THUNDER BAY – There is a food scene in Thunder Bay that is world class and comparable to some of North America’s most reputable culinary cities.
That’s according to Cole Snell, owner and head chef of Uptown Cut.
“I could go down a list of 10 restaurants in Thunder Bay that are all world class, put them in downtown Toronto or New York and they would be just as cool as their neighbour," Snell said during a recent one-one-one interview with tbnewswatch.com.
Snell’s restaurant and reputation was put under the microscope by New York Times foodie Robert Lillegard in January.
The local chef and his small Algoma Street eatery received high praise, the reviewer going so far as to declare that Uptown Cut served him the best steak he’d ever had in his life.
The immediate aftermath of the food review was a packed restaurant seven nights a week.
"We still have people coming to the restaurant because of the review," Snell said.
"I think the honeymoon or the hangover from the review, depending on how you look at it, has worn off a bit. We are back to our regular clientele along with a smattering of new faces we get every night."
While Snell received a boost in business because of the glowing review, he’s now selflessly hoping the New York Times exposure pushes locals to explore not just his restaurant but all of what Thunder Bay’s food scene is now offering.
There's a high spirit in the city for supporting local restaurants, Snell said adding that he believes there's an instinctive trust with the city's local restaurants because for generations families have had no other options but to eat at local eateries.
There were few drive-thrus and very few chains would risk moving to an isolated city and as a result the only option was to eat in local restaurants, Snell explained.
"The benefit of being isolated is that you see a return on investment into the community and therefore into yourself very quickly. If you spend a dollar in the community it generates three."
Snell added that he was genuinely happy for the city to receive such an astounding review.
"Thunder Bay is an amazing community," Snell said, explaining that there's no reason why people in Thunder Bay shouldn't have the same food options as New York or Toronto.