Sam Jake's in Ontario delivers local flavor

MERRICKVILLE, Ontario — Ever been across the border to Merrickville?

It's a historic and picturesque little village about 20 minutes north of Brockville on the Rideau Canal. Lots of artisan shops, quaint B&Bs and old graystone buildings housing a variety of restaurants.

One of those restaurants is in Sam Jake's Inn, a restored stone mansion offering fine country cuisine, a friendly pub and a garden patio for al fresco dining, along with 33 well-appointed rooms and a modern spa.

It can be a bustling town in the summertime when the weather's good. But it was quiet the weekday night we visited about 10 days ago, following endless days of rain.

Which was good. I like to be able to get to know my bartender and my server. Ask a few questions about the place. See how business is. Catch some local gossip.

Our young bartender was very pleasant, simultaneously supplying drinks for us and the dining room. Our host, who doubled as our server, was a seasoned gentleman who excelled in the gift of gab.

While the pub felt like a great place to congregate on a cold winter night (located in the center of the building, no windows, a little dark), the elegant dining room is the place to be in the summertime. High ceiling, tall windows, view of the canal. The wall coverings and colors, as well as tables and chairs typical of the mid 1800s, give the feel of country comfort and luxury.

Chef Thomas Riding's menu is surprisingly small — two soups, four appetizers (two being salads) and six "mains." His philosophy is printed right in the menu: "To provide high quality, savory food prepared to showcase the natural flavors of local, Canadian ingredients."

Wherever possible, the ingredients for his dishes come from within a 175 kilometer radius of Merrickville, the Canadian version of our "100 mile menu."

Chilled "local flavors" gazpacho ($6.50) was loaded with chunks of veggies — tomato and cucumber in particular — drizzled with extra virgin canola oil (never heard of that before, have you?). I could have used more garlic and onion to kick it up a bit; otherwise it was simply like eating a bowlful of soupy vegetables.

Jake's classic romaine salad ($7.50) was interestingly different — a twist on classic Caesar. Crisp romaine lettuce with homemade croutons, bacon bits and freshly shaved Parmesan was further enhanced with a very tasty creamy basil dressing.

Local asparagus salad ($8.50) was refreshingly delicious. A good amount of cooked-just-right asparagus was decorated with chopped red onion, grape tomatoes, crumbled feta and basil chiffonade, served warm, with dots of maple mustard vinaigrette around the rim of the plate.

Goat cheese crostini ($8.50) was our favorite. The baguette used for the crostini comes from Ace Bakery in Toronto. We had already experienced the Ace baguette at the start of our evening, delivered to the table crusty on the outside, warm on the inside. De-lish.

As our server, Rick, told us, this is the best baguette around. We agree.

Slices of the bread were rubbed with garlic and olive oil and topped with a generous amount of the pure white, delightfully tart cheese made from the milk of goats. The crostini were placed over a bed of summer greens. A marvelous red onion marmalade completed this gem of an appetizer.

Entrées, or "mains" as they call them, were perfectly portioned and artistically presented.

Prosciutto-wrapped breast of chicken ($27) was presented stacked style, a good-sized breast placed over a warm Mediterranean salsa of tomatoes, Kalamata olives, capers and feta, accented with several basil-roasted fingerling potatoes.

A lot of great flavors happening here.

The only fish dish on the menu, barbecued filet of trout ($28) was an absolute winner.

The trout had little flavor of barbecue but took on an interesting pinkish color in the process, making it look a little like salmon or Arctic char.

It was set atop a mighty tasty whole corn Johnny cake, then topped with colorful and flavorful watermelon salsa (small cubes of watermelon with red and green onion and cilantro), finished with maple chipotle sauce. Yummy.

Roasted duck breast ($27) was a certain representation of the 175-kilometer commitment. The duck, from Mariposa Farm east of Ottawa, was glazed with ginger and honey from nearby Angel Manor apiary, and served with a nice assortment of local beans sautéed in walnut oil. The duck was cooked to our request of medium rare.

Lots of restaurants serve rack of lamb, but Sam Jake's roasted whole rack of lamb ($32), their signature dish, was the best we've had in some time.

The rack is rubbed with masala curry spices, then roasted, placed on top of a tasty chickpea and spinach ragout, served with cumin-roasted sweet potato and finished with a minted raita (yogurt, cucumber) and coriander-infused sauce.

Got all that?

This was about as good as it gets, flavors tugging at you left and right. It was truly a whole rack, all eight ribs, cooked to a perfect mouthwatering medium-rare.

Except for the lamb, every appetizer and entrée we had reflected the chef's effort to procure ingredients from local food growers and producers, something the inn has been doing for more than 16 years.

Desserts, priced at $7.95 each, were nicely presented and properly portioned.

Rhubarb ginger cheesecake with a hint of white chocolate was our favorite with its honey-biscotti base.

Vanilla crème caramel, much like flan, served with a moist rhubarb almond cake, was a close second.

We also enjoyed the sponge pudding, a light lemon custard with wild blueberry compote.

And who wouldn't like a double chocolate brownie stuffed with walnuts and served with homemade peanut butter ice cream?

The food tab totaled $206 in Canadian funds; $24 of that was Canadian taxes. The current exchange rate is approximately 15 percent.

The inn's wine list features selections exclusively from Ontario.

We enjoyed several glasses of very drinkable Colio Chardonnay ($8).

We were very impressed when Rick took our orders without the use of an order pad, and he certainly knew the menu. However, when it came to delivering the food, there was a good deal of guesswork. But his affable, easygoing manner easily made up for the small blemish in service.

Sam Jake's Inn is open year-round. The menu changes with the seasons. The food and ambiance are without a doubt worth a drive to Merrickville.

You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.

Sam Jake's Inn

118 Main St. E.

Merrickville, Ontario

1-613-269-3711

www.samjakesinn.com

Fine dining in a restored stone mansion

DINNER HOURS: 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday

2 to 8 p.m. Sunday

APPETIZER PICKS: Goat cheese crostini; local asparagus salad

ENTRÉE PICKS: Barbecued filet of trout; roasted rack of lamb

DESSERT PICKS: Rhubarb ginger cheesecake; vanilla crème caramel

RATING: 4 and one-half forks