Dirt roads and rough-hewn rows of trees stitch together a patchwork of browns and tans, greens, golds and blues in the Annapolis Valley. A warm wind blows through the cliffside bushes of The Look-Off, where I stand with two friends gazing through the thin cloudy haze that hangs high over the supernal quilt that is the valley. It’s the end of a sunny Saturday, a day trip to Wolfville to visit the excellent farm markets and food producers in the area.
After a breezy drive into the small town for a trip to the bright outdoor farmers’ market, we cross the street for lunch at Tempest World Cuisine. Housed in a quaint blue building, the dining room is urban and sleek, duskily grey and red.
We’re greeted at the door, and sit by the bay of windows that peek at the nearby market. Our server is friendly, but gives us the time and space we want to chat, relax and make our choices. The globetrotting menu marries worldly influences with local ingredients.
We eventually settle on the lobster club ($14), Tuscan pizza ($14) and pad Thai ($12). While we wait for our meals, I sip on a glass of Domaine de Grand Pre L’Acadie Blanc 2007 ($7) and my two friends enjoy the malty, refreshing Rojo Mojo Red Ale ($5.50), a microbrew from Wolfville’s Port Pub.
The buttery notes and citrusy crispness of the L’Acadie Blanc are a nice pairing with the sweet, rich chunks of Fundy lobster in the club sandwich, which is also delicious with the fragrant smokiness of Oulton’s applewood bacon. The sandwich is not perfect, though. The lettuce and tomato are both sadly wilted and the inside of what was a light and tasty grilled bread is soggy from the moist heat of the meats. I opt to abandon the soggy parts, but enjoy the meats and accompanying home-cut French fries.
There is no disappointment in the Tuscan pizza. The paper-thin crust is fantastic. Airy and crisp, it’s a nice foil for the rich toppings. A layer of prosciutto lays a foundation for some chunks of fresh, sweet fig, mozzarella and peppery arugula. It’s a wonderful balance of sweetness, salt and spice.
While some restaurants serve pad Thai that taste more of tamarind or tomato, Tempest offers a creamy variation of peanut pad Thai; a mix of tofu, chicken and shrimp is tossed with the rice noodles and a rich peanut sauce. Handfuls of crunchy bean sprouts and vibrant cilantro give it a delicious lightness. The citrusy cilantro combined with the nutty sauce is especially wonderful with the plentiful, succulent shrimp.
To wrap up we split an order of chocolate buenuelos ($8), the restaurant’s signature dessert. We also order coffee ($3) and tea ($2), the two coffees served charmingly family-style, in a tall French press.
The slight bitterness of the coffee is great with the mind-melting sweetness of the delicious dessert. The four buenuelas surround a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, in a pool of white chocolate. Molten Belgian chocolate seeps out with a slice through one of the deep-fried pieces. Splitting it three ways leaves us all humming with sugar.
Energized from our meal, we stop by a few more farm markets before that final stop at The Look-Off. Water is just starting to bead on the icepack that sits in a bag with cheeses, our vegetables threaten to wilt in the heat. It’s time to drive home. Our bellies are full of good food, and our thoughts are full of corn mazes, apple orchards and pumpkin patches—all of the reasons we’ll come back again.
This article appears in Aug 19-25, 2010.
any thing in the wolf area is better tasting – also try a slice on the main drag and a sip of joe at just us, now that is a meal and a treat, hank bukowski –
Long term (5 years or so) me and the wife are moving out there. Can’t beat the slower pace of life.
On a recent wine and culinary tour of the valley, we scheduled an early Sunday dinner at Tempest prior to a local concert that evening. When we entered the restaurant there were two other tables occupied.
Unfortunately, our first impression was that the restaurant was generally unkept with traces of napkins and residual debris quite evident on the floor.
We were pleased to be offered seating at a prime table with a nice window location however, upon sitting we immediately found that we had been seated at a location that offered an uneven table and a wobbly chair. We requested a table change and were relocated to a window seat near the side entry with proper furniture and provided menus.
Our view, on first glance, appeared pleasant however soon after we were seated we discovered that some of the kitchen staff used the entry porch to take their breaks affording us the unavoidable views of their smoking breaks.
Despite varying opinions on smoking we must say that this experience was visually unpleasant and worked against the culinary anticipation we had come for.
Still hopeful that these intial experiences were more aberations than the norm, we decided to order some wine and two appealing appetizers, the roasted beet salade and the lobster chowder. The delivery of the wine took approximately ten minutes accompanied by two glasses – both with fingermarks and one with residual lipgloss. Upon calling attention to the glasses, they were quickly replaced and a proper pour was attentively provided. The wait for the appetizers took an additional 10 minutes which, when considering the minimal number of diners present at this time, was longer than one would expect at a fine dining restaurant. However, the most disturbing aspect of the wait was not so much the extended time but the unappealing view of the two wait staff eating and drinking their evening fare behind the bar with apparent disregard for the diners in attendance.
The appetizers were very good and the wine superb. However the ambience created by the unkept dining area, the wobbly furniture, the improperly cleaned wine glasses, the somewhat slow in-attentive service during a time when the restaurant was not overly busy, the disregard for the customer visual experience (outside staff smoking breaks within full view of the dining tables along with waitstaff eating their meals at the bar within view of the customers) left us with such a level of disatisfaction that we decided to take the remainder of dinner at Acton’s.
We had great expectations for Tempest but were disappointed. Perhaps Chef Howell, Maitre d’ Cory Kent and Tempest’s leadership are attentive enough to address the staff training necessary that reflects a basic understanding and appreciation of the customer experience. Unfortunately, on this particular evening these fundamental qualities were not evident; which despite the quality of the food left us with a bad taste.
Beautiful day in the Valley – wine tasting at Gaspereau and Grand Pre wineries, with lunch at Tempest in between. It wasn’t busy at all and we were seated right away and menus brought to us soon after with glasses of water – tepid water in not exactly clean drinking glasses sans ice cubes. The decor was nice and would probably be quite lovely in the evening, however in the daylight it appeared a little tired and worn. The menu had quite a number of selections that sounded amazing and it was difficult to choose, however I had read a review of their Pad Thai that said it was incredible, so I decided on that while my dining partner chose a lobster pasta in cream sauce. The meals arrived and both were only warm…not hot and the presentation looked as if they’d been slopped onto the plate from a trough! Everything smelled divine, so I hoped that the appearance wouldn’t take away from the experience. My friend thoroughly enjoyed her lobster pasta, saying that the sauce was rich, creamy with just enough zing from the cracked pepper, albeit the meal hadn’t been hot enough upon arrival, so the last few bites were cold. My Pad Thai had a bit of bite, however it did not live up the my expectations and most certainly not to the review that had said it was amazing! It was a mucky pile of noodles with a few shrimp and pieces of chicken hidden amongst them. The peanut sauce tasted like watered down Kraft peanut butter with liquid sugar added to it…..far too sweet! Even the heat of the spices couldn’t cut through the sweetness of the sauce. This meal was a huge disappointment on an otherwise wonderful day in the Valley. I think the 2 elderly ladies at a nearby table who had ordered the fish & chips were much happier…….plates overflowing with fries and a huge fillet of battered fish – looked and smelled divine!! Perhaps I’ll try that next time!