Great Fall Drives and Food

[bjinyyz]

Hello everyone!

I am looking for info on great fall drives and food.

I could really use your help and insight. Romance is the key as is stopping and walking.

As always, your help is greatly appreciated.

Kindest regards and for those that are Jewish....

L'Shanah Tovah!

Brian.

[cynalan]

Forks of the Credit with dinner at The Millcroft Inn - Rob Franchiotti (?sp) is the chef, ex of On the Twenty Restaurant.

[Full tummy]

I just wanted to add that a trip to Prince Edward County could be combined with a stop for apple-picking at a place like Cricklewood Farm. Unlike other kinds of pick-your-own, apples are quite easy; Cricklewood's trees have been grown so the branches hang low, and the fruit easy to pick.

http://www.cricklewood.ca/

[koknia]

The County has some nice pick your own places as well, mostly in Waupoos. Our family has been picking at Ostrander's for decades.

[dinin and dishin]

If you are on the east side of the city, try driving out to Tyrone Mills and Archibald's Apple Orchard. Take Liberty St. north from the 401 (at Bowmanville) and you'll come to Archibald's first. There you can pick your own apples, peruse their store for baked goods and gifts and enjoy a tasting of their many fruit wines (some award winning). You can also play golf on the little 9 hole course that runs through the orchard. When you are done there, you can keep going north to visit the still-active century old Tyrone Mill. They have wonderful homemade fresh donuts and tarts as well as various flours (organic as well) that they grind right on site. (when the donuts are still warm they are heavenly) In the fall they also make wonderful apple cider on site. You used to be able to peek into the process. If you are interested in antique tools etc, they have an interesting display of old tools and such that were used in the Mill over the years.

If you keep going north to Durham Rd. 20 (concession 9), and head west a ways, you'll find Long Sault Conservation area where you can walk or mountain bike through the trails. (although the trail markings are not great, so you might stick to the green trail first time out).

And if you are a Kawartha Dairy ice cream fan, head to Enniskillen to the General Store for monster size cones. If the weather is nice, you can sit outside on the picnic tables. Enniskillen is just west of Hwy 57 on Concession 8.

http://204.101.252.86/tourism/tourist.html#tmill
http://www.archibalds-estatewinery.on...

[bjinyyz]

Thank you. This is great info!

I have been to Bayfield as well. It is fantastic. I love the Fall and this will help to enjoy it even more!!!

Brian.

[LemonLauren]

You could search the board for recs for food at wineries - they are all beautiful in the fall, and the hilly roads around the Escarpment are ideally for driving, pulling over, walking, picture-taking, etc. Specifically, I know there's a campground with day trails near Cave Springs (which has an AMAZING view itself) near Jordan, ON, and there's lots of great food in Jordan such as the Zooma Zooma Cafe or, for the bang and buck, On the Twenty. I recall the roads around Henry of Pelham being quite scenic as well, and lunch at their Coach House Cafe was one of the highlights of my last trip. East Dell Estates also has an extensive hour-long walking tour that they organize, atypical from your usual vine-press-store-cellar-taste tour. Hope that gets you started!

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/433004
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/432993

[millygirl]

If you head towards Stratford you must check out Bayfield, a wonderful little town, amazing art gallery and then have lunch at the Bayfield Inn. Very nice way to spend an afternoon. We've been numerous times. In next month or so we are planning a drive around Mono Centre, not sure about the restaurants, but I hear it is lovely at this time of year. And....happy new year to you also.

[melly mel]

Peter Sellers pub near Mono Mills is delightful. Lovely outside deck, really great food for a pub and always pleasant service.

[WelcomeBack]

Hey Melly...I had forgotten about Peter Sellers pub. It is actually in Mono Centre, IIRC, about 15 - 20 km north of Mono Mills but really close to Mono Cliffs Park. The food upstairs is excellent and the pub downstairs on a winters afternoon/evening is really cosy.

[millygirl]

Thanks for the tip Melly....sounds lovely. I've made a note to check it out.

[mikeb]

Here's their website.

http://www.monocliffsinn.ca

It is a nice little place to kick back after a hike or walk..

-----
Mono Cliffs Inn
Centre St, Orangeville, ON L9W, CA

[obstructionist]

We like to drive from Toronto to Stratford taking the back roads, a different route each time. Lots of nice countryside to enjoy.

Several options for food in Stratford. The high-end restaurants are less busy now than in the summer, but they close down at the end of theatre season (end of October). There have been several suggestions here for dining, but personally I would have brunch at York Kitchen and dinner upstairs at Pazzo.

[Tboy]

How about a drive to Fergus to eat at the Breadalbaine Inn? You could do a walk around Elora Gorge or check out St. Jacobs while you are there? Great food and good walks....seems to fit your bill!

[littlegreenpea]

I definitely second going to St. Jacobs at this time of year. You may also want to check out Chudleigh's apple farm nearby.

[Full tummy]

Oh my! I wouldn't hit St. Jacobs on a weekend, unless you like crowds. I agree with icey above that Prince Edward County is a great option. I recently ate lunch at Carmela Estates Winery in PEC and was impressed with the quality of the food, though the service was a little relaxed for my schedule that day. Also Carriage House in Bloomfield is great; then there's Picton with Harvest & Buddha Dog. Not as crowded as some of the other destinations, but it is very scenic and has some good food, too.

[littlegreenpea]

Well, bjinyyz didn't specify that they had planned to go on a weekend. You are right that it may be something to keep in mind, depending on the time of the week.

[icey]

Go to the website for Price Edward County. They have something called the Taste Trail, and they pretty much map out all the great wineries and food spots all through the county. Its great, looks yummy and you can't go wrong with the beauty of the entire county. Some of the stops are Harvest restaurant, the Marshmallow Room, and Buddha Dog!

[tinybites]

For a sampling of the regional food/drink, I highly recommend visiting the annual Taste event in Picton at the fairgrounds (Oct 6th). Admission is $15, samples are very reasonably priced -- no more than $1-2 (a few yrs ago). Great representation from the local restaurants/inns/wineries/producers.

http://www.thecounty.ca/taste/index.html

Definitely concur w/ Bayfield; I have pointed many a couple looking for a romantic weekend away in that direction!

[The Boss]

Try www.fallontario.com

[JamieK]

Wow that was freaky. I was checking out the Ontario Travel Discoveries magazine in today's Globe just as I was reading this post. You should take a look at it. There are suggestions for fall day trips plus restaurants.

[lotuscoltfreak]

try hitting the muskokas during the fall leaf change....could be cool