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Village Squire, 1977-08, Page 23SQUIRE'S TABLE Albion Hotel provides some surprises One of the most interesting places to have a diningroom must obviously be the Albion Hotel in Bayfield. The building is more than a century old and that feeling of times past permeates the place. History, of course, has little effect on the actual performance of a restaurant and so there were some pleasant and some not so pleasant discoveries in store on visiting the Albion • this past month. The old building remains much the same as it did in days when Myrtle Robinson restored much of the old charm to the building. There are even many of her paintings still hanging on the diningroom walls. The old woodwork still warms the atmosphere and the old, stylish tables and chairs give the room character. It's a little incongruous, then, to have a coloured television in one corner of the smaller diningroom. Most diners seemed to choose the relatives peace of the rear diningroom. The other detraction from the charm of the Albion was the fact that the waitresses, while friendly and helpful hardly exhibited the grace of the rest of the establishment and their lack of proper English usage will no doubt leave some customers squirming. But those complaints aside, the rest of the evening proved quite pleasant. The menu is not large, but covers a good range from beef to pork to fish. The lady chose the surloin steak while the writer chose the special of the day: fresh Lake Huron Whitefish. The meal began for the writer with a bowl of the soup of the day which, the waitress said was pea but tasted much more like bean soup. Whatever it was, it proved very tastey and was a thick, hearty mixture. Next came a small salad with choice of dressings. It contined a full mixture of greens and met our expectations quite well. Along came a basket of fresh, hot buns to fill the gap until the main course arrived. The lady had passed up the soup in favour of tomato juice because she wanted to leave plenty of room for the main course. It was a smart move because when her steak arrived, it looked like they might have cut it from an elephant. It covered the biggest part of her plate. It was accompanied by peas and mashed potatoes (the only choice because an electrical storm the night before had knocked out the Hotel's deep fryer). It looks like a full night's work to dispose of that steak. The writers' portion, in comparison looked small but was certainly large enough. The fish was tastey, though it would certainly have been helped out with the unavailable chips rather than mashed potatoes. The same vegetables were available as the lady had and they wer ethe usual restaurant affair: nothing to get ecstatic about. The lady somehow managed to devour all of her steak and found room enough to desert also. She chose blueberry pie while the writer chose cherry pie. They ranked somewhere near the middle as far as the quality goes in comparison to the best and restaurant worst pie we've eaten in the past couple of years: So the impression left by a visit to the Albion was mixed. The building is charming, the food certainly much better than average but the little things detracted from the whole effect. Hopefully these can be improved to make the total impression completely positive. Triple K Restaurant •HOME COOKED MEALS •TAKE OUT ORDERS •OUR SPECIALTY: HOME BAKED PIES OPEN: Weekdays, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Fri- days, 6 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.; Saturdays. 8 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.; Sundays, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Huron County Road 25 south east of Blyth KAY & KEITH HESSELWOOD, PROP. Operation Lif?/ttile Lifestyle is having the ca- pacity to react against the cigarette habit. stimulants and tranquilizers, pot and alcohol. It's avoiding drug abuse and rejecting illegal drugs. NEWLY RENOVATED CZ31.‘›IbiliCOODS WAY INN STEAK HOUSE & RESTAURANT Full course meals or a sandwich Catering to Banquets & parties TRY OUR SUNDAY SPECIALS Hours: 7 to 10, EXETER Licensed under the L.C.B.O. 7 days a week 380 Main St. Phone 235 •0580 Can ciccii9I L cRestauzant • and D'avczn 1'inzihcd Food at its Finest DINE & DANCE TO TOP NAME GROUPS "NEW HOURS" Sunday thru Wednesday 11:30 to 10:00 p.m. Thurs., Fri. & Sat. 11:30 to 1 a.m. Phone 524.7711 350 Hayfield Road, Goderich Banquet and Convention L.L.B.O. Facilities is ....................................................... M the function of Hwy*. 4 & t. Clinton CLLon otiotEf •Banquet facilities •Luncheons *Dinners • Wedding receptions •Nightly entertainment •Fully licensed under the LCBO 482-3421 VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1977. PG. 21.