• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The dry-aged beef tenderloin at Tony de Luca and waiting wine glasses at Stone Road Grille.   (Photo: From left, courtesy of Glenn Theal, Aaron Beaudoin/Stone Road Grille )

At Restaurant Tony de Luca, housed in a bright solarium in the Oban Inn & Spa, all manner of fromagerie (from Canadian Cheddars to imported Reggiano) weave their way onto chef De Luca’s impressive tasting menus.

Pork belly poached in 7-Up is one of the more inventive creations at Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine, a waterfront perch on Twelve Mile Creek a dozen miles from Niagara-on-the-Lake. Chef Stephen Treadwell has a distinctly farm-fresh philosophy, using only grass-fed meats and radicchio grown within walking distance.

Follow the new bike trail (found just off Mississagua Street) to Stone Road Grille, a casual bistro loved by neighboring winemakers for its fresh baked breads, local produce, and house-cured charcuterie. Its cellar houses bottles from lesser-known regional wineries, like the 2005 Cab Merlot from PGA golfer Mike Weir’s private label.

Have an à la carte vineyard lunch, or reserve a spot at one of the tasting dinners served in the garden at Peller Estates Winery. You can also dine in the winery’s barrel cellar (bring a sweater), noshing on ice-wine foie gras amid an army of oak.

May 16, 2007 issue of New York Magazine