Dining Out

Karl Wells

Smitty’s

26 Gibson Drive

Mount Pearl

Ph. 368-8690

A couple of years ago, on my way to Fort McMurray, I dropped into a restaurant called Smitty’s on the outskirts of Edmonton. It was early in the morning and I needed some breakfast. The place was jam-packed. Apparently it’s somewhat of a tradition for Albertans to have breakfast at Smitty’s. Given the size of the crowd I thought perhaps all of Alberta was trying to cram into the one I was visiting. I soon learned, however, that there are Smitty’s restaurants all over Alberta. Its headquarters is based in Calgary and has been since Smitty’s was founded in 1960. There were 114 Smitty’s restaurants across Canada. Now there are 115 with the opening of Newfoundland's first Smitty’s in Mount Pearl.

On a recent Friday evening after work I checked out our Smitty’s. (By the way, they have plans to open three more here). The Mount Pearl Smitty’s was a good size - 5000 sq. feet - and can accommodate 177 customers at 28 tables. It also had a separate lounge and meeting room with a fully stocked bar. The colour scheme was what I’d call fallish. I saw lots of burgundy, green and beige. The walls featured lots of those framed Newfoundland reproductions you see at many framing shops. The centerpiece of the restaurant was a very large square fish tank containing tropical fish that stood on a high bench so that all could see the various guppies, mollies and swordtails doing their thing. And speaking of things marine, that night diners were being treated to plenty of maritime folk music of the “Stan Rogers” variety. It wasn’t Stan but they sounded like him. I would have preferred something less intrusive and with less volume.

I'm a big fan of perogies since I had my first taste of them at Ben's Deli in Montreal (and yes, I had the smoked meat as well). Perogies are dumplings of central or eastern European origin that can be stuffed with a combination of different ingredients. Usually, they’re stuffed with mashed potato and cheese but can also contain meat, sauerkraut, onion and cabbage. I have had them boiled or steamed but never baked - as Smitty's seemed to be. They were golden brown instead of white and formed a perfect crescent. You're given a choice of dips, the traditional perogie accompaniment - sour cream - or salsa and more curiously, ranch dressing. The ranch dressing choice really surprised me but our server, Lee Ann, assured me that the ranch was the most popular dip with their customers and her personal favourite. Well, I was lukewarm on it and the salsa. For me it's sour cream or nothing with perogies. Despite the fact that Smitty's perogies were baked instead of boiled or steamed they were delicious. The slightly crisp but soft casing gave way to a smooth, cheesy filling of cheddar flavoured mashed potato that liased beautifully in my mouth with a dollop of rich, silky sour cream. They were a meal in themselves and I couldn't stop stuffing my face with them. My companion on the other hand, who can't stand the idea of anything being stuffed with lowly potato, did not care for them.

We also tried Smitty's fish cakes and both agreed that they were the best fish cakes we've tasted in a St. John's restaurant. They came as large, glistening, golden brown discs with a lovely aroma of freshly cooked potato and codfish. I was told that Smitty's fish cakes are 50% fish and I believe it. You could actually see nice flakes of fish in these homey creations. Being at least half fish gave them a nice texture and added immeasurably to their flavour.

Clifford Small, owner of the Mt. Pearl Smitty's, takes pride in the "Newfoundland" selections on his menu. It's not surprising given his background. Mr. Small comes from Wild Cove in White Bay. He is a former fisherman and long liner captain of nine years. After leaving the fishery and spending some time on the mainland, he recently decided to come home to Newfoundland and try his hand at something different from what he was used to. That's when he went for a Smitty's franchise and got it. Adding Newfoundland recipes to the mix was a "no-brainer" for him. In addition to fish cakes they offer pan-fried cod - that Clifford Small prepares personally - cod tongues, pea soup, crab-au-gratin and fish and chips with sides of dressing and gravy and scrunchions.

My companion, who was on a low-fat kick, chose the chicken stir-fry entree. It was an inoffensive dish without much character. The reason this stir-fry was so average was a result of the use of those mass-produced and uniformly treated chicken breasts - the frozen kind you buy in large cardboard boxes at the supermarket. The chicken and vegetables were all coated with a generous helping of stir-fry sauce of the bottled variety - quite like the Uncle Ben's readymade line. Why do restaurants use these products? They're fast, taste okay and enable restaurants with a small staff to offer a wide variety of items on their menu. Smitty's is not a high-end eatery and doesn't pretend to be one. People have a good idea of what they're going to get at such places. However, I am concerned that more and more of these products seem to be showing up in so-called fine dining restaurants and are causing some unpleasant reactions from diners.

There is a section on Smitty's comprehensive menu called Classic Dinner Favourites

that offers everything from all day breakfasts of pancakes, waffles and egg skillets to quesedillas, Hawaiian chicken and cod tongues. I scanned the list - that included New York steak, crispy chicken and mushrooms and Salisbury steak - and stopped as soon as I read "liver and onions...$10.89." I love liver and rarely eat it but the picture of the dish, prominently displayed on the menu, made it look too good to pass. I wasn't disappointed. The liver topped by onions, crispy bacon and prepared beef gravy - which costs extra - was just the way I like it. It was cooked through but not to the point where it would have made a good ping pong racket. This liver was tender and full of flavour. It was served, however, with waterlogged baby carrots - cooked from frozen - and mashed potato that tasted suspiciously like instant. That said I still cleaned my plate. For me Smitty's food brought nostalgia with it. It reminded me of all those dinners I enjoyed at the Woolworth's cafeteria on Water St. when I was a kid. I can enjoy food on all sorts of levels. In this case, despite the excess moisture in the carrots, the dash of spicy nostalgia made me want more. I couldn't wait to see Smitty's menu of freshly baked pies that, again, looked so much like those Woolworth creations of the sixties.

I like peanut butter so much that I'm afraid to keep it in the house. Smitty's pie selection included a peanut butter crunch pie that I just had to taste. Their so-called "original freshly baked pies" sell for $2.99 per slice or $12.99 for a whole pie. Believe me, as a peanut butter junkie I wanted a whole pie but somehow I managed to exercise restraint. It was a creamy pie with only enough peanut butter in it to give the mild flavour of peanuts. On the other hand, it had lots of whip topping but the pastry base was less substantial and a bit soggy - perhaps because these pies come frozen from Smitty's bakery on the mainland. I enjoyed the pie but frankly there was so little peanut flavour in it that it caused me to develop an insatiable appetite for a real peanut butter fix. A full bottle of Skippy might have done the trick.

Smitty's has been around as a chain for a long time so people obviously like what they're doing. It's good that they have enough flexibility in their template to allow Mount Pearl's restaurant to include some traditional dishes on their menu. That's really where this restaurant shines. We have our own cuisine in this province and it's good that some businesses have chosen to promote it, even a little.

Our supper for two at Smitty's, including a glass of Masi white and tip, cost $58.67.

Best Points:
Very good fish cakes.

Areas for Improvement:
Smitty’s should offer even more Newfoundland dishes.

Ratings Category:

Smitty's gets 7.5 points out of 10.