Local Review: Rockford Family Restaurant
A local reviewer finds that Rockford Family Restaurant delivers hearty meals and friendly service, but falls short on atmosphere, vegetarian options, and dessert.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
Since there’s no shortage of places to get a good breakfast in this area, it’s only natural to get a bit picky when reviewing today’s featured restaurant. The Rockford Family Restaurant, long a familiar sight at the Rockford corner south of Owen Sound, delivers the requisite hearty meal, but falls short in a few areas.
The description “cheap and cheerful” applies here — prices range from under $5 for a basic breakfast to a range of schnitzel dinners, all under $20.
The cheerful part comes from the staff, servers who deliver a relaxed and friendly greeting, while attending to a noisy room full of diners. The wooden walls and furniture exacerbate the sound.
I was at another venue recently that was equally noisy, but was much more enjoyable because there was so much to look at and people to watch. No chance of that here, with vast blank blinds covering the large windows. Granted, the view would only be the parking lot, but instead of the decor inducing a cozy atmosphere, it feels more like a school cafeteria.
The food is the redeeming feature of this restaurant. The Rockford Skillet is a generous breakfast of crispy home fries and vegetables, with ham, bacon and sausage, topped with your choice of eggs, nicely cooked to order. Smaller starters are available for kids and seniors. With lots of choices here, it’s no surprise that large groups stop in for breakfast.
The lunch menu covers all the usual selections, too, with soups, salads and several wraps. All but one of the wraps contains chicken, leaving vegetarians with limited choices and nothing obvious for vegans.
Among the sandwiches, the schnitzel for which this restaurant is known makes an appearance in Pork Schnitzel on a bun: crisply breaded and tender on a fresh bun, with an outstandingly good side of fries. More schnitzel variations — eight! — are on offer for lunch or dinner.
Dessert is not so successful. I was told that the pies are a feature here, but my slice of caramel apple arrived stone-cold from the fridge. The pudding and apple filling were interesting, but the pastry was far from flaky.
Rockford Family Restaurant is located at Hwy 6/10 and Grey Road 18. It’s open Monday and Tuesday from 7am to 2:30pm, and Wednesday to Sunday from 7am to 8pm. It is not wheelchair accessible, but is licensed with limited choices of beer, wine and spirits.
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