Right in the Centre - Gotta have a meal
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- Published on Friday, July 7, 2023
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
Our slightly changing work and life patterns have taken us on many road trips this year. We travel every week to Rivers to deliver papers and we have had several trips to follow our great grandsons’ very young sports careers. All our trips have been day trips and that means eating on the road. If I don’t mention a particular food establishment in this column, it’s not meant as a slight, it just means we haven’t been there yet.
Throughout the readership area of the Rivers Banner and the Neepawa Banner&Press, we have had some awesome breakfasts, lunches and dinners. If anyone has noticed my physical profile, you will realize that my wife is a pretty good cook and baker, so I know good food when I see it.
On some of our sports jaunts, we travel to Glenboro. The little Glenboro Drive-in serves up an excellent selection of food. It’s easy to find and has lots of parking, right off Hwy. 2. Great milkshakes too. On another sporting jaunt, we ate at the Summer Shack at Carberry. Very good food and ice cream there as well. Earlier this year, while out with friends on a road tour, we stopped for ice cream at the Lickety Splits Drive-in at Gladstone. It was too early to eat a meal but it’s never too early for ice cream. Judging by the traffic that is usually there, the meals are pretty good.
In Rivers, we make a stop every week at The Honeyhouse Restaurant and Bakery. It’s the place to go for the “coffee crowd” and they serve very good meals, a great cup of hot chocolate and my personal favourite is the Philly Steak and Cheese sandwich. The Honeyhouse is large by rural standards and has an excellent bakery and a small gift shop.
Speaking of bakeries, the Gladstone Bakery and Eatery, in addition to great bread, buns and donuts, serves up a good breakfast.
On a family visiting trip, we stopped at the Brierwood in Kenton. Really good food served in a nicely fixed up historical building.
Heading north out of Neepawa takes you to the Farmer’s Daughter restaurant located in the Kelwood Barn. It’s a great place to slow down, catch your breath, visit a bit and enjoy the beautiful view to the west of Riding Mountain. The food is very good and I especially like the Fish and Chips.
At home in Neepawa, we haven’t had a chance to try every restaurant this year but we have enjoyed meals at Lees Restaurant, the Bamboo, Brew’s Bros., Boston Pizza, Chicken Chef, Uncle Tom’s and the Neepawa Golf Course club house. The NGCC, with possibly the exception of the Farmer’s Daughter at Kelwood has the best view.
By reading the above words, you might assume that all we do is drive and eat. As I said, life and work changes. With great-grandchildren to watch in sports and with spending more time on the road for work, we cover a lot of ground, mostly half-day trips. The restaurants and drive-ins we have mentioned are all good and deserve our patronage.
By the way, our work pattern has changed as we, and our staff, deliver our newspapers to most of our communities directly now. We do direct delivery wherever possible and we see a lot of country and a lot of miles in all kinds of weather.
I have been involved with small towns all my life. I was raised at Holland, Manitoba and, except for five years of my life, have always lived in or near a small town. The localized service that you get can’t be beat. So whether you are traveling for work or pleasure (to me work is pleasure), be sure to patronize the small town businesses. You stopping by means a lot to them. Times are good in many ways but times are also tough. Be sure to look after the people around you.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.
