The Local Restaurant Scene - Nuttshell Next Door

While I live in (and love) Peterborough, I have the distinct honour of working in Lakefield at Savage Arms. Tim also works in Lakefield in the evening at Lakefield College. So occasionally we match up our schedules and decide to do dinner in Lakefield. Unfortunately I'm usually left scratching my head. I know TONS of great places in Peterborough - it's more a matter of picking the cuisine you're craving and walking down the street. But Lakefield? I know they have some great things going on here - Stuff Store has a lot of interesting hot sauces, gourmet prepared foods, beautiful artsy servingware while Riverhouse Co . . . Oh, I'm salivating just thinking about the absolutely incredible things that come out of the kitchen at Riverhouse Co. The problem with Riverhouse Co is that they're EXPENSIVE. Worth every single penny, believe me, but a lot of pennies.

Tim suggested we meet up for dinner yesterday in Lakefield because he had a job interview there in the afternoon (fingers crossed, very exciting opportunity!!) and then an ultimate frisbee game that evening, then work. If he didn't take me into account, he'd probably have had fast food. Because Lakefield seems to either do gourmet or Subway. McDonalds. Pizza Pizza. Not really my idea of a great meal, or even really a good one. Hamblins is home cooking, I guess - fairly mediocre family-style restaurant food. They have an amazing ice cream parlour, though.

This was pretty much how my thought process went yesterday when he suggested we do dinner - I wanted to, but where do we go? Luckily when Tim got here he already had a place in mind, even if he couldn't remember it's name. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever noticed the Nuttshell Next Door Cafe before, but I'm really glad he suggested it!

(Photo courtesy of Nuttshell Next Door Cafe's Facebook page - my phone died before I could get a picture.)

We got there, unknowingly, fifteen minutes before they close at 5:00 pm. We didn't want to inconvenience them by staying, but they were so friendly! She said that if we were still there once they closed, we could just leave the dishes on the front porch for them to get in the morning. When Tim was skeptical about this practice, her response was, "It's Lakefield - most people don't even lock their doors." Truthfully, she's right - the gentleman getting his food before us gave her back an extra loonie she accidentally overpaid him as change. Gotta love small towns!

Tim ordered the chicken quesadilla and I had the spanakopita. It came SO quickly. Less than ten minutes from ordering to getting our food. 

The salads were beautiful and the house made dressings were fantastic. I preferred Tim's berry balsamic over my red wine and thyme, but they were both very good. My spanakopita was hot, the phyllo was very crunchy and light, the filling was good. Not as good as mine, notably, but spanakopita is a pain in the butt to make, so I'm okay with that. The feta just wasn't as prominent as I like. 

Tim's quesadilla was awesome. Really well pressed, the tortilla was crispy but not too crispy, the fillings were hot. The cilantro sour cream was REALLY good. 

The patio here was really just a nice place to hang out, too. There are lots of friendly people to watch walk by in Lakefield. Their gardens look like they'd be absolutely gorgeous in summer. I'd absolutely recommend this place. I might even be stopping here sometimes in the summer for work lunches!