Foodie on the Fly - Camping in Hell

Before we get to the adventures of the last week, let me define camping in hell. Camping in hell is when your vacation starts out relatively nice and, within a day, the weather turns cold, the rain starts to fall, your kids stop sleeping and start getting cabin fever (making an unbearable situation that much worse), then they inevitably get colds, which they share with you to enjoy on the one, single day of halfway decent weather.

Let's put it out there. I hate to camp. Even when my "roughing it" has no iota of "rough".

Needless to say, this was one vacation I was happy to return from.

Of course, not all of the past week or so was terrible. We actually left Mina at Jim's Mom's for a few days and left Cody at camp with Jim's Dad and headed back home and had some Foodie Fun on the way back. We saw some odd sights and had some laughs. We got to spend time with the Foodie Family, which makes up for all the rain, my inability to find really great local food up north (both from lack of availability in the region and my lack of motivation to dig deeper).

I missed my food though. I missed cooking. So I'm happy to be home and back at it.

But, let's focus on the good stuff. Our mini trip back home mid-vacation. We made great two stops: The Candy Shoppe (located on the 400 both southbound and northbound) and The Flashback Diner in Barrie.

First we stopped at: Candy Shoppe. Highway #11 North, Orillia, Ontario
(705) 327-8337

A true candy haven. Rows upon rows of hundreds (or thousands.. I didn't count) of kinds of candies and chocolates. I think the best part of the candy available is the selection from the UK (Cadbury items and, my favourite, Flake bars) and the selection from the US (Baby Ruth bars, Razzles, Wonka bars). Even those little Fizz candies I loved as a kid that made my tongue burn and bleed if I ate too many.

Check out their website - you can even order online. Hmm. Maybe not so great that I discovered that. I think the best part (other than the candy) was the little park out back. A good distraction for those travellers who get super antsy. I bet you thought I meant Lucy. No... me. The equipment may be a bit older than most, but it seemed fairly well maintained. Although Lucy was more enchanted with the flowers and the trees. The funny part of the Candy Shoppe is that I have passed it, going north, so many times and have always wanted to stop. I'm glad we did, even though my dentist may be less thrilled at my next checkup.

After our stop for candy, Lucy started letting us know that she was getting hungry. There is always one big problem I have with our 4-5 hour trips up north to see Jim's family. We inevitably fall prey to those oh-so-convenient-side-of-the-road service centres. And if there is one thing that I'm getting tired of it's fast food, scarfed down on the side of the road. It's always the same. I once had a friend ask me that if you weren't enjoying what was going into your stomach, why would you eat it? I think it's an extremely valid point that isn't asked often enough. I have nothing against burgers and fries. But there's a difference between a GOOD burger and fries and McDonald's version.

It was because of this philosophy I maintained to Jim that - unless absolutely necessary - when travelling, we would try to find local establishments to eat at and take the time to explore the places we were passing through.

As dinner time hit, we were closest to Barrie. So we got off the highway and hit:

Flashback Diner
309 Bayfield Street
Barrie, ON L4M 3C2
(705) 726-6555

The name pretty much sums it up. Diner atmosphere, diner food, diner shakes. The food is pretty good, the shakes and the cherry cokes are great. The decor is reminiscent of decades past with the old booth radios being replaced (cleverly enough) with small televisions that played (even more cleverly) a kid-friendly movie.

Comparitively speaking though, if I had my choice to go to this diner or McD's on the side of the road, the diner wins. Hands down.

Our order? Jim had the 10 ounce bacon cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake. I had the classic turkey club, coleslaw and a cherry coke. Lucy got a grilled cheese and white milk.

The highlights? Jim's burger. Well seasoned, well cooked. The toppings were pretty basic (hint for them: local lettuce is in season - use it instead of tasteless iceburg). The chocolate shake. When you use fresh, real ingredients and add in real whipped cream and a cherry it's hard to screw this one up. The turkey club. Made with real turkey and not deli meat. 'Nuff said. It wasn't stellar, but they win points for not using cheap meat.

The letdowns? The cherry coke. It would have helped to actually.. oh, I don't know.. put a cherry in there. Lucy's grilled cheese. Points given for using real cheese and not processed slices. But it was marble. And greasy. Which means she loved it, but I didn't love her having the same amount of grease she would have had eating a McDonald's quarter pounder.

Overall, a good experience. Not too pricey for decent food, which was a vast improvement over the fast food. I have to say though, I got the biggest kick out of the bathroom doors. Clever. Moreso for me, who has a kid named Lucy.
And that was our mini-trip back home during our vacation. Which, I have to say, was probably more exciting and food-filled than the rest of the vacation.

Of course, when we got home on Monday night, I had to do a quick meal plan for the week. Here it is:

Tuesday: Steak sandwiches (Jim's favourite, of course) with potato salad

Wednesday: Manchego burgers with smashed and fried potatoes

Thursday: Bangers and mash with mushy peas

Friday: Grilled cheese, tomato and basil sandwiches (on the BBQ) with corn on the cob

Tonight was the Manchego burgers. In a word: superb. Jim's secret burger recipe (I'm still bugging him to let me share it here) with my cheese choice and super fresh toppings made for a fabulous and easy meal. I had to out-do the burger he loved so much at the diner, you see.