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You can never have too many Arms
?Uxbridgers love to eat. And not much at home. At least, that’s what the local business community seems to believe, as we stampede out of the recession with a wonderful variety of new places to eat, with more just around the corner.
In the past few weeks alone, four new restaurants have opened their doors. One is a totally new location with a new cuisine, the Thai Villa in Hillside Plaza across from Zehrs, while three others have put new signs on familiar spots: the Uxbridge Arms is the new Piccadilly/Blue Moon, King Henry’s Arms is the new O’Grady’s/Fox & Fiddle/J.P. Plank’s (both serving variations of pub food, joining the Hobby Horse Arms and Manchester Arms, among others, in that category), while Wild Onion replaces Don on Main, featuring European-trained chef Brian Cassibo, who also had a hand in the start-up of both Frankie’s and The Tin Mill. Frankie’s is also opening its own gluten-free bakery next to the Blue Heron, capitalizing on the most unique feature of its restaurant menu.
Meanwhile, Boston Pizza is a-building on Toronto Street South (where they’re also promising an A&W in the near future), and there are also unused kitchens behind the locked doors of Sanrash and the Sub Shoppe, a few doors from each other on the south side of Brock Street. In all probability, the development on Brock Street East will also include an eatery of some sort when it finally rises from the mud, considering its proximity to the high school.
All told, there are almost 30 dining establishments of one sort or another in Uxbridge town, as well as in Coppins Corners and Goodwood, not to mention the ski hills in the winter and the golf courses in the summer (although most of the latter actually offer food year-round). We have just about every kind of food you could desire, from the classic “diner”-style menu at the B&L to Chinese take-out to several different pizza options.
About the only kind of popular restaurant we don’t have here is a Dairy Queen (although the Kawartha Dairy store is an even yummier variation), a Taco Bell (though lots of the pubs have various Tex-Mex appetizers and entrees), or an East Side Mario’s (though pastas are featured in our pubs and fine-dining establishments alike).
So when you get down to it, you could eat out in Uxbridge each night for well over a month at a different locale, and be treated to delicious and nutritious fare every time. And each time, you would probably see something on the menu that you’d like to try the next time around. So you could start all over again.
Last week, we waxed eloquent about the richness of our cultural life in Uxbridge. But thanks to the creative and talented people in the kitchens of our town, our stomachs are well-treated as well. Just as we conscientiously shop locally when it comes to books or jewellery, cars or clothes, we should sample all the delicacies our own town has to offer before spending too much of our dining dollar on Queen Street, in either Port Perry or Toronto (although sneaking up to the amazing Japanese restaurant in Greenbank almost counts as local, right?).
We wish all the new restaurateurs well, and thank them for choosing our town. We intend to visit them all soon. And with nostalgia, look forward to a Teen Burger and a frosty root beer in the very near future.
