08/06/27: Pan Cafe

It was a warm June morning in downtown St. Catharines – the largest city in the Niagara Region. The sun was bright, the breeze non-existent, and the pavement – still cool beneath my feet – lay bare in anticipation of a steamy afternoon to come. Though most were likely still in bed, enjoying a lazy start to the Saturday, there were a few patrons slowly making their way to the market or trickling into Pan cafe.

Pan is a new bistro on St. Paul Street that features healthy, “all natural,” local and/or organic produce. Owner Alice ___, a rare gem of a woman, opened her doors in Fall 2007, her contagious love of food and community flowing out into the city.

A few times a week, she walks the two blocks to the market to buy whatever fruits and vegetables are in season. She orders the sausages from an old-order Mennonite farmer – The Good Shepherd – that lives west of St. Catharines and can only be contacted via “snail” mail. Monforte, a dairy close to Stratford, supplies many types of cheese, the chevre – the fluffiest I’ve ever seen – being a particular favourite of the “regulars.”