show called "You Gotta Eat Here". I didn't see the show but the local paper heralded the news in a full-page spread that not one, but two of our dining establishments rated among the country's outstanding eateries so it was a natural choice to give my friends a taste of hometown cuisine.

"Cuisine" is perhaps not the right word for the good food that comes out of the Harbour Diner's kitchen. With a menu featuring meatloaf and shepherd's pie, eating here on mismatched kitchen tables, sitting on 1960s vinyl-backed chairs, is like going to grandma's house for dinner: it's nourishing, it's plentiful, and it tastes good. I'm not sure I would tell people they have to eat here, but I would certainly recommend it . . . followed by a long walk along the docks to burn off a few of the mashed potatoes. ;-)

This town's got a lot going for it.