The Greene Mill

Address: 352 Ottawa St, Almonte, ON
Hours: 11am – 7pm (Tue – Sun); closed Monday
Website: Socials only – Facebook and Instagram
Green factor: Compostable containers, garbage and recycling on site

Sometimes it takes life throwing you a curveball to force you to change your plans and try something you otherwise would not have tried. On a day trip to Almonte, mid-afternoon rain and an umbrella left at home made my wife and I re-think our patio plans and grab lunch at The Greene Mill food truck.

Located on the Mississippi Mills side of the river, north of Almonte proper, The Greene Mill is in a more modern, less picturesque, commercial section of town. Despite the rain, or perhaps because of it, the food truck was doing a steady stream of business shortly after prime lunch hours.

More trucks need painted rocks!

Their menu is a mix of comfort foods with a gourmet touch, and while not vegetarian, vegetables feature much more prominently than most mobile food vendors. The tempura-battered mushroom caps were an easy choice, and combined with the Fancy Dog and Farmer’s Vegetable Sandwich, we had a meal.

After a short wait, I soon had our food in hand and was back in the car for our weather-induced vehicular picnic.

Deep-fried mushrooms are never going to win a food beauty contest

I’ve always loved deep-fried mushrooms, and they were probably one of the first “fancy” appetizers that I ever had growing up (small town life!). The Greene Mill’s ($7) were hot out of the fryer and while they didn’t have a true tempura batter, were crisp on the outside and super moist inside. Ranch sauce on the side added a few more flavour notes to an otherwise straightforward dish.

My Fancy Dog ($7) featured a Nathan’s all-beef hotdog topped with parm, fried onions, slaw, and a garlic aioli. These umami-packed flavours made for a delicious dog, and as always, the Nathan’s tube meat had a great snap and light, enjoyable spice to it. My one criticism would be that the bun that they use isn’t nearly big enough, and it was a bit of a battle to keep the hotdog – which was actually on top of the toppings (bottoms?) – from falling out of the bun with every bite.

The veggie sandwich ($12) went over really well with my wife. Grilled veggies are one of her summertime favourites, and this one was stacked with sweet potato, zucchini, and bell peppers, along with a slathering of a house-made hummus.

There’s a lot of old mills in the Almonte area, but The Greene Mill is a new one putting out creative, delectable dishes that are worth a try – rain or shine.