Thursday, November 02, 2017

Halloween Becomes An Excuse For Lunch Out

We've never been into Halloween as much as many others. Sure, when the kids were little, Sue made nice costumes for them, but that was more or less the extent of it.

I'd go around with the kids when they were young. I never dressed up, but I remember, as an afterthought one year, donning an ape mask and a fake rifle as I headed out the door to accompany my youngest. I sure saw some concerned looks as folks answered their doors for Allyson, Not that I went to the doors, but just hanging back on the sidewalk was enough to cause some consternation on a few countenances.

Those were different times, and I wouldn't think of doing it now.

In fact, living in a townhouse on a longish townhouse block filled, we don't do it at all anymore. Like a pair of grumpy grommets, we shut the door and turn off the lights.

You see, other neighbourhoods dump their kids here to  maximize the haul. At least it seems like that's the case because hundreds of kids come by, many more than than seemingly live in this neighbourhood.

We tried for a few years, but it just didn't seem like fun to us to have hordes of strangers knocking on our door. No sense of neighbourhood there.

But this year, we used Halloween as an excuse to go out for lunch before shutting ourselves in. We went to the new pub, Smith & Barrel, that opened in the refurbished Grand Hotel, which I have mentioned here previously.

As can be the case with restaurants in a smaller town, the room was fairly small. Small restaurants can bother me a bit, as I feel like I am eating in someone else's private dining room rather than a public place. But the few tables were arranged so that I felt as though I had enough personal space at our little table for two.

It was pub fare, but it was pretty high class pub fare — in my opinion which counts for very little in this world. At least it was for Sue who had Buttermilk Chicken, which she absolutely loved. I think she said something like, "Best ever." I had the burger but it was a dang good burger.

Onto the pics, just a few. One does try to be discrete and not intrude photographically on others.

Waiting for our food. You can see a bit of the room behind me.




My burger was yummy.



More of the place, including the ceiling: faux tin, I expect. Or maybe not faux.



13 comments:

Marie Smith said...

Impressive burger and ceiling!

The kids are so excited about Hallowe'en, we just go along with it. The best part for us is when the grandkids come by.

Joanne Noragon said...

I'd eat there! Looks like some young entrepreneurs have put time and thought into it.

Shammickite said...

I manned the door giving out candy at my son's house while they took the littles out on the street. But I only had 12 trick-or-treaters come to the door. Mostly neighbours who I know.

Jenn Jilks said...

We spoke about this place as we passed it! I'll have to put it on the list.

Gorgeous photo of Sue! Well done!

Shammickite said...

Regarding your comment about my comments not showing up in your emails, I have no idea how to fix that, but it seems to happen with 3 or 4 other bloggers too. My mind is boggled by trying to make technology behave.

Mara said...

So, you wouldn't be dressing up like a full blown terrorist then? Like one over enthusiastic Polish guy did in Bergen, Norway? It included a bomb belt and everything. He got arrested...

That ceiling looks quite fancy and that burger just makes me drool. Yummy! Love the photo of Sue by the way. You married a very beautiful lady, did you know?

Debbie said...

what a beautiful picture of sue, you, not so shabby either...hehehehe

i love a good excuse to eat out and i often choose a burger. when i make them at home, they never taste as good!!!

we love halloween. i don't dress in a costume but i have a nice happy halloween shirt and socks!!!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

we too were not home at Halloween for trick or treaters and here in the mill apts where we live, folks can obtain a hang tag for their door and then children are supposed to knock on only those doors. We have not been home on Oct 31 for the couple of years that we've lived here and this year we were in neighboring VT. Most likely if we had been home we would have gone out for dinner too and not hung a tag, so we are also grumpy grommets. Also it keeps us from buying chocolates which we would then be forced to eat if there were leftovers.

Ginnie said...

Over the years I've seen so many of your great photos of your wife, AC, but never one as lovely as the one you shared here. You need to frame it !

troutbirder said...

and if you could stand on the sidewalk without too much ado in those days you didn't have to worry about your children getting poisoned by their treats. How idyllic then, how sad now...:(

Mage said...

In our thirties, we celebrated with the best of them. This year, instead of facing the few kids , we closed the shutters, turned off the lights, and went to visit poolie in the hospital. On our way home, we drove through the neighborhood above us. The sidewalks were lined wall to wall with kids. One friend I work with told me that on her block over 300 kids stopped by. Can you imagine that?

Vicki Lane said...

We haven't done Halloween since our kids were little -- and then, in our rural area, it was always a case of driving a bunch of kids around to pre-warned destinations and ending up at one house for a Halloween party. Not near as fun as in my childhood in suburbia when we would go on foot through our neighborhood.

Hena Tayeb said...

That picture of your wife is beautiful..
Thankfully we get just enough kids to make it fun and not so many that it becomes a chore.