Johnny Pastrami's, St. Catharines, Ontario

A few weeks ago while visiting family in the Niagara region, my boyfriend and I were driving around St. Catharines on the hunt for good thrift stores. After checking out a few stores, we decided to drive around a bit more and find somewhere new to eat. Along Ontario Street, we drove passed a tiny little restaurant called "Johnny Pastrami's". It's safe to say I will never be the same person again. 

As the name suggests, Johnny Pastrami's specializes in smoked meats. When you walk in there is a sign above the open window to the kitchen that reads "Half Pound of Pastrami on Rye $5.95". I knew we had selected the right place for our lunch.

The restaurant is very small and when we arrived around noon the place was full and we had managed to scoop up the last free table. Their menu was short and to the point: it listed amazing breakfast options, starters, sandwiches, burgers and of course, smoked meats.

My boyfriend opted for the reuben (pictured above) and I got a little crazy and ordered two items. First, the pastrami burger and second the Italian Poutine.

Before we go any further in this blog, I should tell you that I love poutine... I really, really, really love poutine, all kinds and at any time of day, night, season, etc... There will never in my life be a time where someone put fries with gravy and cheese in front of me and I say "no thanks".  I am in the process of putting together an homage to poutine blog post which will hopefully go up soon!

Now back to the Italian Poutine.

Beautiful golden french fries are covered in mozzarella, topped with marinara and parmesan! The fries get a bit soft but maintain their crispiness surprisingly well.  I was in a happy place. (In fact, I did stop eating for about 5 seconds to say that exact phrase to my boyfriend before returning to the magical land of food heaven). Now, I know that there is some discussion as to whether a poutine must include curds and gravy in order to be called 'poutine'. Possibly this has been an internal discussion that I have been having with myself. Regardless, these were amazing and I am happy to add them to my list of delicious poutines.

With my amazing poutine I ordered a giant burger and I am not ashamed to say that I ate the whole thing.

This was a beef patty, topped with pastrami (the kind that is so tender and juicy it just melts in your mouth) and cheese. Oh and for good measure, some onion rings. It was really super amazingly tasty. My boyfriend equally loved his reuben with tasty russian dressing and zesty sauerkraut.

I cannot wait until we are back in the region to visit again!

Maegan

Radius on James South, Hamilton, Ontario

Augusta Morning Glory

Today, my friend Sarah and I went to Radius for brunch. I had previously gone there for dinner and loved it and was certainly not at all disappointed with brunch.

First thing's first: a nice brunch beverage should never be underestimated. I decided to treat myself to what they call "Augusta Morning Glory". This drink is a delicious mixture of Russian Standard vodka, fresh lemon juice, elderflower, peach syrup and prosecco. It was a beautiful lilac colour and absolutely dee-lish!

Sir Isaac Buchanan Benedict

I ordered the Sir Isaac Buchanan Benedict for brunch and my friend ordered the benny straight up with ham (pictured below). While their new brunch menu boasts many sweet options, we were both in the mood for something savory and meaty.

The Sir Isaac is one of the more unique takes on the benny that I have ever come across. Instead of english muffins, the base is comprised of two grilled portobello mushrooms. They are topped with beef tenderloin medallions with Jensen's smoked blue cheese and a béarnaise sauce. The dish is finished with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. 

Radius is definitely a restaurant that I would recommend to anyone either living in the city or coming to visit (in fact, I did recommend it to two tourists walking around the area who had approached me for a restaurant recommendation!) The service is friendly and prompt and menu selection is unique and local with a lot of variety. 

Eggs Benedict with ham

Looking forward to going there again to try the PB&J stuffed french toast! I saw someone else eating it and it looked massive and amazing. 

bon appétit!

Maegan

Exploring Hamilton and Niagara's best food and wine offerings

Welcome to haricot vert! A food obsessed adventure through Hamilton and Niagara, Ontario, Canada. As this is my first post, here are a few facts about me and why I think I am qualified to write a food and drink blog:

1 - I am the kind of person who will go an entire meal without speaking, only making small noises of pleasure while closing my eyes and savoring every single bite... followed by occasionally shoving a fork of my meal into my boyfriend's face, insisting that he try it!

2 - I could spend hours in the grocery store, exploring spices, ingredients and produce and trying to come up with new meal ideas.

3 - After a long day at work, coming home, having a glass of wine and spending the rest of the night in the kitchen is both relaxing and therapeutic. What can I say, I LOVE food.

But, enough about me. Let's get to the good stuff. Why Hamilton and Niagara? Well for one thing, this is where I am from and where I currently reside. Having grown up between both areas (one parent in Hamilton and the other in Niagara) I have spent a lot of time exploring the local restaurants, markets and culture that these areas have to offer. Second, have you ever been here? There is a plethora of food, wine and craft beer options available, enough to certainly keep this blog going for a very long time. 

I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I will enjoy drinking, eating, researching and writing it.

Maegan