Eatdrink #42 July/August 2013

30 www.eatdrink.ca
№ 42 | July/August 2013
road trips
A Locavore Road Trip
Filling Your Huron County Picnic Basket
By JANE ANTONIAK | Photography by BRUCE FYFE
Who says going to the lake has to
be about going to the beach?
Our favourite road trip to Lake
Huron involves an empty picnic
basket, a cooler, a thermos, some books
and a blanket. Give yourself a few hours, a
tank of gas and follow our local foodie route.
The result? A perfect locavore picnic in our
favourite backyard — Huron County!
Head north out of London on Highway 4
through Lucan
and into Exeter.
Here you can
pick up a readymade
gourmet
pizza from Chef
James Eddington,
owner/
operator of Eddington’s restaurant. No,
he’s not in the take-out pizza business! But
he makes an outstanding pizza featuring
unique ingredients like potato slices and
caramelized onions. Everyone loves Thursday
night pizza nights at Eddington’s. And
cold pizza can be pretty great too!
In our basket, chocolate is also a food
group. Stock up at
Sugar and Spice on
Main Street in Exeter.
You can also find their
goodies at the new
Charles Street Market
in Bayfield. Cooler
required! Keep heading
north to Hensall where
we have two favourite
stops. At The Garlic Box,
look for Peach Salsa
made with fresh Ontario garlic. The tapenade
is also delicious. They sell right out of their
corporate office on Highway 4, just north of
Hensall. If it’s not office hours you can pick
up their products at Metzger Meats (our
other favourite in Hensall) on Brock Street off
Highway 83 (the Zurich-
Hensall line). Follow the
signs to Metzger’s. Turn
onto Brock Street at the
huge blue building, Ice
Cultures, where you can
buy bags of ice for your
cooler or take a tour of
their ice experience. At
Metzger’s pick up some
house-cured salami: we love the traditional
Hensall salami but for a zestier taste grab the
Jalapeno salami and some hot pepperettes.
Gerhard calls them pepperonis so that the
corporate giants don’t sue him. With eleven
smokehouses on the property, this is a meat
lover’s dream.
Moving towards the lake, a quick stop
at Jerry Rader’s
shop in Zurich
nets us some of
his famous butter
tarts. These may
not make it to the
basket! You can
also get a cup of
coffee to wash them down.
As we crest the highway and can see the
lake, we start thinking about fish. Pull into
the beautiful Hessenland Country Inn on
Highway 21 at St. Joseph, and hopefully
Chef Frank Ihrig can fill your thermos with
his signature Lakefood
Chowder made from the
Lake Huron catch of the
day. This is also a great
spot for a cold beer and a
quick stretch of your legs as
you stroll the five acres of
manicured lawns.
From St. Joe’s it’s on to
Bayfield, where we zip