Ty’s Cafe and Bakery, The Sand Bar Motor Hotel-Grand Beach

September6

Perhaps the best part of a vacation at the cottage is going out for dinner. This treat actually makes the entire day seem longer. You can stay on the beach later in the afternoon and there is no worry if you forgot to plan on getting something out of the freezer. Mind you, it may mean that you have to get out of your bathing suit but this is only a preference. I think that the casual atmosphere of the Sand Bar would accommodate you in any attire. I love a summer when you change from pjs to bathing suit and back to pjs. The summer of 2012 was a summer like this.

When D and I visited The Sand Bar last summer, we were disappointed by the quality of the pickerel special and not surprized when we saw racks of it already fried and ready to plunge back into the fryer to warm it up. But this summer, batch cooking had been rejected and as soon as we ordered (all of us choosing the same thing) our server rushed to the kitchen window to ensure that there were five fresh orders left. The bar around us was almost empty, but supposedly the dining room was jammed with pickerel lovers.

We started off with an order of fire-dusted calamari. There was plenty to share and one member of our party declared that it was perhaps the best calamari that he had tasted in a very on time. This was high praise, as The Australian resides near the ocean in Melbourne. Perhaps it was the Long-Island Ice Teas and Bloody Caesars that elevated our appreciation.

The “old school” crunchy batter is not a necessary enhancement because pickerel retains a delicate flavour (when freshly caught and never frozen it actually sparkles in your mouth), but this recipe is fun every once in a while. Unless of course you are trying to get back into shape to play professional rugby after an injury and surgery, which happens to be the case for the Australian. He left a mound of the batter on his plate but still seemed to enjoy the treat.