TRURO, N.S. -- A Maritime chef is honouring his parents' culinary legacy by opening up a restaurant in their honour.
Mary and Larry's Diner and take-out in Truro provides customers with traditional meals straight from the family recipe book.
You would be hard pressed to find a seat at the Truro diner over the lunch-hour.
"I'm telling you right now, this poutine is outstanding!" said one customer.
Owner and chef Trevor Bartlett named his brand new eatery after his parents as a way to honour their culinary legacy.
Mary and Larry Bartlett were well-known in Truro's restaurant industry and Trevor never missed a chance to learn from them.
"It's in my blood, I've been doing it all my life," said Trevor Bartlett, the owner and chef at Mary and Larry's Diner. "I started when I was 14 at Ponderosa Steakhouse and then we left there and to open my own restaurant with my mom and dad."
Over the years, their restaurants changed in location and size, but one thing always stayed the same: the recipes.
"Eighty to ninety per cent of our menu is family recipes that I grew up eating when I was a child," Bartlett said. "Our menu … anyone who remembers the Capricorn knows everything that's on there, and it still tastes the same!"
The 39-year-old's diner and take-out opened less than two months ago, and word is already spreading fast, with new - and former restaurant customers coming in for a bite of nostalgia.
"I'm trying to keep it that mom and pop place," Bartlett said. "A lot of people have moved away from that especially when you get into the franchises, they're very pre-pared and boxed. I really want to stick to the home values and the home-style cooking."
Values, Bartlett believes, are a key ingredient.
And as for his future plans?
"I have a food truck," Bartlett said. "I'm hoping to open this summer and, as well, we'd love to open a truck stop."
Whatever he does, he'll be keeping the Bartlett family tradition going -- one meal at a time.
