Real country restaurant, sophisticated food

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/05/2010 (5967 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If I had waited a week or two I probably would have been able to watch flocks of pelicans frolicking around the Lockport locks, but summer came early, and I couldn’t wait for my yearly ritual excursion along the scenic St. Andrews River Road. And after that, of course, food — brunch or lunch, or aspects of either, and the answer was the Harvest Moon in Garson, one of the best country restaurants within an easy drive of the city.

And it is a real country restaurant, with entry through an old-fashioned general store into a simple, old-fashioned dining room. There’s a massive, dark painting of harvesters on one wall (homage to Millet’s gleaners, perhaps), a series of wood carvings by co-owner Sheila Grycki on another, and a couple of ancient farm rakes hung along the ceiling. It’s a casual kind of place, but cosy, with table tops of solid slabs of maple, and a wee pot of fresh pansies on each. It’s also a very popular place — with locals as well as city mice — and, no matter which meal you plan on having, a reservation would be prudent. And it’s also old fashioned enough to accept cash only. No credit cards.

Owner-cooks Andrew Strong (once a top Winnipeg chef) and wife Sheila (a local Garson girl) were locavores before the word even existed.

Great-tasting bacon, ham and pork sausages come from Thor’s Meats in Selkirk. The honey is local, and so are the berries, rhubarb and other fruits and veggies when in season, and although much of the cooking is straightforward, it is also accomplished and sophisticated.

Garson is approximately 50 kilometres from Winnipeg, depending on where in the city you start from, so if it’s to be brunch, keep in mind that the breakfast foods ($7 to $14) are served until 11:30 a.m. only, noon on Sundays, but they are worth the early start. The perfectly runny eggs Benedict, for instance (weekends only) are excellent, as are the hash browns that come with them. There are omelettes, of course — baked, with a variety of fillings, among them bacon, mushroom and three cheeses; ham and jalapeño with tomato, red pepper and cheddar; roast chicken with feta and veggies; or (our choice) lovely little nuggets of lobster.

You can have a stack of three pancakes for $7, or a single for $3.50 — not the most economical choice, obviously, but a relatively guilt-free lower-calorie indulgence. There are such other sweet treats as French toast, bananas Foster Belgian waffles or, on weekends only, a huge apple pancake or triple berry crepes with whipped cream.

If brunch runs into lunch don’t miss one of the Harvest Moon’s signature dishes, the fabulous Chinese potsticker dumplings, with a pork and vegetable filling and a creamy and lightly chili-spiked sauce. There are some other fine choices, all including soup or fries ($8 to $13) — our soup du jour was a slightly tangy roasted tomato, fragrant with herbs, and the fries were skinny and crisp. The Reuben sandwich, made with Thor’s corned beef, was surely one of the province’s best; the roasted garlic caesar salad with freshly shaved Parmesan was top notch; and that day’s special of simply pan-fried pickerel fillets tasted fresh and sweet. Other possibilities include fried chicken, perogies, burgers, pizzas, quesadillas or such daily specials as veal scallopini or stew, New York strip loin or chicken lasagna.

And oh yes, the coffee is marvellous, too.

Open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday to Tuesday, and to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. Closed Victoria Day.

 

— — —

 

Huangpu River is a spacious, airy place, and, like an increasing number of other Chinese restaurants, offers dim sum — albeit only a few, and on Sundays only, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The dumplings cost from $6.95 to $7.95. which buys approximately double, in some cases triple, the usual serving size elsewhere. They are also different in the sense that — like many of the dishes on the regular menu — most are Shanghai-style.

They are listed at the end of the multi-page menu and include one I haven’t found anywhere else — Shanghai soup dumplings, the kind with the soup inside, along with a little ball of ground pork. I’ve had them here when there has been a rush of hot liquid, and also when there has been little more than a trickle. Either way they are delicious, and to be eaten carefully, over the bowl — from a spoon or with chopsticks (be careful not to pierce them), nibbling a tiny opening at one end to get at the soup before nibbling at the meat.

Potstickers are originally from Northern China but now are found everywhere, even in cross-cultural renditions at non-Chinese restaurants (see Harvest Moon above), but the classic versions rarely come any better than these gingery, super-juicy beauties. Not listed on the menu, but worth asking for are the delicate fish dumplings made of basa.

There are some little snacks as well (most $1.25 to $2.50). I’m partial to the deep-fried, sugarless doughnut sticks, but absolutely besotted by the wonderful sesame bread — flaky, crunchy wedges of deep-fried dough, dotted with bits of green onions and sprinkled with sesame seeds. There are as well rice and noodle dishes on the Sunday lunch menu — I didn’t get to try them, but those on nearby tables looked and smelled tantalizing.

 

marion.warhaft@freepress.mb.ca

 

Dining Out

Harvest Moon, 176 Garson Drive, Garson, 204-268-4554

Huangpu River, 1875 Pembina Highway, 261-4407