Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/597384
NEW HEATED SEAT W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 | W E S T W O R L D 19 flambéed steaks. You can't help but leave this unique estab- lishment with a bottle or two of Greek olive oil in the hopes that with its use, your hummus, pesto and Greek salads will turn out just like those found at the Olive Tree. T ucked away in Mortlach (population 327) is the Little Red Market Café, the brainchild of Vancouver actress Bridie Lunde. In a way she's on stage tonight, not starring in a theatre production, but rather playing hostess at her small restaurant. "I'm a performer," says the effervescent Lunde. "I put on a dinner party every night and that's exactly what we hear from people, that it feels like they had dinner and a show in a place that was as comfortable as their friend's house." Lunde and chef Jon Staszczak were sensi- tive to the fact that their new menu in their new town had to include something familiar, hearty and local-friendly. So they added sta- ples such as stuffed chicken, an open-face Sloppy Joe and spaghetti with meat sauce to their impressive menu, which includes duck breast served with Sante Fe cherry relish and pan-seared Diefenbaker trout with carrot- tarragon sauce and lemon scented quinoa. "e first couple of months we sold more spaghetti than braised lamb shank and duck breast combined. But as the word got out, our clientele changed and people started driving one, two and even three hours to eat here," says Staszczak, who relocated from Vancouver to Mortlach at the request of his actress friend. e Little Red Market Café, which is open Wednesday through Saturday for lunch and supper and Sunday for brunch, is now booked to capacity with reservations required a month or more in advance. W hile pleasing to the palate, these one-off dining gems are decidedly also having an impact on their respective communities. As one line goes on the napkin from J.R.: "Without inspirational entrepreneurs in small communities worldwide, we would only have a corporate economy." Here, here, then, to rural restaurants everywhere. W (left) Bridie Lunde outside Mortlach's Red Market Café; (above) the café's pan-seared Diefenbaker trout.