"Fire 'n Ice" Dessert at Turtle Jack's!

It hadn't been a particularly good day. I spent a couple of hours trying to convince the Ontario Government that they should send my bank a letter confirming that it is all right to unlock my RRSP funds and send it to my pension plan in Alberta, the water unexpectedly switched off in our apartment (pre-shower) for about three hours, and the heat and humidity rose to the point of warm bath water outside. To alleviate some of my frustration, I suggested to my husband that we go out to dinner, and he happily concurred.

We drove north on James Street in Hamilton, just winging the choice of a restaurant, and discovered a chain that we had never heard of before - Turtle Jack's Muskoka Grill. The menu had some fresh ideas; I chose a hamburger layered with apple, brie, spinach, and onion, while my husband had a barbecued chicken that came with sweet potato nuggets. Both were quite tasty, and since the main course had been so good, we decided to share one of the desserts. We chose the "Fire 'n Ice" and - oh happy day - we sure were glad that we did.

Picture an igloo-shaped mound of vanilla ice cream wrapped in cinnamon-spiced pie pastry and deep-fat fried. Once the pastry is crisp, it's drizzled with caramel and chocolate syrups and anointed with whip cream. Just for the hell of it, deep-fat fry a couple of layers of phyllo pastry, puddle chocolate syrup over the top, place the pastry on the plate behind the ice-cream bomb, add more whipped cream, and - voila! - you have Fire 'n Ice.

Oh my, oh my it was good. It was the kind of dessert worthy of skipping the main just so that you could have enough stomach space to do it justice. My husband and I cut it down the middle and managed to finish every bit even if we needed to walk a couple of miles afterward to feel comfortable again. But let me tell you, it was worth it.

I wish that I had snapped a picture of it on my cell phone, but as soon as I set eyes on it, my only thought was of eating it. So you'll just have to use your imagination, or, better yet, find a Turtle Jack's and order one.

Bon appetit!