Tag Archives: Smiths Falls

Posts from the road

More Ontario food adventures

Leave a comment

(Smiths Falls, Burlington, Kitchener, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada)

This isn’t the post I planned to write, but it does follow well from my previous one about Caribbean cuisine in Pickering!

Today’s pictures are from four Ontario communities which I’ve already visited this summer in connection with lawn bowling tournaments. Most recently, I was in Windsor again for another event. I wrote about the World Marathon Ethiopian restaurant in a 2023 post, but didn’t have any photographs from it.

Inside the World Marathon Restaurant in Windsor

Well, I had a chance to go back in 2026, and here (finally) are some pictures…including the photo at the top of this post. Windsor‘s downtown is showing some evidence of trouble, but we still enjoyed our visit to World Marathon. I tried a single dish this time (Doro Wat), and enjoyed the taste, but I think I will return to getting a “sampler” of different dishes the next time.

Doro Wat on injera bread

My wife opted for a vegetarian sampler, served on rice instead of on injera bread. This is eaten with a knife and fork, rather than scooping the food in the injera with one’s hands. I prefer the earthiness of not using utensils, but the main thing is enjoying some different flavours.

Vegetarian platter on rice at World Marathon in Windsor

Revisiting past haunts is the theme of today’s post. On the way to Windsor, we once again stayed in the Kitchener area for a night so that the drive from Kingston wouldn’t be quite so long. Right next door was an Indian grocery store, where I found this most unusual bag of Lay’s chips. Yes, Lay’s is a brand we have here…but this one was made in India and was called “Chile LimĂłn”. I haven’t seen this flavour before, and I quite enjoyed it.

Spanish flavours from India in Kitchener, Ontario

About a month ago, I had a tournament in Burlington. It has a lot of good dining options, such as a Persian restaurant, so it sometimes can be hard to choose. This time, we went to another favourite: Thai Coconut. We have never been disappointed there: this time was no exception.

Savoury cuisine from Thai Coconut in Burlington, Ontario

Back in May, I had a tournament in Nepean. Yes, we have a favourite Thai restaurant there too! But this time, it was just a bit too early for dinner when the tournament ended. So, I drove partway home to Smiths Falls, and stopped in at yet another favourite: a restaurant called “My Place.”

The platter at My Place in Smiths Falls, Ontario

I normally shy away from meat-laden platters. But when one is in a Czech restaurant, it’s hard to avoid. And so I went for the platter (I won’t use the full name) featuring a schnitzel, smoked sausage, and chicken in a red pepper sauce. Plus enough whipped potatoes and sauerkraut to conclusively terminate any hunger. It took a while to finish, and I didn’t need breakfast the next day.

Partway through the platter at My Place

While the big around-the-world trip is getting closer and closer, I still have some more local content to share in the interim. Watch this space!

Posts from the road

From Smiths Falls to Flesherton

Leave a comment

(Ontario, Canada)

For the last two-and-a-half months, I have been criss-crossing Ontario…mostly to play in tournaments. As a result, I haven’t had as much pure “travel” time. Special experiences, sites, and food have been squeezed in when and where possible. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been up to.

My dinner at “My Place”, in Smiths Falls, Ontario

I like to play early season tournaments on the artificial grass surface in Nepean (Ottawa). At that time of year, most other Ontario clubs (which have natural grass) suffer from damp and very slow greens. As it is a two-hour drive, we often stop in Smiths Falls for dinner on the way home. And our favourite restaurant there is called “My Place.”

Canada geese, also known as cobra chickens, are much less threatening when they are young.

Despite the fairly anonymous name, “My Place” is clearly rooted in the cuisine of Czechia (Czech Republic) and nearby countries. Schnitzel and goulash are very well represented. I’ve never been disappointed with their food. And while dessert would have been too much, their desserts looked home-made and delicious.

The Cobourg Lawn Bowling Club has a beautiful location near Lake Ontario

In June, I went to a provincial championship tournament in Hanover, Ontario. It’s nowhere near Smiths Falls. But we had stopped in Hanover 10 years ago, on our way home from Goderich, so we looked forward to seeing what changes the intervening decade had brought. Sadly, the Dutch store on the main street was no longer there. But the Schultz Home Bakery *was* still there, and I managed to get a photograph this time!

Schultz Home Bakery, in Hanover, Ontario

But we didn’t stay in Hanover. Instead, we went to the nearby town of Flesherton. We found a freshly renovated hotel (Leela’s Villa Inn) offering large rooms and an included breakfast at the adjoining restaurant. The price was right and it was nice to stay in a quiet, small town that we had only passed through before. And apparently Flesherton is the home of former NHL player Chris Neil (for proof – see the photo at the very top of this post!).

The main intersection in downtown Flesherton, Ontario

Once again, the randomness of it all was very appealing. Stay tuned for more Ontario adventures, including a culinary tour of the nation’s capital!