Visitors who make their way to Bear River, Nova Scotia will find a small, unpretentious and fabulous restaurant: The Changing Tide Diner, that serves the best Kentucky Hot Brown you will find any where outside Kentucky. In fact, this may be the only place outside of Kentucky where you will find this dish on the menu. Although the Kentucky Hot Brown is ubiquitously found in most restaurants in Kentucky, I have never seen it on any menu outside Kentucky except at this little diner in Bear River. By the way, if you have not experienced the Hot Brown, you should remedy this immediately (see recipe below). It is a wonderful hot sandwich that visitors to Kentucky enjoy while visiting the Commonwealth and many repeat visitors to Kentucky will tell you that one of the things that brings them back (aside from the wonderful Kentuckian hospitality and attractions) is the chance to eat another Hot Brown.

In the way of a little history lesson: The Hot Brown Sandwich was created by a chef at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky many years ago. The Brown Hotel, an old Louisvillian landmark, is a first rate hotel with an excellent kitchen.

And in the way of a little history and geography lesson: Bear River, Nova Scotia is a small village near the town of Digby, Nova Scotia (the home of the world famous Digby Scallop Fleet). Digby was founded in 1783 by colonists from New England who remained loyal to the Crown during the American Revolution and were forced to find refuge from the revolutionaries during the American War of Independence. Bear River was established by Loyalists and German immigrants, along with the native Mi’kmag’s also during the 1780’s. The entire area is a visitor’s mecca abounding in history, scenery, and activities for the entire family.

Now for a little confession: it was a young woman, who goes by the initials KAS (a born and bred Kentuckian) who introduced the Kentucky Hot Brown to the Changing Tide Diner when its previous owner asked for the recipe. It is one of the things I love about Nova Scotia; the friendliness of its people. Where else in the world, could you engage the chef in a first class restaurant in conversation and get an opportunity to make a suggestion that is acted upon? I really did not know that the Kentucky Hot Brown would be on the menu and so I was surprised during a recent visit to the area to find it there and I am told that it is a conversation piece for American visitors to the restaurant and that it is enjoyed and re-ordered by many of the restaurant’s diners.