Al Mac's in Niagara

At the corner of Stanley and Ferry in Niagara Falls is a compelling sign. 6.99 for a breakfast buffet and 13.99 or so for a dinner buffet. It was walking distance from our hotel so we went for breakfast. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it was not!

The place was fairly crowded so that seemed good and we went in and were seated right away. The waitress asked what we wanted to drink and so we asked if the beverages were included. They're not so we asked for water. We were shocked though when the waitress said it is their policy not to provide water. If we wanted water, we could buy bottles. We were shocked.

We decided to stick around to sample the buffet anyway without any drinks. The food was fairly standard: pancakes, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, potatoe fries, etc. The food was alright for the price. More select than you get with Ikea's $1 breakfast but you're paying significantly more. It's tough to enjoy breakfast when you're thirsty. It's one thing for my glass to run dry during a meal but a whole other thing for there to be no water whatsoever.

We each took two plates of food and got the bill. It's apparently a good thing we didn't order a beverage. Juice is apparently $4 for a tiny portion. Anyway, once we paid we hopped across the street to 7/11 where we bought two juices which we enjoyed on our walk home. We never looked back - well except to scowl at the place when we passed it on the drive out.

I feel bad for people that paid for the drinks. The breakfast buffet at other places looks significantly better for The morale here is to save your money and go for a vegas or at least some place other than Al Mac's

Stone Road Grille (Niagara on the Lake)

For someplace that gets two stars in the Toronto Life Restaurant Guide in the "Out of Town" section, the Stone Road Grille in Niagara on the Lake was surprisingly not busy for Saturday lunch. It was Ian and I and another table of 4. The Niagara Ice Wine Festival was even in town which probably brought a lot more tourists to NOTL than might normally be there for a cold weekend in January!

Lunch started well with a selection of sourdough bread made in house and some butter. Then it was onto a squash soup - no complaints but a bit plain ($8 for a big bowl).

Ian really liked the hearty portion of mussels cooked with chorizo & wine. They came with a hearty side of good crispy fries ($14).

For me, a sweet potato risotto with fresh parmesan tasted remarkably like the risotto I make at home except more creamy ($12). Again no complaints, but nothing too special.

Overall, it was a very good lunch at a reasonable price and we will definitely be back if we are in the area.