Dillon's Distillery: Beamsville, Ontario

Since they opened (and according to their t-shirts they have been ‘legit’ since 2012), I have been itching to get out to Dillon’s Distillery. Located just off the QEW in Beamsville, ON, Dillon’s is the Niagara Region’s only craft distiller and they are doing some incredibly unique spirits, liqueurs and bitters. I first had their unfiltered small batch gin a few months ago and have not been able to get enough (which, may or may not be a good thing…) 

Dillon’s has been winning awards such as the Platinum Medal at The SIP Awards – International Spirits Competition in Las Vegas and their goods are popping up all over Ontario. They are now in several LCBOs and I was very excited when I tasted drank gulped saw their gin most recently at the Queen and Beaver in Toronto. 

We recently popped in on our way back from visiting my family in Niagara and immediately liked the location, the décor and atmosphere. Using lots of old wood, white paint and vintage glass-wear, their store front offers a modern, yet rustic vibe. They use the space wisely - featuring both their drinkable and edible goods. 

We decided to enjoy a tasting in which we sampled several spirits as well as bitters. For those of you who have never been to a spirits tasting (including both of us prior to this trip) it is very different than a wine or beer tasting, as you can probably imagine. Instead of half glasses and/or flights, Dillon’s uses cute little shot glasses in which they add just tiny dribbles of their booze. It is just enough to get the taste and aroma without leaving inebriated. 

We started out with a taste of their award-winning vodka. Being a vodka-water kinda gal, I really liked the refreshing and unique taste of this particular version and the fact that it is made with local Niagara wine grapes. This was followed by their rye which was also very enjoyable. 
After that we tasted their pear eau-de-vie, something which I had never tried before. For those of you who don’t know (and I only know now because I asked) eau-de-vie is a clear-colourless fruit-based liquor and this one was made with local Bartlett pears. A light and fresh drink that would certainly play well with others. 

We skipped the unfiltered gin since we had already had it, but for those of you who have never tried it, I highly recommend it. It is a very floral and almost citrus-y gin, using local Niagara grapes and botanicals. If you’re not a gin drinker, this is the one to start with (assuming you want to be a gin drinker?)

Lastly we tried their rose gin (of which they describe as Canada’s answer to sloe gin), and it is a London-style gin infused with rose hips and rose petals. It has a nice sweetness to it without being overly sugary and without detracting from the wonderful flavors of the grapes and botanicals. We decided to take a bottle home for further assessment...

The staff member providing us with the tasting also gave us incredible ideas for cocktails and even for baking and making jams! After going through the tasting as well as smelling their beautiful bitters, we settled on 2 bitters – the pear bitters and the orange bitters.

Overall, Dillon’s is a great little stop along the way to and from Niagara and I would definitely recommend stopping by for a taste as well as to replenish your bar with delicious, unique, craft spirits that are sure to keep your bar stocked for a week the summer!

The Smokin' Buddha: Port Colborne, Ontario

Antejito

A long time ago, I used to live on Lake Erie in Wainfleet, Ontario. I loved this house – it was breezy, surrounded by trees and water and I always had the very best naps outside on the deck. Our neighbours were the Echlin’s, Kevin and Kyla, and after years of being out of touch, I was lucky enough to reconnect with them a few months ago while visiting their restaurant The Smokin’ Buddha in Port Colborne, Ontario.

Avocotta dip

Located in the old train station, the Smokin’ Buddha has a warm, cozy vibe, with super friendly service and an impressive menu. What started out as a small stall at the Port Colborne Farmer’s Market (in which he used to sell the very best homemade mango salsa I have ever had!) in 2005, blossomed into a successful restaurant that officially opened on October 5^th, 2007. The menu and set up of the restaurant are largely inspired by his time in Japan, with the addition of other colourful, bright and unique dishes from all over.

When I visited a few months back, my good friend Sarah and I decided to try a few different items. We of course, however, started with some beer... but not just any beer. Kevin partnered up with Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke and created the Smokin’ Buddha lager. This lager is the perfect balance to the varied and often spicy offerings available on the menu.

Bulgogi bowl

For our appetizers, we started with the Avocotta Dip – an avocado and cottage cheese guacamole hybrid. The dip was creamy and light and despite not being a particularly huge fan of cottage cheese, it worked well with both the chips and the antejitos. Antejitos are one of my favorite appetizers and this place does them better than anywhere else. For those of you who have never tried them, they typically include a mix of beans, corn, peppers, cheese and spices in a flour tortilla which gets rolled, then baked and then cut into bite size pieces. Where the Buddha’s are best however, is in the fact that they coat the outside of the tortilla in a spicy dry rub, before quickly frying it and then serving it. Perfection!

