Yes, we went to Prince Edward County again. The county (PEC) is known for its assortment of wineries, beaches, and good restaurants. This time there were also zero regrets with the exception of one—we couldn’t find any ice wine to buy.
Warning: I am not a certified foodie.
The Miller House
We had the best lunch experiences of our lives at The Miller House. Located across the Lake on a Mountain Provincial Park, the outdoor patio has a killer view of Lake Ontario. During the summer months it’s open from morning until sunset—pick the time wisely!
We got Chacuterie and tarte flambée to share. At first I wasn’t going to eat anything on the Chacuterie board (I don’t like cheese or cured meats or anything of that nature), but it looked so tempting on the board that I decided to give it a try. I ended up eating half of everything.
This specific dish came with bacon marmalade, their in-house sauce that is so popular they made a take-home version of it. The combination of salami, aged cheddar, and bacon marmalade was wonderful. I ate it on the bread that they provide on the side. The salami is not just your average grocery store salami, according to my boyfriend. To me it tasted a lot like the fresh pepperettes we got at the St. Jacob’s farmers’ market.
Go to The Miller House to spoil yourself. You deserve it.
County Canteen
Spotlight item: The Canteen Ketchup
Located in the heart of Picton, this restaurant seems like a town favourite for its cozy environment and late hours (it’s a bar). This time, we got the fish tacos again but with a burger as the second dish instead of the beef pie. The burger and the tacos were good, but the most memorable was the ketchup.
Rather than the stale ketchup flavour that tends to turn bitter after your tenth fry, this ketchup is sweet and lightly spiced. It smells just like ketchup but tastes of Indian sauces on your tongue. If you’ve had sambar when you went to get your dosa, it’s what this ketchup tastes like, only sweeter.
It was so good that we had to call the server back to get it on our second visit to the restaurant when they gave us regular bottled ketchup. She also told us that there’s a top-secret ingredient in the ketchup that the chefs won’t disclose.
The Island Family Restaurant
Spotlight item: Pastitsio (Greek lasagna)
We came back here because I loved the lasagna so much. It comes in a medium-sized bowl with 2 pieces of wonderful garlic bread. The pastitsio uses penne. It is baked and topped with béchamel sauce. Every bite is laced with ground beef and feels like home. If you are tired of sheet lasagna and thick pastey tomato sauce, you will love the pastitsio. It fills you up but feels light on the tongue. The garlic bread is also some of the best I’ve had. Baked to perfection–it makes for a great lunch with the pastitsio.
Some interesting notes about this restaurant: it is a Greek restaurant run by Chinese owners. We speculate that the owners must have lived in Greece for a while before moving here. There’s an area in the store where they sell Chinese ornaments and such.
Tip: If you order the garlic bread, it comes with a salad.
The Inn
Spotlight item: Smoked Salmon & Potato Rosti
This restaurant gave me the best potato experience I’ve had. We got the smoked salmon and potato appetizer. My fork sank into the potato, breaking past the crispy exterior without a struggle. It had both the crunch that I love about hashbrowns and also the tenderness. Except it was 10 times better than McDonald’s—and I love McDonald’s hashbrowns.
The smoked salmon also felt like love. It was the right amount of salty. The cold chewiness combined with the warm, slightly crispy potato was a dream. It also came with a salad and Crème fraiche, though I wasn’t a fan of those.
The mains were also delicious. I had lamb shank and the meat fell right off the bone. The sauce was a good match for my gravy mash. It was an expensive dinner but a good choice if you want a special night.
Slickers Ice Cream
Spotlight item: “Campfire”
We decided to get some ice cream the day we left. Located on the corner of a street in Bloomfield, Slickers is a county treasure. There were some unique flavours, most notably “Campfire” and “Apple Pie”, both adequately named. Campfire is smoky and tastes like wood in the best kind of way, and “Apple Pie” is literally apple pie mixed in with ice cream.
Located near a bunch of small shops, it makes for a great afternoon to get some ice cream and going for a walk around town.
Before we even concluded our trip, we made the decision to return again. Not just for the views, but for the food we already missed.