Tag Archives: Pickering

Posts from Base Camp

Ontario food experiences in late 2025

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

As we near the end of 2025, I’d like to share some of my local food experiences (and a concert) over the past few months.

Rayhoon Persian Eatery, in Burlington, Ontario

Every time I’m in Burlington, I make sure that I visit its vibrant downtown core. It’s always very busy and there are many dining options. One of my favourites is the Rayhoon restaurant, which specializes in Persian cuisine. It also has a great location in the “Village Square”. On this occasion, I ordered Fesenjoon, which is a rich stew featuring chicken, butternut squash, pomegranate molasses and ground walnut. I like the sweet and sour contrast…definitely more sour than the typical “sweet and sour” you find in Canada.

Very rich and tasty Fesenjoon, at Rayhoon in Burlington, Ontario

In September, I had some al pastor tacos at Chúuk in Pickering. If you like pineapple, this is the taco for you. And it’s not the only Mexican option in suburban Pickering. I loved the pollo con mole at Cielito Lindo.

Al pastor tacos, at Chúuk in Pickering, Ontario

Back home in Kingston, I saw The Grapes of Wrath perform an acoustic concert at the intimate Broom Factory. They were very popular in Canada through the late 1980s and early 1990s, so it was nice to see them in such a cozy venue. I had interviewed the two other members of the group in the mid 1990s (when they were in an offshoot band called Ginger), so I think the circle is now complete!

The Grapes of Wrath at the Broom Factory in Kingston

I lived 11 months of my life in Brockville, so I feel somewhat more connected to it than other similarly-sized Ontario towns. It doesn’t seem to have changed very much since my last visit, but I was happy to see some interesting food options on King Street.

Pho Hut on King Street in downtown Brockville, Ontario

We had intended to visit another restaurant, but it was closed on Mondays and we ended up at the Pho Hut instead. Their menu was quite large, so I can’t really tell you what I had…the picture below will have to do.

My main course at Pho Hut in Brockville, Ontario

From Brockville, we moved on to Ottawa again. Blog regulars will know that I find myself in Ottawa quite a bit. This is not the first time that the Chateau Laurier hotel features at the top of one of my posts. Anyway, on this trip, we went to an old favourite for dinner: Khao Thai, on Murray Street in the Byward Market district. It is a little more upscale than your typical Thai eatery, and the quality of the food has always been excellent.

My main course at Khao Thai in Ottawa

Not every Ottawa dining experience has been exquisite. Before leaving the city, we had lunch at a fairly well-known diner. The Reuben sandwich was fine, but a bit more balance between the sandwich and the fries would have been appreciated. Seriously, what’s with the grotesque amount of fries?

French fries, with a side of sandwich, at an unnamed Ottawa diner

Coming up next on the blog: an interesting hobby that can (and did) scratch the travel itch…at least for a little while…

Posts from the road

More non-traditional Ontario destinations

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(Pickering, Dresden, Campbellford, and other places in Ontario, Canada)

While my last post focused on Cambridge, Ontario, this one covers a whole bunch of non-traditional Ontario destinations. Once again, the unifying theme is “places I went for lawn bowling competitions”! And, of course, food plays a role.

Pollo con mole, at Cielito Lindo (Pickering, Ontario)

In late June, I had a qualifying tournament in Pickering, Ontario. We had a strong first day of competition, so our team decided to celebrate at dinner that evening. We settled on Cielito Lindo, which looked like a family-run Mexican restaurant. And it was! I went for the pollo con mole (pictured above), and the sauce was excellent. Just the right amount of chocolate and heat.

Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill, in Ridgetown, Ontario

Suburban communities like Pickering are sometimes overrun by chain restaurants, serving a very corporate kind of “McFood”. While there are exceptions (The Owl of Minerva – a Korean restaurant – being one of those exceptions), I really try to seek out independent alternatives whenever possible. Often, restaurants are the only truly “local” experience we have when I play in particularly intense tournaments. Such was the case in Pickering – there was no time to explore hidden nooks and crannies during that visit.

Solid diner food at Yeck’s in Ridgetown, Ontario

As the qualifying event in Pickering went well, two weeks later we headed much farther west for the Provincial event in…Dresden, Ontario. Dresden is a very small community (less than 3000 people), but it happens to have a good bowling facility. Before my first practice session, we stopped in the nearby town of Ridgetown for lunch. Ridgetown is only slightly larger than Dresden, and is clearly an important agricultural centre.

My grilled Reuben sandwich, and sides, at Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill in Ridgetown

I figured that Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill would be a solid choice. We did indeed enjoy our “homestyle” lunches – my grilled Reuben sandwich was particularly well done and the fries met our exacting standards. The restaurant was very popular with Ridgetown residents…we had to wait a little while for a table.

Cashew chicken, at the Thai Kitchen & Bar in Chatham, Ontario

After the competition in Dresden was over, I had an intense craving for Thai food. Alas, Dresden had little to offer in that regard. We returned instead to the nearby city of Chatham and the sensibly named “Thai Kitchen & Bar”. The menu was extensive, with a lot of unfamiliar options, so it was very difficult to decide on what to have. I settled on the not-at-all-unknown cashew chicken, but would have loved to try some other dishes too.

Exterior of the Thai Kitchen & Bar in Chatham, Ontario

I have the feeling that the Thai Kitchen & Bar’s facility used to be a very different type of restaurant…probably something Mediterranean. No matter – we were happy with the food and will undoubtedly return there someday. Chatham is a very long way from home, but we have been on the road again several times since. There was another trip to Pickering, and of course the “Preston” trip from my previous blog entry.

A small piece of regular Gouda (top), and a small piece of lavender Gouda (bottom)

On the way back from Preston, we took a break in Whitby to stock up on Dutch delicacies at the Village Bakeshop. Regular blog readers know that I am a big fan of Gouda cheese. So I decided to buy a couple of less common varieties. First up was goat milk Gouda – almost pure white in colour. And I also picked up a piece of lavender Gouda! Yes, it is very purple (see picture). To complement the lavender, the cheese also contains rosemary and thyme.

Municipal office for the Township of Stone Mills – Centreville, Ontario

Lastly, we went to Campbellford for another provincial qualifier. On the way back home, we stopped in Stirling for ice cream at a candy store and a brief walk along the main street (see photo at the top of this post). We returned to Kingston along a lot of back roads, passing through many small villages such as Moira, Roslin, Croydon, Centreville (pictured) and Camden East. It was a nice way to unwind after a day of competition.

Stay tuned for more non-traditional Ontario destinations…and an intriguing international tournament!