The Ship: Hamilton, Ontario

Here’s a post that has been a long time coming. It’s about one of my favorite places, a place I have had a love-hate relationship with, but which I decidedly can’t live without. The SHIP. Have you been? It’s the best “pub food” in town, though I only say that because it is a pub. The food, is in fact, much more than that. Since I happen to go there at least once a week month… this post is geared more so towards giving you an overview of the Ship and at least 7 reasons why you should go.

Brunch Latkes

The Ship has been a go-to spot on the Augusta strip in Hamilton for quite some time now. If you try to get in on a weekend after 5 pm, odds are you won’t find a seat. But, if you get there a bit earlier, say maybe on a Wednesday, you will have the opportunity to try an incredibly unique, inspired and game-changing menu. 

Lobster Fritter

I have eaten at the Ship many times and really enjoy all of their menus. Their main dinner menu is seafood and burger themed. They have incredible appetizers (my favorite being the clam chowder poutine – yes, this is a thing and it is life changing), fish tacos, po’boys and everything in between. They also serve gourmet burgers, which are no less impressive and arguably the best in the City. The Halifax (with diced tomato, diced white onion, shredded cheddar, shredded lettuce and donair sauce) and the French Onion (with gruyere, caramelized onions and mushrooms, bacon) are my personal go-to burger options. Their recently launched brunch menu has incredible items like latkes with sausage, eggs and apple sauce, breakfast pogos and breakfast poutine (are you noticing a theme yet?). What is perhaps their most impressive menu, however, is their draft beer list. They are constantly rotating over 10 taps of pure craft deliciousness. The owner goes out of his way to make sure to get those 

Brunch n' Beer

hard-to-find one-off kegs (like Oast House’s most recent Strawberry Rhubarb creation) always ensuring a good variety is available for thirsty customers.

While I will say that the food at the Ship would appeal to most, the pub itself may not. On most nights, there are just too many people in one small space to really ever be comfortable (or at least, that is what grown-up Me thinks). But, hey, if you wanted proof of how great this place is, there it is. 

The nachos. The Ship has the world’s (as far as I can tell) best nachos.  I’m talkin’ pineapple and bacon piled high on a plate of perfectly crisp and cheesy nachos. Downside:  they are listed exclusively on their late-night menu, meaning you can only ever get them post-9 pm and due to the small size of their kitchen, they will not serve them before 9 (believe me, I have tried to get them on multiple occasions). They recently completed some renovations, however, to their bar, stairs and upstairs lounge, which have really helped to make the space feel cleaner, bigger and quite frankly, more grown up. The crowd has been evolving over the years from one that is strictly hipster to just about anyone who likes good food. I have seen sports teams, gym bums, moms and their sons, totally tatted couples and everyone in between walk in – it’s just that good. 

The Ship remains one of my ultimate favorite places to grab a bite in the City, which is a testament to the quality and originality of the food. The Chef is using fresh items and putting a creative and unique twist on everything he makes and this skill does not go unnoticed. I highly recommend checking them out and having a pint.

One of many amazing burgs (photo cred: The Ship)

The Works: Burlington, Ontario

San Francisco Treat with Bacon and a side of poutine

With the upcoming launch of The Works burger joint in Hamilton’s own Jackson Square, it seemed only fitting to give it a try at the nearby location in Burlington (also I love burgers in general and didn’t really need a reason to check it out). The Works has been around since 2001 and has over 20 locations already up and running and nearly 10 more on the go.  When I recently checked out the Burlington location, I was immediately impressed with the friendly staff and cool interior; the brick, metal and wood gave it a rugged, industrial feel that worked well with the menu offerings and overall dining experience. 

The main thing with The Works is that you are pretty much guaranteed to find something on the menu that appeals to you, as long as you like burgers. Not only do they have 6 different patty choices including (but not limited to) beef, elk and portobello caps, they have 71 different combo toppings and many different sides to choose from. 

Tower-O-Rings

We started off by ordering milkshakes, which I heard were a specialty of theirs. They give you the option of mixing multiple flavours (and I’m the kind of person who likes a lot of options when it comes to food) and went with a chocolate and peanut butter mix while my boyfriend opted for raspberry and chocolate. They both arrived in big glass measuring cups with straws and were extremely creamy and thick (and also very filling)! 

For our appetizer we ordered the “Tower-O-Rings” which are breaded (not battered) onion rings. They come piled high with two dipping sauces; we got the Chipotle mayo and the Buttermilk Ranch.  The rings were super crispy – crunchy even – and quite large! It’s a pretty generous portion for an appetizer when you consider that you’ve already had half a milkshake and have a burger and side on the way. We couldn’t quite finish the tower but I imagine that it would have been a perfect size for 3-4 people, instead of 2.