Yam-A-Rito

Lavender Crème Brulée

For our mains, Sarah ordered to Yam-A-Rito and I ordered the Bulgogi Bowl, two of the Buddha’s staple items. The Yam-A-Rito is a delicious sweet potato tortilla, with salsa, cheese and a bit of heat. It was sweet, savoury and very filling! My Bulgogi bowl was filled with tender sesame, ginger, garlic and soy sauce marinated beef, cucumber cut into matchsticks and shredded carrots on top of warm rice. The dish had the perfect balance of saltiness and flavor, and I have since been trying to replicate it at home!

As if all of that food wasn’t enough, we decided to order dessert. 3 words = Lavender. Crème. Brulée. It was heavenly. Light, sweet but not too sweet, with just a subtle hint of lavender. It was the absolute perfect ending to our meal and further proved why The Smokin’ Buddha is doing as well as it has been. Did I mention that they were featured on You Gotta Eat Here? Well they were, and you do!

Happy Jack's: Fort Erie, Ontario

The Patio @ Happy Jack's

Having grown up in Niagara with friends in Fort Erie, Happy Jack's was always the go-to spot whenever we had a craving for Chinese food (and/or a restaurant with a super fun name). I recently went back for the first time in a few years and it was exactly the same – in fact, the décor might very well be the same since it opened in the 60s. Very traditional, somewhat dark but cozy inside with a beautiful relatively new patio outside that faces the Niagara River. 

Happy Jack's Special-
Pineapple Cocktail

Located on Niagara Blvd., Happy Jack's is something of a Fort Erie staple. While many other businesses have come and gone in the area, they have been around since 1967 and are consistently busy. No, their food isn’t going to blow you away with crazy re-interpretations of classic dishes and odds are you won’t find foodies snapping pics of their meals (except me, obviously!). What you can depend on, however, is classic Chinese fare done well with a lot of selection, fresh ingredients and excellent service. Since I was with my Mom and brother, we opted for the Dinner for Three (only $39.95) with a few additions (namely Jaa Doo Chicken Wings, which are my fave and Singapore noodles for Mom).

Minestrone (jk: it's obviously
Won Ton Soup)

Dinner for Three starts off predictably with a bowl of won ton soup. The soup is hot, salty and the won tons are meaty, not chewy. 

[SIDE BAR: While I was eating my soup I was suddenly very distracted by the drinks being delivered to the table next to us (read: at the other end of the dining room). I didn’t know what they were but I wanted one because it came in an adorable porcelain lidded pineapple. I immediately tracked down our server to get one (still without knowing what it was). It turned out to be the Happy Jack's Special, a delicious pineapple cocktail, which I really enjoyed!]

Following the soup were crispy egg rolls. While the egg rolls themselves were pretty standard, the real treat was the homemade plum sauce – a somewhat thick, sweet version with pureed plums that went very nicely with the rolls.

Chicken, Vegetables & Almonds

The server returned to clear the plates and brought over fresh hot plates. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but I really love when restaurants warm your plate. It makes a big difference in the overall meal and shows that they are taking that extra step to ensure you enjoy your food.

We then received the rest of the meal – big heaping plates of breaded shrimp, Goo Loo Yuk (Cantonese style sweet & sour pork), chicken and vegetables with almonds, barbecued pork fried rice as well as our Singapore noodles and wings.

Goo Loo Yuk

Goo Loo Yuk: Good sized pieces of pork that were breaded and coated in a tangy sweet and sour sauce. The dish also had pieces of pineapple and fresh slices of tomato. While the breading was a bit heavy, the dish overall was quite good and I added the tangy sauce on pretty much everything on my plate.

Chicken and Vegetables with Almonds: This was probably my favorite dish from the Dinner for Three selection; cooked yet crisp pieces of broccoli, carrots and celery, sautéed with mushrooms, onions, chicken breast and almonds in a light garlic sauce. Savoury, warm and comforting.

Breaded Shrimp: These were probably my least favorite. They basically take large shrimp, batter them and fry them. While this may sound okay, the problem here is that the batter to shrimp ratio is way off – too much batter and not enough meat.

BBQ Pork Fried Rice

Barbecued Pork Fried Rice: While many Chinese food restaurants tend to overcook and dry out their fried rice, this version was particularly moist and flavorful. The rice was a dark brown and speckled with pieces of bbq pork.

Singapore Noodles: You can’t really go wrong with this dish. Thin egg noodles are coated with a mild curry sauce and fried up with mixed veggies and tiny little shrimp. The noodles weren't mushy nor were they too crunchy from being fried (aka: Goldilocks approved).

Jaa Doo Chicken Wings

Jaa Doo Wings: This is my favorite kind of chicken wing – crispy fried, no sauce, and super salty. The wings were pretty tiny, but deep frying them kept them tender and juicy beneath a nice coating of crispy, salty goodness.

Happy Jack's is the kind of place where you will see mostly regulars who know exactly what they want as well as a lot of takeout. While they aren’t serving up anything fancy or mind-blowing (except for those pineapple drinks!) there’s a reason people have been coming back for over forty years. All in all, a very satisfying meal with leftovers to last for days!