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Village Squire, 1979-12, Page 42SQUIRE'S TABLE Good family fare at the Queen's in Seaforth When you sit nearly alone in a dining room of a restaurant or hotel in the heart of the dinner hour you begin to wonder if everybody else knows something you don't. That's what happened this month when we visited the Queen's Hotel in Seaforth. Luckily everybody else didn't know something we should have. Oh the food at the Queen's isn't going to challenge one of the top spots in the region but there were more plusses than minuses in our stay. Like a good many of ,the hotels which only maintain a dining room as a side operation to the bar, the Queen's management didn't seem to be expecting too many customers the evening we arrived. The dining room was dark and the staff had to open it up for us. We were later joined by a few other diners but it was about as quiet as eating at home throughout the meal. Once the lights came on though they revealed a quite pleasant dining room, bright even at night with rough plastered white walls, recessed pot lights in the ceiling and a good selection of plants. The furniture was mostly the mix and match 11 \Nf l.\ assortment which didn't detract from the overall effect. The menu wasn't extensive with only about a half dozen choices on the dinner menu. The selection was made smaller we learned from the waitress because of an equipment malfunction that eliminated several of the possibilities. On her second choice the lady settled for pork chops while the writer chose southern fried chicken after finding out that the salmon steak was not available. The meal was accompanied by the usual choice of soup or juice. The soup offered on this day was cream of celery. After some of our earlier experiences we were a little r hesitant as to what to expect but were pleasantly surprised by the soup. If it wasn't the real made from scratch kind. it was at least a very good imitation and didn't look or taste like it had just come out of a Campbell's can. It was hot, thick and tasty with plenty of celery floating in it. The two entrees arrived both with plates quite full yet attractively laid out. The pork chops in particular made a plentiful meal. They were thinly sliced and nicely cooked. The fried chicken was about what you Make It A Great Christmas For HIM Gift Suggestions: Shirts, Ties, Gloves, Sweaters, Pajamas, Robes, Scarves, Belts, Socks, Slacks. MAIN CORNER, CLINTON 482-973��2�yZ 40 Village Squire, December 1979 expect when von order southern fried chicken these days, in other words, unexciting. The lady chose French fried potatoes while the writer chose hash browns and received commercially prepar- ed patties of potato. The vegetable... well we won't even comment on the canned peas. The meal provided a real treat though with the large slab of buttered bread that accompanied each plate. It was very fresh and sweet. For dessert the pies were selected. There was a good selection of pies available and none seemed to be from a large commercial bakery. Either someone on staff made them or they perhaps came from a local bakery but they were a cut above what one can often expect nowadays. The top crust was a bit thick perhaps but the fillings seemed like real cherry or apple not the stuff that gets called fruit by some of the big bakeries. Service was pleasant and helpful though not polished. The bill came to just over $IO. In all the Queen's seems deserving of better than a near empty dining room even on a niid week night. r Not in Festival Square, not in City Centre, not in Stratford Mall ... we're just in the most beautiful spot in the whole of Stratford, near Waterloo Bridge, with a view of the Avon. That's just one difference between us and any other bookshop - our prize location. Then there's our wide range of books -in five ram- bling rooms in the old Victorian house -on -the - Park. If you still don't know why our customers love us so, come in and learn to love us too. We can't get too much love! We're open Fridays till 9 p.m. 30 Waterloo South fc1rJfare uooks