Return to Kemptville, Ontario

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT SMOKED MEAT SANDWICH

by Julie V Watson

 

For years I have listed to the spouse rhapsodizing about the”best  smoked meat sandwich ever” which he had enjoyed when visiting Kemptville, Ontario. Now you have to realize the man loves smoked meat - Montreal style.  He likes it cooked right, piled between rye bread, with the right mustard - and lots of it.

 

None of that copy cat stuff, no whimpy bread or mustard.  The man knows what he wants and can be quite vocal about it.

 

The fact that this town has a special place in his heart meant that Kemptville was a must stop on our latest trip to Ontario.  Jack was raised in part by his grandparents who had a farm just out of town so his trip here a year ago was a bit of a trip down memory lane.  This year we were there strictly for the smoked meat..

 

This was my first time navigating the area for years, so I managed to get us a little of course getting there.  Should explain that this was our first trip in our new-to-us mini-motorhome.  Traveling with friends, with no experience with driving holidays of the Watson kind, who are also new to RVing, had made this whole trip an adventure.

 

My role in this whole voyage of discovery has been that of navigator.  My challenge - to avoid traffic and boring highways.  So we have basically been almost back roading.  Going around, rather than through, high traffic towns and cities, avoiding multi-lane highways, and generally seeing more of the country side that any of imagined existed.  So OK I admit I got us sort of lost.

 

Ontario is probably one of the worst provinces to navigate in Canada even when using their provincial maps. It even confused our gps. Roads are numbered on maps, but the gps gives us names.  Ontario, in all its wisdom, seems to put neither on signs in visible places.  I’m a map person, love tracking our progress on a map, and I’m good at plotting the course and keeping us on track. But here I find myself turning to the GPS to get us out of some muddles.

 

So our trip from Arnprior, south around Ottawa to Kemptville had took a little longer that planned.  That meant four hungry people searching for a restaurant Jack only remembered as a great place for smoked meat sandwiches.

 

Eventually, with a couple of turn arounds, and what my spouse has terms triangular navigation we made it. And, yes it was worth it as the photo of Jack's lunch proves.  It tasted as good as it looks.