Taking a day trip to southern Saskatchewan becomes a peaceful time, seeing the countryside and small towns.
On this particular mid-August day, my first stop was the Baildon Hutterite Colony to buy cucumbers and beans.
Then it was on to Mossbank, Assiniboia, Rockglen, Wood Mountain, Limerick, Lafleche, Gravelbourg, Coderre and Courval to put up posters for the Sept. 7 and 8 threshing bee at Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum.
No wildlife was out this cloudy day. Waterfowl were scarce with most ponds having dried up.
The crops looked nice and tall, but with weeks of no rain, the seeds will be shrivelled.
Someone once called this kind of crop a politician crop — tall, good-looking, nothing upstairs.
After coffee and a neat piece of tuxedo cake at the Limerick Hotel, the next stop was Lafleche.
Trigo Food and Drink was my destination, having heard good comments about the place.
Walking inside it was dark but nicely furnished. One of the owners came out of the kitchen and we talked briefly.
“We’re only open about nine hours a week,” he informed me. That’s Friday and Saturday evenings.
How can a food place make a go of it on two evenings a week?
Then he informed me they needed reservations and had a waiting list on the website.
Trigo offers a different international tasty menu several times a year.
The current experience until New Year’s Eve features Austrian food.
A glance at the Austrian food menu left my mouth watering.
The offering has six courses plus a liqueur starter with cheese spread, crackers and bread.
The appetizer provides Lake Diefenbaker trout in several forms.
A choice of soups and salads comes before the main course.
What jumped out and caught my eye was the veal schnitzel — a favourite — on the main course along with spatzel, specknodel dumplings and pickerel with a choice of sides and desserts.
Then the price caught my eye — $85 per person.
Most of their customers come from Moose Jaw, said the owner.
People drive more than 90 minutes to dine here at these prices. The food must be divine. The reviews on Trip Advisor bear out that thought.
I told the owner about my experiences of twice missing out on dining at the Harvest Eatery in Shaunavon and he suggested I phone ahead next time.
If you drink too much to drive or are too full to drive home the Trigo website lists local accommodation outlets.
This fine dining place tucked away in an isolated rural Saskatchewan town is indeed a hidden gem — or as one reviewer commented: a place to put on your bucket list.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
