Village Squire, 1978-03, Page 32SQUIRE'S TABLE
Now this
is intimate dining
There's something special about going
out to dinner in a -small, intimate
restaurant where you're being served by
people who own the business. That's the
kind of feeling one gets on a visit to The
Old Prune on Albert Street in Stratford.
In fact if you like intimacy, the feeling of
not being in a crowd, you won't find it
much better than a visit this time of the
year. The constant complaint in Stratford
over the years has been that there weren't
enough good places to eat. Recent years
have seen a revolution with places such as
The Church, Rundles, Friar Cellar and The
Old Prune. But in mid -winter, all the
restaurants suffer from a lack of use.
Rundles and The Friar's Cellar have closed
for the winter but The Old Prune continues
to serve customers. Stratford may have
25,000 people but it seems few of them
make it a regular practice to go out for
dinner in the winter.
It's a shame they don't because it gives
them a chance to taste the local fare when
things are operating at an unhurried pace.
The night we attended the Old Prune there
was only one other table occupied. Even if
the place was full, it would still be an
intimate dining spot. Located in an old
house, the diningroom seats around 20
persons mostly at small tables for two.
There's a comfortable warm, relaxed
feeling helped out by the use of greenery
and by the mixture of furniture types.
The dinner menu gave a limited
selection of dishes. The lady decided to try
the shrimps on rice. The writer chose
Quebec Tortiere. The lady led off with a
bowl of curry soup which she said was
delicious with a sharp taste. The writer
chose a salad instead and received a simple
green salad with a simple house dressing.
A basket of buns occupied our attention
until the entre arrived. The portions were
ample but sensible. The lady found her
shrimp firm and tasty. The rice was spiced
and had hulled sunflower seeds. The
tortiere (that's a pork meat pie) was
accompanied by a serving of rice and peas.
The tortierre was enjoyable.
The most remarkable thing about the
meal to us. however. was the peas. We've
spoken loud and long about the poor use of
vegetables in local restaurants, particularly
those that use frozen or canned vegetables
in the middle of summer. The peas tasted
so fresh to the winter -warn palates of these
diners. that we asked if they were fresh or
frozen. We received an apology that these
were indeed frozen and an explanation of
how impossible it is to get fresh vegetables
in winter. Yet if these were frozen it is even
more wonder at what other restaurants are
doing to their frozen vegetables. If The Old
Prune can cook frozen vegetables to make
them taste this well, what's the matter with
the other cooks.
Dessert was an orange flan for the lady
and hazel -nut tart for the writer. Both pies
proved fitting ends to a good meal.
The Old Prune is called a tea room but it
certainly can provide an interesting dining
experience as well. The fact that other
diners enjoyed their stay was evidenced in
the guest book with comments such as "It
was just like home", "Delicious".
"Relaxing" etc. It isn't the most
inexpensive place to go. Our bill with
dessert, coffee, a half -litre carafe of wine
and tip came to $23 but in the inflated
dining world of today, that seemed a good
price to pay.
How long
has it been
since you've
had a
heart to heart
talk with
your body?
paennpacnon
The Canadian movement for personal fitness
PG. 30. VILLAGE SQUIRE/MARCH 1978.