Being an adult with a discerning palette I decided to start with the Strawberry Shortcake. Big mistake – I should have listened to Baroing as he clearly stated his displeasure last year with the soggy cakes. Quite a disappointment to be eating frozen strawberries – especially this time of year!
Thankfully the main part of the lunch made up for what was clearly lacking in my shortcake. The lunch consisted of a turkey salad, two generous helpings of potato salad, a bun, a slice of cheese and a scrumptious offering of cranberry sauce. I for one am a big fan of the cranberry sauce as it offers a nice contrast to the turkey. I immediately began to construct an open sandwich consisting of a large dollop of turkey salad, a nice smearing of cranberry sauce, a piece of very fresh and crisp leaf lettuce and my small offering of cheese. Delightful!
I was a little disappointed that the lunch did not offer up one more bun as I had a lot of turkey salad left over and it just wasn’t the same without my well constructed sandwich. The potato salad was also quite nice. I found that there was just the right amount of crunch and not too much mayonnaise, a nice balance. Perhaps next year they will consider fresh berries and maybe a macaroni salad as opposed to two generous scoops of potato salad.
Next year I’m going with the blueberry shortcake and I’m gonna steal someone else’s buttered bun!
June 29, 2008
By: KT
Baroing promised that this would be an awesome community supper that would leave your taste buds begging for more… strawberry shortcake. Considering myself a connoisseur of the wickedly wonderful berry, I felt compelled to attend. In fact, I hardly ate all day – saving myself and my appetite for the feast on such a fine day, there was not a cloud in the sky…
The Bridgewater Bulletin listed the supper as follows: June 29th, 4-6pm. $7.50. Potato salad, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, ham, strawberry shortcakes, strawberry and cream and cakes. There seemed to be a fair amount of focus on the desert portion of the meal… How could I pass up this bountiful offering of strawberry bliss? In fact, we even took Baroing's advice and showed up 20 minutes early. Or so we thought…We showed back up at the Fire Hall just shortly before 4:30pm. Already quite a long line up had formed. I would say at the very least 50 people were in front of us. Baroing did warn us, he said that this was a popular community supper and to expect a bit of a wait. I’m all for waiting especially when it comes to shortcake!
The temperature was at the very least in the high 20’s. The air was stagnant and there was hardly a breeze, making it feel more like 40. The sun beat down on all the procrastinators making us wish that we had been more proactive and arrived earlier to avoid standing and waiting like starving fools. The first ones to arrive were already in the hall enjoying their meals. I’d been waiting all day for this supper and should really have eaten more than a handful of piss puffs (ed: rice cake/puffs). But, that is how I rolled… on the ground.
In the end, never did get my shortcake… Just a nice big goose egg…Next year I think I’ll not skip meals and keep hydrated throughout the day… Might not be a bad idea to show up a bit early too… huh Baroing?
Seriously though, if you ever feel the urge to pass out, a community supper isn’t a bad place to go down – there are all kinds of professionals there to help out… Nurses, firefighters, doctors… take your pick. Or perhaps you’ll be “lucky” like me and have them all look after you.The breakfast at the Royal Canadian Legion number 23 in Lunenburg is the perfect way to start any day... or, at least the perfect way to start the last Saturday of every month.
Stepping through the doors of the legion is like stepping into a time machine and becoming encapsulated in a place forever resting in the year 1988. There is a lingering smell of old wood and cigarette smoke - steeped into the walls like tobacco wallpaper. Venturing further into the hallowed hall of the legion - the heart of the joint - the smell of bacon and bologna and ketchup and coffee create a tantalizing potpourri of deliciousness. It's like being wrapped up in a decadent terry bathrobe... if that terry bathrobe was actually made out of breakfast.
Entering the legion breakfast is akin to going home after a long time away, or attending a family reunion in small town Saskatchewan - you're greeted as if everyone had been looking forward to seeing you for years... (except you have to pay $6in order to eat.)
Everyone calls you "son" or "dear" or "hon" or "darlin'", and it takes almost all of your strength not to call everyone "gramps" or "granny" when asked if you'd like more coffee or orange juice.
You get touched a lot at the legion breakfast - a friendly hand on the shoulder while the coffee is being poured, or a gentle pat on the hand while your cutlery is being laid out. You'll never have so many wonderful old folks touching you at once as you will at the legion during breakfast time.
Choosing your breakfast is an exciting moment. Which meats? How will I have my eggs? What kind of toast? Should I go with the beans? Finally, when you choose that perfect breakfast melange, you can lean back and listen to the various conversations going on around you... "Ol' Mosher got his tractor stuck up near the hill... right broke it." Or, you can participate in a discussion with your neighbours. Where are you from? What do you do? How about that fog?
When breakfast arrives, your eyes gaze upon the glorious plate holding various shades of brown, and you inhale the enticing aroma before sampling the food. Many people around you seem to be eating as though it's a race - shoveling the beans and bacon into their mouths so quickly you wonder if they're part vacuum.
The eggs are fluffy, but not all that flavourful. The hashbrowns are crispy and bite-sized, and are positively perfect with a dollop of ketchup. The beans are delicious and smoky and provide a perfect balance to the meal. You eat and eat and eat and eat, but don't seem to be making a dent at all. You eat until you think your stomach will explode, and you take a deep
breath and smile with utmost satisfaction. You gaze up at the wall and see a portrait of the queen circa 1960, smiling down upon her subjects.
All is right with the world at that moment.
Thanks to Rachel for her awesome review and pictures!!!
