The Birchwood Porch
My month at our beach house is winding down. My time has been exciting and hectic and relaxing and mellow, in turn. We got to entertain the Frenchman’s family and spend lots of snuggly time with our new grandbaby. We have also enjoyed wonderful visits with our extended family, a circumstance that I cherish in particular. Sometimes it is an impromptu coffee, other times an invited dinner and my favourite of all-happy hour when we all assemble, (sometimes by invitation and other times, not) on someone’s deck around a plate of munchies that the host cottage has typically provided.
We also love to go out for lunches and suppers together. Le Gouter at Albert Beach has exceptional food. We love their hand-made burgers, hand-cut fries (especially when topped with real curds for their authentic poutine) and their ham and Swiss crepes with a drizzle of hollandaise sauce.
The Grand Beach Diner is supposed to be good but every time I try to go there, they are closed. So I have yet to sample their fare.
I understand that the South Beach Casino serves a wonderful seafood buffet on Thursday evenings. Family have gone but I have yet to give it a try. And now that my time is running out, it is unlikely that I will.
One place that we have been going to for years and enjoyed a couple of times again this summer is the Birchwood Motor Hotel. We like to sit on the screen in porch which overlooks the sand volleyball courts. This place is designated for smokers which is not terribly pleasant for us but, you sometimes have to take the bad with the good. A big outdoor grill is placed in one corner of the porch. On Wednesday nights they feature a Barbequed steak with grilled onions and mushrooms, Cole slaw, roll, baked potato AND a beer or glass of wine! On Thursday evenings there are the same accompaniments but the feature is big meaty barbequed beef ribs. The value of both is exceptional. When we were leaving last week, the live entertainment was just warming up.
Suppers out while at the lake give us an excuse to gather but also to avoid turning the oven on when days are hot and best yet, not doing any dishes which means we can head to the beach for sunset, get back into our books or catch another TV episode on Netflix. Ahh, lake life!
Kath’s quote: “The smell of roasting meat together with that of burning fruit wood and dried herbs, as voluptuous as incense in a church, is enough to turn anyone into a budding gastronome.”-Claudia Roden
Love-that is all.