On the Road...Man vs Food...in the Sault.

I emailed a friend yesterday who is from Sault Ste Marie and asked her for some recommendations on places to eat in her home town. We took her suggestion and went to Ernie's Coffee Shop. Corey and I wanted to find a hidden gem in the city that would be different from any other place we have ever been and it certainly was different from any coffee shop I have ever witnessed. After a full afternoon of eating we definitely achieved our goal.

The best way to describe the food at Ernie's is simple....Man vs Food meets Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It has huge portions for little money, while providing home cooked meals to loyal patrons since 1950. They also have coffee.


We arrived at 4pm and we noticed that there were only a few others in the diner. Minutes later, it was bumping with guests, most of whom were greeted by name upon arrival, making for a very welcoming atmosphere.



I decided to take the servers recommendation and have the Chicken Parm. Actually, truth be told she was very insistent that I order that exact dish, so I went for it. When I received my meal, it looked delish but was a platter fit for two or three, but the server happily packed most of it up.

After perusing the menu, Corey decided that he was going to challenge himself to the "Big Ernie's Burger". It is a  FULL POUND burger with 6 slices of bacon, 4 slices of cheese and all the fixings. The menu made us aware that the burger takes 30 -40 minutes to cook, but would be worth the wait.  I have never seen a burger that big in person.

As the server brought out our meals, all the regulars in the joint were staring. It became very obvious that we were out-of-towners. Apparently, locals know better than to attempt the "Big Ernie". We were watching them and they were watching us with every bite. Kids kept coming over to our table to observe Corey eat his mammoth burger. It was at that point that I saw a glint in his eye and I knew he was going to try to eat the whole damn thing.  It was almost as if I could hear him thinking "challenge accepted".

Instead of simply relying on giant portions at a good price, this diner really executes delicious, quality food with great service. Thanks, JB, for sharing your local secret!

P.S Corey finished the burger.