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Irish
Mountain Bed and Breakfast -Pamper Yourself- |
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Mary’sBy Roberta Avery - back to list CRAIGLEITH – Dining at its finest is not what you usually expect from a motel dining room, but Mary’s Restaurant at the Blue Mountain Lodge is a cut way above the ordinary. Walking through the clean, but utilitarian, reception area of the former Alpine Lodge Motel there are no clues about what lies beyond, so on a first visit it comes as a stunning surprise to discover Mary’s gorgeous dining room. The wineglasses on the tables reflect the light from numerous candles giving an attractive hue to the burnt orange walls that results in a warm, but sophisticated, feel to the room. Crisp white table linen and highly polished cutlery finishes the upscale look and there’s no sign of an ``all day breakfast” menu that motel dining rooms usually offer to travelers nor any sign of a ketchup bottle. The professional, well-trained staff members greet everyone in a manner so warm and friendly that it’s hard not to feel like an honoured guest. Given Mary Hislop’s background as the hostess at the Royal York’s Imperial Room in Toronto where she welcomed celebrities such as Tina Turner, Peggy Lee and Anthony Newley, it comes as no surprise that she has made service number one at her restaurant. Hislop’s career in the hospitality industry stretches back to the late 1970s when she first landed a job as the hostess at the Imperial Room. After a stint running her own restaurant the Whispering Pines on Airport Road from 1981 to 1986 she returned for another seven years at the Imperial Room before moving up to Collingwood in 1993 to take up a job bar tending at Jozo’s Bar at Blue Mountain. Hislop and her former husband purchased the Alpine Lodge Motel in the spring of 2000 and Hislop rolled up her sleeves and began serving breakfast and evening bar snacks to motel guests. At the end of that year Scott Gerrie the then executive chef at the Pottery Restaurant at Blue Mountain came up with a business proposal – he would cook while Mary put her upscale hostess skills to work in the dining room. ``He asked my why I was putting all that energy into serving breakfast when I could be serving dinners, his idea made a lot sense,’’ says Hislop. With the help of Scott’s wife Suzette Gerrie, who is also a chef, Scott and Mary’s restaurant opened to rave reviews that winter. Scott stayed on until 2003 and then Suzette took over running the kitchen. ``She’s amazing, she is very shy and humble, but it’s her cooking that has made this place a success,’’ says Hislop. Suzette graduated from the Culinary Management program at George Brown College. She began her career in a much larger setting working her way up over a 12-year period to sous chef at Toronto’s Badminton and Racquet Club, before spending six summers cooking at the Muskoka Lakes Golf and Country Club, but prefers working in a smaller kitchen. ``It’s a lot more personal and more intimate and I get a lot more freedom about what I cook,’’ says Suzette. Hislop is modest about her own contribution but my husband John and I found the service throughout dinner to be impeccable and as much a treat as the food. Our server Michele Barley was, gracious and knowledgeable and friendly without being intrusive. Barley started us off with a glass of wine, Soave Pasqua Italian at $5.95 for me and Wolf Blass Carbenet $7.95or my husband John and then stepped back to give us time to peruse the menu for just the right amount of time so that we didn’t feel hurried nor neglected. From an interesting appetizer menu with nine selections I chose the lightly breaded brie and John picked the Cajun crab cakes Timing for cooking baked brie can be tricky, but Suzette timed it perfectly. The outside was crispy, the inside soft, but not too runny, and was supremely complemented with a roasted half pear and a jalapeno raspberry sauce. The pepper made the sauce tangy, while the raspberry made it sweet so it was also great with the pear. John loved his crab cakes, which were also perfectly cooked and were served with an interesting sriracha mayonnaise. Sriracha sauce often used in Thai cooking is made from sun ripened chilies, which are ground into a smooth paste along with garlic. Adding this to mayonnaise to serve with crab cakes is an innovative idea, which we both loved and plan to try at home. John, who opted for the roast rack of lamb for his main course, was hoping that at $32 it would be a whole rack, not part of a rack, as some restaurants are now serving. He wasn’t disappointed. His rack served with a Dijon rosemary crust wasn’t only a full rack, but also a large portion. It was served on one of the biggest dinner plates we had ever seen and accompanied by garlic-mashed potatoes and fresh lightly herbed vegetables. I tried the oven -roasted duck with a sherry and vanilla sauce at $24. It came boneless on a bed of rice. The half duck was tasty and tender and the sauce also flavoured the rice giving me a lot of opportunity to taste the especially interesting blend of flavours. I was also impressed with the vegetables, which were so fresh and crunchy that I wouldn’t be surprised if they had been picked from the fields that morning. We were wowed by the selection of entrees on the menu. Although only nine items there seemed to be something for everyone from Caribbean Jerk chicken to strip loin steak with a port glaze and leek frits and also very reasonably priced pasta at $15 and a beef stroganoff at $16. Most desserts at Mary’s are brought in, but each night the Suzette prepares a special dessert. We were lucky enough to be there when she had prepared an apple strudel. The apples with a touch of cinnamon were rolled in incredibly flaky pastry, which was baked until golden brown and melt in mouth. The strudel was served with fresh whipped cream and just the right amount of the vanilla ice cream to make it decadent but not overwhelming. While the focus of Mary’s is superb dining, Hislop also encourages people to drop by for a drink at her bar after work. On Fridays she has an interesting On the Rocks, On the House promotion serving complimentary hor’s d’ouvres on heated rocks to bar patrons between 5p.m. and 7 p.m. Dinner for two including appetizers, main course and desserts and a glass of wine each runs around $140 including tax and tip. Mary’s is open for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturday and is closed Sundays and Mondays. Reservations are recommended please call 1-705-444-2984. |
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