Posted : September 17, 2013
Our blog is chock full of great ideas for fun things to see and do in York Durham and Headwaters. We are always adding new content and updating old posts, but sometimes you might stumble upon something from our vault. If this article has inspired you to hit the road, be sure to double-check that the featured stops in this post are still welcoming visitors.
From September 11th to 22nd, close to 30 restaurants in Durham Region are participating in the area’s third Savour the Season culinary festival.
Chefs are partnering with the local farmers to create fixed price lunch and dinner menus inspired by local food and produce.
There is something for everyone during this 12 day event – from casual to fine dining and family friendly restaurants to steakhouses, Mexican, French and Italian food.
This past weekend, my husband and I decided to head to Frenchman’s Bay in Pickering for date night at The Waterfront Bistro – one of the participating restaurants.
Frenchman’s Bay, which overlooks Lake Ontario, features walking trails, park benches, quaint shops and restaurants lining the street and a playground for little ones to enjoy.
It is very kid friendly area and the day we visited we saw several families fishing dockside.
After a quick walk around the boardwalk, we headed to The Waterfront Bistro for dinner.
I chose the roquefort and pear salad and my husband chose the Sicilian flatbread to start. While both appetizers were good, the flatbread was both of our favourites. The combination of sausage with locally grown vegetables on freshly baked naan bread was a great way to start our meal.
We both chose seafood for our entrées – lobster mac & cheese for me and baked salmon for my husband. Portions were very generous and both my husband and I were unable to finish our dishes.
The Lobster Mac & Cheese had the perfect combination of pasta to lobster meat to cheese. It was love at first bite.
The baked salmon was a tad bit overcooked but the seasoning was spot on – tangy and a bit spicy. Vegetables were abundant and provided a contrasting texture to the rice and salmon although we thought they could have used less salt and butter.
After barely getting through our entrées, we moved onto desserts. One crème brûlée and one NY cheesecake with raspberry coulis stared back at us while we took a bit of a break between bites.
It took us a few minutes but we both managed to find some space in our stomachs for the sweet stuff!
Both desserts were scrumptious and the perfect way to end our dinner date.
We enjoyed our meal from the inside of The Waterfront Bistro due to rain and vowed to return on a day with nicer weather so we can enjoy the stunning views and a delicious meal outside on the patio. Next time, we’ll bring the kids too!
Savour the Season runs from September 11th to 22nd this year. For more information about Durham Region’s culinary festival and participating restaurants, visit DurhamSavourTheSeason.ca.
Cheryl is founder of Kids On A Plane – a blog dedicated to family travel in North America and the Caribbean. When she’s not on a plane, you can find her exploring York Region and the GTA with her two young children and husband.
