“You won’t go away hungry, I can tell you that.”
Listening to Annabelle, one of the owners of The Port Grocer, explain today’s brunch menu to a group of first timers is almost as good as eating it. Almost.
The little restaurant and general store in Port Medway opened last April, and is known for brunch, which typically fills the space to its adorable rafters. We’re visiting on a rare slow day, though as we browse, the space is quickly filling up.
Annabelle describes The Port Grocer as a work in progress, but we’re smitten. The burnt orange walls pop with local artwork that ranges from impression to mosaic to watercolour. Books and games fill a bookcase by one table, eclectic stained glass cover the windows, and the tables are adorned with mismatched vintage tablecloths. There’s a cozy little dining nook at the back, solidifying it as a kind of place where you immediately feel at home.
We peruse the menu over bottomless Laughing Whale coffee. The brunch today consists of five items. The four of us struggle to pick, debating what to leave out. Drew and I eventually settle on the fish cakes and the bacon, eggs, hash browns and beans.
It arrives, and we split the bounty between us.
The fish cakes are made in-house with haddock, mashed potato and onions. They’re soft and puffy and perfectly paired with a homemade tartar sauce. The bacon is locally sourced, meaty and salty, and the homemade beans are rich and thick, filled with bits of juicy pork. All that is matched with perfect over easy eggs.
Annabelle joins us a few bites in to see how we’re doing, so we press her on her perfect eggs. She tells us that when they decided to do brunch, she knew they had to do eggs just right, in each and every way people like them.
“There is nothing quite as finicky as eggs. When someone says they want an egg a certain way they want it exactly that way,” she says. The eggs (and all the rest of the delicious food) is lovingly prepared by the other owner at The Port Grocer, Deb Melanson.
We leave The Port Grocer stuffed (just as Annabelle predicted), and armed with groceries and a beautiful walking stick made by Paul Lewis from Ponhook Lake, NS.
At Annabelle’s suggestion, we spend time exploring Port Medway. Even on a foggy, rainy day, the area shows its beauty.
It’s a growing community with a lot going on. We pass by houses with colourful gardens, the growing Sunday market, a lighthouse park and home based shops that sell delightful things like model airplanes and mowers.
Want to visit?
The Port Grocer and Port Medway are close to Beach Meadows Beach and the lovely Blueberry Bay Inn, everything you need to round out a weekend vacation. It’s also just 15 minutes from Liverpool, where you’ll find Hell Bay Brewery, Lane’s Privateer Inn, the new Sipuke’l Gallery, Astor Theatre, the ADJA gallery, the large collection of rhododendrons in Pine Grove Park, and so much more!
Have less time? The Port Grocer is just 1.5 hours from Halifax, and would make a fun food day-trip all by itself.
Location:
The Port Grocer
1615 Port Medway Road
Port Medway, NS
Website: http://www.theportgrocer.ca/
We experienced The Port Grocer during Privateer Days 2015. The festival made arrangements with local businesses so that we would have a place to stay, food to eat, and gas to get to the festival. We appreciate the support of the Privateer Days committee.
Follow our adventures live:
@GillianWesleyNS
@DrewMooreNS
