Back in 2004, I left Toronto and moved to an island in the middle of Lake Huron. Never would I have guessed back then that I would make so many meaningful connections with people on all ends of the island. One of those special connections is with Buoys Eatery in Gore Bay.
I’m the person who went to Singapore because I wanted real Singapore noodles and so I could say I had a Singapore Sling in Singapore. I went to Bali for authentic Nasi Goreng. I had to haveLongsilog (traditional Filipino breakfast food that consists of garlic fried rice, longanisa and fried egg) on the beach in Puerto Galera, Philippines. In Japan, I had to have authentic Japanese food. Okonomiyaki, omurice, oden, nabe, nikujaga, yaki soba, and many other Japanese dishes quickly became favourites of mine.
Buoys Eatery in Gore Bay has menu offerings that are not your standard fare of deep fried everything. Although Buoys is at the other end of the Island for me, I frequent their establishment because they offer up some flavourful menu items.
Whenever we have out of town visitors, we make sure to tour the Island and make Buoys one of our destinations.
If it’s a juicy, succulent burger you’re craving, Buoys offers a variety of handmade burgers made with local Burt Farm Country Meats beef and served on an old-fashioned bun from the Island Pantry. Buoys serves fresh salads, signature sandwiches, pastas, pan-seared local fish and more. Their craft pizzas are excellent. Some of our favourite pizzas at Buoys are the Pesto Chicken, the Canadian ‘Eh, the Hawaiian and the Greek Obsession (just in case you were looking for recommendations)!
The Island connects many like-minded people from all walks of life and in my case, it connects me with those who share some of my passions — good food, local ingredients, supporting local farmers…did I mention GOOD food?
Last year, Buoys hosted a few international dinner nights. I usually host international dinner nights at our farm, so it was great to have someone else do the cooking and not have clean up or have friends help with dishes! A few friends and I went to Buoys’ Taiwanese Night and it was so great that we went to almost all of their international dinner nights. Each time we went, our group got bigger and bigger. In fact, our group consisted of twenty-two people for Greek Night!
I became friends with the amazing people at Buoys. Last week when my husband was in an accident, I received the most surprising message from Buoys. The owner, Chef Anger, extended his friendship and offered to help in any way he could. He drove to our end of the Island with a few freezer meals for days when things get really crazy now that Hubby needs me to be his “nurse” as he recovers from his accident.
I actually heated up one of the shepherd’s pies Buoys made us last night. It was a lifesaver since it was a crazy busy day. Little One loved it so much, she took leftovers to school. It honestly saved me since the day was spent tending to Hubby and doing things around the house like trying to get the in-floor heating to work again and fix the hot water since the in-floor heating kept tripping it.
We were so incredibly touched. I am so thankful for friendships and connections made on the Island. Manitoulin really is an incredible place to live. It’s a place where community helps out when others are in need. Friends call you up and offer to drive your child to activities so you can tend to your spouse who is not mobile at the moment. Family members come sit with your husband so you can run out to the barn and do chores, feed the chickens, or get client work done in your home office. Manitoulin Island, as I have experienced, is a place where friends bring over freezer meals and all of this is reciprocal. It makes my heart full to think of how the sense of community is alive and well.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Buoys for their thoughtfulness and generosity. We truly appreciate it.
Speaking of Buoys, if you are on Manitoulin Island, they are going to be open this Friday (February 26th) from 4-8pm, next Friday (March 4th) from 4-8pm, the 11th from 4-8pm, the 12th 4-8pm and Sunday the 13th from 12-7pm. After that, they will be open Thursday, Friday, Saturday 4-8pm and Sunday 12-7pm from there on out.
Connect with Buoys Eatery on Facebook.
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