Walking into the Fifty’s Diner located along Trout Lake Road in North Bay, one is immediately greeted by the pleasant staff and the delicious aroma of food being cooked in their busy kitchen.
On this Sunday morning, customers are tucking into their breakfast chosen from an extensive breakfast menu listing options to suit everyone from the pickiest to the heartiest eater.
One of the more popular breakfast dishes is the mouth-watering peameal eggs benedict served with three poached eggs, homefries or sliced tomato, and a side of fruit salad.
“The home fries are actually our homemade grilled ones. So we boil them, season them, and then flat top them. And the fresh fruit salad is cut daily,” explained Diner manager Katie Rose.
The eggs are then served on an English muffin, topped with the Diner’s own hollandaise sauce recipe.
Customers can choose from ham, peameal, mixed cheese, cream cheese, and spinach, or bacon benedict.
“We get a lot of compliments on our eggs benedict because they are big and they are fresh. Breakfast during the weekday is also pretty busy but it is mostly our basic two egg breakfast, getting ready for the work day.”
The diner is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Attention is given to flavour and freshness.
“For lunch, our clubhouse sandwiches go over really well, especially the turkey or the chicken, all fresh meats. So it is actually turkey that we’ve cooked, sliced off, and then put on the sandwich. Our hamburgers are homemade so they go over well. They have a good thick patty. Everybody really enjoys them. And our french fries are fresh cut and our coleslaw is fresh cut as well.”
Dinner favourites include liver and onions, chicken breast dinner, or the Texas chicken which is a double breast of their own marinated chicken, charbroiled and topped with mixed cheese, tomato, and green onions, served with salsa and sour cream.
Another favourite is their chicken tenders which are lightly fried tenders served with plum, BBQ or honey mustard sauce.
“All of the chicken breasts are actually cooked, grilled, and seasoned here. Our chicken tenders are homemade batter so the chicken isn’t actually frozen fingers, they’re chicken strips that are dipped in a batter here and then deep-fried. So they’re a little bit more of a fluffy texture. They go over well, they’re a good size.”
The restaurant gives off a bit of a fifties vibe, minus the poodle skirts and roller skates with walls adorned with pictures, reminiscent of that era.
At one time the diner even had a jukebox.
And just as one might think, milkshakes, fries, and burgers are on the menu, including a burger named after a Hollywood teen heartthrob.
Their fish and chips dinner also goes over well.
“It is haddock. It is usually a big seller on Fridays. It is our specialty.”
The family-owned and operated restaurant has gained a regular clientele since opening its doors in 2013.
“But we sometimes get quite a few people from the United States because they’re going hunting in Quebec, so they always stop in. And a lot of people going fishing on the Quebec side always stop in too,” said Katie.
“I just had a comment yesterday that it seems like a very happy place to work and that is what I want to portray to my customers that are coming in, that we enjoy what we do here. And I want everyone to feel like they are welcome here.”
The restaurant is located just a few doors down from Freshco on Trout Lake Road and is open seven days a week.
