Townsman, 1991-09, Page 28History and
cuisine nice
combination
at Admiral
Bayfield
BY THE LENTZ-McGREGORS
When someone recommended
Admiral Bayfield to us "if you like a
good fish dinner", we immediately
decided to take the challenge.
It has always seemed a paradox to
us that more dining establishments
along this huge fresh water lake with
its abundance of beautiful fish do not
feature more of our Lake Huron
catches. Therefore, we were curious to
see if Admiral Bayfield (even the
name suggests the sea) had chosen to
include them on the menu.
We had other considerations that
evening as well. Included in the party
was an exuberant 15 -year-old cele-
brating the anticipation of another
month of summer holidays, a young
87-ycar-old celebrating a recent birth-
day, and the writers celebrating a sec-
ond wedding anniversary. Could
Admiral Bayfield rise to all these
occasions?
We arc pleased to report that it did.
Nestled beside the Albion Hotel on
Bayfield's historic main street, the
Admiral Bayfield's home was origi-
nally a general store dating back to the
late 1840s. This enterprise continued
until the 1960s when it became an
antique store and, finally, a bakery
and deli. History buffs will be pleased
to learn that it is designated a Heritage
Building.
Last year the owner decided to cre-
ate a fully licensed diner with a sit-
down menu. The results are fun, both
in the general ambience of the old
general store and its shelves of old
books and collectibles and in the
menu itself.
One of our party decided to start her
meal, as she always does, with the
homemade soup. The cream of mush-
room was tasty and pleasing and cer-
tainly passed her critical eye. The rest
of us chose the Admiral Bayfield's
caesar salad. Again, no disappoint-
ments. Not only was the romaine
fresh and crisp but there were no arti-
ficial bacon bits or croutons to be
seen. Hurrah! And during a chat with
our waitress she assured us that the
dressing was made by the kitchen that
day.
No doubt you are wondering about
the fish. We all chose the pickerel
which was nicely presented with a
vegetable stir -fry. And it was mar-
velous — firm but tender, moist and
nary a trace of a bone. The vegeta-
bles... well, we can only suppose that
the eyes of the cook were diverted
from our veggies during those critical
friends, they weave comic and touch-
ing stories trying to deal with their
adult lives. Accompanied by music of
the country by Michael Taylor, the play
is a celebration of family and horns.
Humanities Theatre, University of
Waterloo, Oct. 4; Sarnia Library The-
atre, Oct. 5.
Letter from Wingfield Farm, F.E.
Madill Secondary School, Sept. 28.
Rod Beattie once again brings the
world of Walt Wingfield to the stage in
a one-man show by Dan Needles.
Walt tells of his adventures in trading
the world of stocks and bonds for
stock and crops.
Royal Canadian Air Farce tapes its
CBC radio show at Blyth Memorial
Hall, featuring the comic talents of
Luba Goy, Roger Abbott and Don Fer-
guson playing everybody from Barbara
Frum to Brian Mulroney. Special
fundraiser for Blyth Festival. Thursday,
Oct. 3, 8 p.m. Tickets $25 (including
GST). Call 523-9300.
Wingfield's Folly: The third episode
in the story of Walt Wingfield sees
Waft, stock broker turned farmer, get
involved in local politics. Saturday,
Nov. 16, 8 p.m. Blyth Memorial Hall.
Tickets, $16.50, Call 523-9300.
26 TOWNSMAN/SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1991
last moments of a stir -fry so the
results were less than perfect.
We knew some of you would want a
report on the desserts so, sigh! we just
had to accommodate you. We highly
recommend the deep-fried ice cream —
a delectable adventure for the young
and the young -at -heart. The cheese
cake was really a matter of individual
taste. You may enjoy fruit mixed
throughout a cheesecake but we prefer
it as a topping. If you fall into the for-
mer category, try the blackberry
cheesecake.
Our evening at the Admiral Bay-
field was a pleasant one as we enjoyed
their fare and nostalgically discussed
the old books lining the walls — a spe-
cial delight for our well-read aunt.
The bill for two, excluding wine or
beer, was $40. We were glad we had
taken the recommendation.
Continued from page 25
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