After a great time at the African Lion Safari near Cambridge, my family and I started our drive north towards the Bruce Peninsula. We didn’t make it far before it was time to stop for dinner. With no dinner plans scheduled we spotted Crabby Joe’s Tap & Grill in Guelph along our route and stopped in for a drink and a bite to eat.

Inside

Crabby Joe’s is an Ontario chain of about three dozen restaurants, started in 1996 and expanding each year. We arrived right at 6pm and found a relatively quiet restaurant, though there were already a few tables full of kids, taking care of their “Kids Eat Free” special on Sundays.

Rickard’s Red

The draft list was full of a few names I’ve never heard of, but looking back it seems that most were likely brands of Molson Coors. I tried the Rickard’s Red, while my wife went with the Rickard’s White. Neither were anything special, though I’m reading that when the Red was introduced in 1984 it was a big departure from the lager dominated country.

Peppercorn Chicken BLT

For dinner I chose the peppercorn chicken BLT served on a toasted Asiago bun and topped with BBQ ranch ($11.99). I upgraded the standard side of fries to the classic poutine, because Canada ($1.29). The poutine portion was enough to share with my entire family, so keep that in mind and you might just one to do one upgrade. Both the poutine and sandwich were fairly good, and I would recommend both.

Edgy Veggie Burger

My wife had the edgy veggie burger topped with goat cheese, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, red onions, arugula, garlic aioli, and a sweet balsamic glaze ($11.99). I didn’t try any of her sandwich but she seemed to enjoy it. Many of her included side of fries ended up dipped into the extra gravy from my plate.

Our service was great despite the young woman telling us that we would be her first unassisted table. The food was good, and the kids ate for free ($6.49 value). We would definitely return, especially on a Sunday.