Falls offer more than just something in the water
Fork it Over - The Falls Restaurant, 200 Bridge Street.
[Hawk] As one of the region's most recognized landmarks next to the Hopewell Rocks, Magnetic Hill or potholes, the Reversing Falls is definitely a popular spot with locals and tourists alike. On a recent visit to the spot, my first in a couple years, come to think of it, I was again impressed by the views, both from inside The Falls Restaurant (Brufrog scored a window seat before I arrived) and from the recently completed walkways down at the river's edge. With the recent high water levels of the Saint John River, the views on this day would indeed be striking as the waters raged several stories below our quiet table. The restaurant is of course perfectly placed to cash in on the scores of tourists that visit in cars, RVs and buses through the summer months.
But I, more than anyone, know that you can't get by on good looks alone. Keeping the locals coming back - and they were there in good numbers on this Wednesday lunch - means offering some good fare at good value.
[Brufrog]: I used to eat regularly at the Falls when my wife worked on that side of the city, but I haven't been in two or three years. I've always considered it a "comfort food" spot, a place I'd bring my folks when they are in town. Since the last time I was there, an entirely new "satellite" restaurant opened, that I still haven't tried. It was not open on this day, but I had a quick look inside, and it has even better views of the Reversing Falls than the original restaurant.
I was told that it will be open very soon for the season, and that the menu is different. I'll try it out sometime, or maybe I'll just pop in for a beer the next time I drive over the bridge when the falls are active. But, for this lunch, we were in the original location.
[Hawk]: The menu at The Falls Restaurant offers plenty of familiar items. The obligatory fish and chips are there, along with their excellent club sandwich, but the restaurant also fills out their menu with some very interesting and appetizing options such as an omelet with lobster, which is under $12, incidentally.
Wanting to avoid deep fried foods, I went for the broiled sole fillets with herb butter ($8.99), which comes with your choice of potato and a side salad. I teamed up my sole with some boiled potato and a garden salad with ranch dressing.
To my delight, the fish was beautifully light, perfectly cooked, fresh tasting and nicely glistening with the herb butter finish. The potato, although somewhat under seasoned (tip for the home cooks -- don't forget to salt your potato boiling water just as you would for pasta), was tender and piping hot, making a hearty accompaniment to the two fillets of delicate sole. The salad was a standard mix of lettuce, red onion, cucumber and tomato but all market fresh and crisp. Even the tomato was surprisingly ripe and tasty for an out of season vegetable.
At $8.99 and completely free of deep fried heaviness, this was a satisfying lunch option that I would definitely go back for. Come to think of it, I might have to try that lobster omelet next time around.
[Brufrog]: I started with a Moose Red ($4.25 a bottle), which was not my first choice, but they have no craft beer: not really a surprise for an old fashioned family restaurant. No fancy-schmancy beers here! I would have had a glass of white wine, but the by-the-glass choices were Sawmill Creek and Carlo Rossi.
No thanks. I'd like to make a suggestion to the Falls - How about replacing these bulk, blah wines with better quality, Canadian whites, including a crisp, seafood-friendly Atlantic wine such as Jost L'Acadie-Chardonnay, and a good, inexpensive VQA wine from BC or Ontario, like a Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling or Pinot Grigio? Tourists would prefer to drink good local wine.
I opted out of seafood this time, although pan-fried fish was what I used to order here with good success. Instead I had the pork souvlaki ($9.95) which comes with a choice of a cup of soup or tomato juice (Tomato juice? What's with that? Add some vodka and I'm in!), rice, Greek salad, and tea or coffee. I replaced the rice with fries, as I love fries with tzatziki. The soup was very plain, with what looked like frozen vegetables in thickened tomato juice. The souvlaki was delicious, though, especially when dipped in the tangy tzatziki. Not sure if they whip up their own tzatziki, but it was good. The salad wasn't a traditional Greek salad, as Hawk informed me, because it had lettuce, instead of just peppers, Spanish onions and cucumbers. There were four or five good quality Kalamata olives, though, and lots of feta, but there were no Spanish onions, which I missed. I found that odd, since Hawk had them in his garden salad. I eyed them jealously. My salad was fresh, though, and not swimming in dressing. The fries, on the other hand, were soggy and not that appealing. They looked like bulk-bought, restaurant supply company fries, rather than fresh cut.
All in all, my meal was a mixed bag, but lots of volume for the price. I finished with their famous homemade-style rice pudding, always a pleasure.
[Hawk]: Brufrog's incessant whining aside, just sitting in the restaurant, you quickly get a sense that this place has been around for a while and knows how to crank out a solid, consistent product, even when a collection of buses arrives in the parking lot
The wait staff, uniformly dressed in white tops with black skirts, is attentive, professional and quick, and the food from the kitchen shows attention and skillful delivery.
Have a good look through the menu and you'll find some fresh fare along with the more standard fast-food type items. There's still some neat things happening at Reversing Falls, and it's not just something in the water.
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