Dinner at the Surf Restaurant
On a warm Friday night, every table is filled. The food that's being carried aloft by fleet-footed and quick-spoken
waitresses looks gorgeous and we can hardly wait to get into the menu and order for ourselves. I've waited all
week in the city before coming in.
The waitress came to take our order and suggested we try Lulu world famous Gray Feature. I asked what the featured
meal was for the evening? "Gray Tenderloin with a side order of Squirrel Chili " says the waiter "I'd
like my Tenderloin well done," says my pal. "I don't want to see any blood." "Medium rare,"
says the waiter. "The chef likes to cook the Grey medium rare." My pal agrees. Satisfied with the waiter's
assurances, we lean back and admire the decor.
There's a lot of action at the on the outside deck. The tables on the patio (open in warm weather) are just as
they are in will kept secret of Georgian Bay, and yet the personality of the room has become subdued. Amazing what
picture perfect sunset can do.
The Chili of the day is inspired. A deep bowl of thick chili is heady with Grey Squirrel meat and spicing -- I
detect preserved lemon here -- and textured with crisp, large peanuts. I love the flavor, though some would grumble
that the chili is not hot enough. But it was pleasure to taste this rare dish none the less.
The Grey Tenderloin is sliced and sandwiched between a stack of green onion s and mashed potatoes. Why do we love
mashed potatoes so much? Maybe because they demand no intellectual analysis or tricky eating techniques and just
give us instant gratification. The onion simply melts in your mouth. The Squirrel is delicious, the top slices
cooked through, but the bottom slices quite bloody. Our waiter co-operates without comment, returns the uneaten
portion to the kitchen and brings it back recooked, on a clean plate.
Dessert? Of course. A heft piece of Blueberry pie and a Vaughan coffee on the patio with an excellent view of the
western sunset. Lulu or Chef is truly inspirational when it comes to preparing the Grey Squirrel meals.
I'd go back to Surf Restaurant in a minute. There is a true atmosphere that this brought to life by Lulu and her
staff. But the big draw, besides the food, is that, like most of the loyal clientele, I can walk here from my
house and there is a strange absence of Grey Squirrels that inhabit the area. Dinner
