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Mimi Sheraton: Eat Your Heart Out!A visit to the elegant Millcroft Inn in Alton, Ontario, CanadaBy Donald James DunnBeing used to 3-week intercontinental business trips, it was actually quite a challenge to pack for a simple overnight stay at an Inn not more distant than one hour’s automobile drive from my residence. Having routinely travelled to some pretty offbeat places around the world, nagging doubts kept creeping into my head: should I take a supply of bandages? What about anti-malaria pills? Surely I’ll need my trusty Swiss Army Knife with its 17 assorted life-saving tools... And my handy-dandy travelling electric plug adapters; not to mention my old Army Surplus oil-dampened compass – just in case I get turned around in the wilds of the Caledon Hills in Southern Ontario? In the end, I took a change of underwear, my laptop computer and a Blazer with gray slacks. I figured I could trade one of these items for some life-saving amenity, should the occasion arise. Of course, it never did.
It opened its doors as the Millcroft Inn in 1977 and soon after won the National Award for Heritage Preservation. With 30 years of experience to his credit, Innkeeper Wolfgang Stichnothe has made the commitment “to make the Millcroft Inn the ultimate four-season country retreat while preserving the integrity of its historic buildings and grounds.”
And then there is the restaurant. One anteroom, booked out solid months in advance, sports just four tables on two levels in a glass- and wood-enclosed casement window (“The Pod”) which juts out over and looks down upon small illuminated waterfalls. In the main dining room, the tables are spaced apart far enough so that you don’t feel crowded by the neighbouring dinner party. The ambience is warm and cozy and exclusive; the service is same.
Reference: All pictures = courtesy of “The Millcroft Inn” |
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The Millcroft Inn is one of those wonderful, rare hidden
jewels which one hears about from a select circle of people but seldom gets to
experience. And yet, it’s often fully booked well in advance. The people who
KNOW about it go there often. Set in the lush and verdant rolling hills of
Caledon, about an hour’s drive north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the restored
historic former knitting mill dating back to 1881, boasts 100 acres of pristine
headwater property and woodland trails, a superb full-featured spa, numerous
outdoor activities for all seasons, conference facilities, 52 well-appointed
guest rooms, and, a four-star gourmet restaurant with a menu “to die for.”%20(RGB).jpg)
The key word here is “ultimate”. Everything about the
Millcroft Inn comes down to the details, to the “little things” which make all
the difference between good, first-class lodgings and superb, “ultimate”
lodgings. These lodgings are divided among three separate venues: the Main Mill,
the Manor House and the Crofts. My better half and I stayed in one of the
Crofts, replete with a private outdoor hot tub and a fireplace on the lower
level of our bi-level Croft for a cozy snuggle after those cold winter
cross-country ski treks.%20(RGB).jpg)
The attention to detail is everywhere: heated towel racks,
Moen gold and silver coloured faucets, European-style shower “wands” on
flexible hoses (for all those hard-to-reach places), a telephone on each level
of the Croft, a modem jack for your computer (have to check one’s e-mail, after
all), a mini-stereo with CD-Player, spot- and track lighting everywhere (very
mood-enhancing), a ceiling-mounted circulating fan (shades of Gunga Din), books
to read on the mantle of the fireplace, large windows that actually open and
wooden louvers which act as curtains to cast a veil of modesty when nighttime
falls, and finally, a hot tub totally encased in wooden logs (including the
“lid”) for that “rustic” feeling. The outfitting of this place is right out of
Architectural Digest!%20(RGB).jpg)
So “blown away” was I with the excellence of the
restaurant’s cuisine, that I feel compelled to relate just what I ingested that
memorable evening (made all the more congenial by Stephen Nash, our attentive
and subtly humourous “waiter”, and by Wolfgang Stichnothe who joined us for a
pleasant and informative chat at the beginning of our meal): a basket of freshly
baked goods, the highlight of which was a nutty sunflower-seed bread; both
crockery butter and hummous served as spreads; the appetizer consisted of
a salad of rare blond frisée in light, creamy reggiano dressing
with double-smoked lardons, a crispy parmesan tuile and herb oil;
an entrée of grilled medallions of fallow deer venison, glazed in red wine with
sun-dried cherries, rosemary and green peppercorns followed; this entrée was
accompanied by Jerusalem artichokes, sautéed summer greens, blue potatoes and
chips of squash; the (“modest”) wine of choice was a Chilean “Santa Rosa”
Merlot although the Millcroft’s caves sport a rich and varied selection of very
fine wines. So deliciously tempting were all items on the dessert menu, that I
let Stephen choose a temptation for me – Toblérone mousse in a pure
chocolate cone floating on a bed of apricot sorbet topped with large, lacy
caramel “bisquits” – outrageously sinful! A double espresso with a thin
zest of lemon peel ended this delightful journey through culinary heaven. Mimi
Sheraton: eat your heart out!