The Beanery Cafe & Bistro

Sometimes it takes a moment of two to get to the point of a story and this may be one of those.

First off, I'm very sad that I forgot my camera because the interior of the Beanery is lovely.  And do you think I could find a nice photo of the place online that didn't include strange people I did not know??  So once this winter storm is done I shall return to the scene and take some photos.  They deserve to have some online photos.  And in my defense, since I had no idea hubby was going to give in and take me someplace different, why would I have taken my camera?

So why have I not been to this restaurant in 8 or 9 years?  Because of my dear hubby of course.  It is all his fault.  Every time he gets in the mood to go out to eat he wants to go to places he already knows where there is food he likes.  He truly hates me dragging him into new places where he has to be a good sport and try something that he may or may not like.

Do you need a reminder of what he can be like when he is not enjoying a meal?  Just click here.

Anyway to try and get to the point of my story . . . dear hubby wanted to go out for dinner tonight because he was hungry and he wanted a hot meal and for some weird reason he thought I didn't want to cook.  In my defense, I wanted to cook, I just couldn't make up my mind what to cook.

So off we go . . . but where?  Let's go to the Beanery, I suggest.  I don't like that place, he replies.  Seriously, I say, what is wrong with it?  They only have donuts and sandwiches, that's what.

Argh . . . dear hubby has (for years) mixed up the Beanery with a lovely coffee shop down the street which of course does not serve hot meals, only soups and sandwiches and cakes and such.

So we pull up to the front of the Beanery.

We were graciously greeted and seated.  Our server was exceptionally lovely and took very good care of us.  Dear hubby went off a-wandering to check out the whole restaurant so I placed our order.  Ribs for him and the evening special for me.  I don't remember the "name" of my dish but it involved halibut and a wine and seafood sauce and some very adorable little mussels.  Our meals came with soup or salad.  The soup was tomato vegetable and was served perfect temperature and was very tasty.  You all should know by now just how much I love a good soup.  Our meals arrived in good time and looked VERY appetizing.  There was a little problem with the temperature of our baked potatoes but that was very quickly resolved, which as you know, also makes me very happy.

To everyone in the restaurant business, take a lesson from this.  An occasionally mistake does not need to be a nightmare; just fix it quickly and quietly and most diners will be very happy.  Make a fuss or throw blame all over the place and we will not be happy.  We don't want a fuss.  We just want our meal.  I know that is what makes me happy.

Okay, back to the Beanery.  This was the second time in my life I've every had mussels.  The first time was at the Church in Stratford and they were served in  a cioppino and I thought they were okay.  Well, my mussels tonight were really, really fabulous.  I don't know what all they did to them but I could have eaten a bucketful (well, not really, but I would have given it a good try).  The halibut was lovely and I managed to eat every bite but only by ignoring half of my green beans.

Our server checked on us frequently.  Dirty dishes were removed quickly.  You know how I hate sitting over dirty dishes.

And the perfect end to the meal was a delicious dessert which I cannot for the life of me remember the name but it was like light caramel cookies with layers of flavoured cream, very light and pretty and delicious.

After our meal the owner, Steve Doukas, sat and visited with us for a while.  What a great conversation.  What a great evening.  Our quick hot supper lasted a couple of hours and I think I can count on the fact that we will be back again.

Thank you to the staff at the Beanery, 625 Talbot Street, St. Thomas for a lovely evening.