Respect Is Burning

After a short hiatus while I look for a new vehicle, we arrive at Respect Is Burning on a cool Wednesday evening.

This has become a very popular venue in Sudbury for an evening meal or other event. I had made a reservation in advance, and that is probably necessary if you want to be assured of sitting right away.

Many people arrived shortly after us and we were there at 5:15 pm.

The place has a high ceiling and there are many "artistic" paintings/sculptures on the wall.

The chairs are quite uncomfortable but it depends what table you get as each table seemed to have different chairs. They mostly seem to be of the "kitchen table" style chairs from earlier days.

One of the sculptures above our table protruded into our eating space and our youngest companion knocked her head on one corner by accident. It was a very hard sculpture looking to be made of steel.

The fake plants looked a little dusty and the background music (a Bob Marley CD) seemed overly loud. The lava lamp on one table was operative and it, like the music, seemed totally out of place for this type of restaurant.

Our waitress was very pleasant and helpful, dutifully reading off the evening specials before we ordered.

We decided on a couple of "starters" to get us going.

When I made the reservation, the woman on the phone told me that we could stay until 7:30, to which I agreed. I thought that we would be out of there within an hour but we ended up staying almost until that time.

The service, although good, was quite slow. If you bear in mind that this is a "Supper Club" which normally indicates a long, slow meal with plenty of time for conversation, then the tempo is very apropos.

With full stomachs, we declined dessert. Two of us ordered coffee which came in smallish mugs with "out of place" (in my mind) wood stir sticks.

The total price with one alcoholic beverage (before tip) was $100.37

Cheerfully sponsored by Sonic Northern

Harvey's Restaurant

It was snowing as we arrived at Harvey's Restaurant on Regent Street. The wind in our faces felt cold in spite of the relatively warm temperature of -2ºc.

We were happy even with the cold wind since we could feel the snow slowly leaving this part of the world. It is still three weeks to Spring, but already the weather is feeling warmer each day.

Harvey's is a staple here in Sudbury - much like the other fast food restaurants but with a little more class.

Our happy mood spilled over into our eating style as one tried onion "ear rings" and another played with a pickle.

There were few other people when we arrived but several were in the drive-through. Our order-taker was new at the job and having difficulty with our meal choices but she gamely got everything down - and correctly too. It must be difficult serving us as we sometimes change our minds during our order.

Shortly after we chose our meals, several more people arrived making the place quite lively with their chatter.

Our burgers, fries, poutine and all were quick to arrive on our trays as we sat at a smallish table to enjoy our repast.

All agreed that they enjoyed what they had ordered and had enough to eat - well almost - since the Dairy Queen is conveniently next door, we headed there right after our meals to enjoy a sweet dessert.

At a total of $31.32 including all taxes, it was a very reasonable deal.

Cheerfully sponsored by Sonic Northern

Guylaine's Cafe 2009 Long Lake Road

It was a warm evening when we arrived at Guylaine's Cafe. The temperature had soared during this day to a balmy +4 degrees. Nice after a week of bone-chilling -30's.

Guylaine's Cafe was a bit difficult to find and I was happy that I had called for directions prior to our visit. I had seen that the address was 2009 Long Lake road but all I could picture was the medical building beside Shoppers Drug Mart.

My call cleared up the dilemma. It was located at the back of the Medical building, just where I thought there was nothing but offices.

One of us knew the owner from previously and we were introduced to Guylaine and her husband upon our arrival.

We sat in smallish (for me) chairs surrounding our table.

There were a lot of figurines and other pieces of pottery on display in one corner. The place was spotless and we were pleasantly served by Guylaine herself.

There were many items on the menu with almost half of them being of the "all day breakfast" variety.

One of our members having been here before suggested a large bowl of poutine as an appetizer, and upon its arrival, we immediately dug in. It was the best poutine I had tasted in a long time.

Our meals came soon after we ordered. They were quite good but more of the "diner" style.

After eating, we decided on a dessert to take out. Of course we all ordered Guylaine's famous bread pudding which we had heard of before.

A decent meal with not too much atmosphere at a price of $78.91 before tip.

Cheerfully sponsored by Sonic Northern

Grumblers

There was a light snow falling the evening we went to Grumblers.

It has been many years since I was last here, but it looked inviting.

We entered the restaurant and noted two sides - one which was quite full of people who were mainly drinking and the other, which was empty except for a lone waitress.

We asked the waitress on the empty side "which restaurant is Grumblers?". She indicated that both places were part of Grumblers with the one she was at being also called "The Steakhouse" but that both were known as Grumblers.

Looking around, we decided that The Steakhouse would be our best bet since the other side was quite full.

Our waitress was very friendly and helpful as we decided on our orders that evening. She took our orders but she forgot was to ask how we liked our steak done. This was pointed out by our youngest member after our meals were brought to us. As I didn't order the steak, I never noticed, but the others certainly did - but too late to say anything as our meals were before us.

Our meals were excellent however and we enjoyed our dinner.

Quick service, average decor, good tasting meals at a price that seemed a bit high for what we received.

Total price before tip was $89.21 (no alcohol)

sponsored by Sonic Northern

Gonga's Grill

It was a bone-chilling -26 degrees c, on the night we arrived at Gonga's Grill on Brady Street.

We left our vehicle to shiver in the cold as we entered the spartan-looking "diner".

Our waitress quickly arrived after we seated ourselves at a utilitarian table with basic chairs. She handed us menus, asking if we wanted a beverage before our meal.

I was surprised at the extent of the menu. The number of choices on it caused us to take our time deciding on our orders.

Having made up our minds, we told the waitress what we wanted.

The time from ordering to arrival was quite quick and the food looked excellent.

Our taste-buds agreed and we enjoyed our meal.

With a friendly waitress and a bill totaling only $69.18 with dessert (before tip) we were very happy.

If you do not mind a sparse decor, then this place is highly recommended.





sponsored by Sonic Northern