After looking at the menu and what seemed like a billion topping combinations, we finally settled on our burger picks. I got the San Francisco Treat on a beef patty, which came with real Kraft dinner & cheddar cheese (not Rice-a-Roni). I blame Diners, Drive-ins and Dives for making me add bacon to my burger (as well as a side of poutine).  My boyfriend got the Blues Burger on an elk patty, including blue cheese and double smoked bacon, with a side of their spicy die-cut chips.

Poutini Martini

I really liked the Kraft dinner and the creaminess that it gave the burger, and the bacon added just the right saltiness and texture. One of my ‘beefs’ with the burger, however, is that the bun was a bit stale and oval (while the patty was round. That is actually a pretty big pet peeve of mine and I have sent back many a non-matching bun at restaurants - yes, I am that customer). 

I ordered the Poutini Martini as my side, which is a standard poutine with onion rings. The image I had in mind when I ordered this was of small, crispy bites of onion rings mixed into the poutine. What I received, however, were large pieces of onion rings (basically one of their rings roughly broken into 4 pieces) thrown onto the top of the poutine. While they did use real curds (5 points for that), I was disappointed in the lack of said curd (minus 5).

Blues Burger with Die-Cut Chips

My boyfriend enjoyed his burger but found that the blue cheese was almost too strong and somewhat overwhelmed the flavour of the meat. While elk is a pretty lean meat, the burger remained moist and had a nice texture to it. The spicy die-cut chips were probably the high light here. Similar to kettle chips except a bit thicker and with a really yummy house-made dry rub on them; we ate them all despite being super full. 

Overall, The Works is a good burger joint and they are definitely a player in the ongoing best-burger competition. They are constantly coming up with new toppings and combos and that is precisely why I think they will do well in Jackson Square.  The shakes were great, the onion rings were crispy and unique and with a few tweaks to their buns and poutines, they could really have something amazing! I will be sure to check them out once they are up and running in Hamilton. Oh and be sure to come super hungry and to spread out your milkshakes and onion rings!

Anchor Bar: Hamilton, Ontario

Anchor Bar Wings

Blog prologue:

Back when I was in university, I decided to become a vegetarian. This will likely come as a shock to anyone who has been reading my previous posts and has observed my love of meat. I was a vegetarian for about 5 years and really enjoyed it; I was certain I’d never go back to eating meat. After I moved to Toronto and was between jobs, I did some waitressing at Magic Oven, a restaurant offering organic pizza, pasta and salad options. Also, wings. Yes, tasty, delicious free-range, crispy and dry rubbed in herbs and garlic. After about a month at this place, I started dreaming about wings and eventually ate one. It was amazing and they are still to this day my all-time fave wings. This post, therefore, has a special place in my meat gut heart.

The wings:

Anchor Bar, Jackson Square,
Hamilton ON

Working in the James North neighbourhood means that I have many delicious options for lunch.  With so many new and interesting places popping up, it can be hard to keep up let alone choose a place to check out! Last week my co-workers and I decided to visit the Anchor Bar; Jackson Square’s newest addition and the wing joint’s first venture in Canada.  With a fully renovated space, friendly staff and super tasty wings, it has quickly become a popular lunch spot among locals and it’s easy to see why.

Anchor Bar, Jackson Square,
Hamilton ON

We ordered 30 wings – ½ spicy and ½ medium. What can I say? They were very tasty and nothing short of what I would expect from a place known for their wings. The sauce had great flavor – tangy, spicy and bright. The wings weren’t overly battered, just nice good-sized wings coated in a messy sauce. They came with a house-made blue cheese dip which we all loved. I don’t even really like celery but had several pieces just to soak up the dip! 

Buffalo Chicken Poutine

We also ordered a poutine (Obviously. I mean, how can I go somewhere new and not try one of their poutines when they have 4 different kinds on the menu?) We opted for the “Buffalo Chicken” poutine. Although the potatoes are nice and the curds are appreciated, the gravy was overly salty. They didn’t use their signature wing sauce on the chicken, opting instead to let the flavor of the gravy coat the meat. The dish was finished with a ranch drizzle. While we still enjoyed the poutine, I think a few small changes could really make this poutine a show stealer. I would start by coating the chicken in their tasty wing sauce (which, really only makes sense when you consider the poutine is called the “Buffalo Chicken” poutine) and I would substitute the ranch drizzle with their homemade blue cheese sauce. By incorporating two things they are already doing really well, namely their sauce and their blue cheese dip, they would have a delicious and unique poutine.

Overall, the Anchor Bar is a great new spot inside Jackson Square that I would definitely recommend to anyone with a craving for chicken wings.  We left feeling satisfied - not super full or bloated - and anxious to return!

Blog epilogue:

We have all been craving wings in the office since we went. Even for breakfast!

Dani's Bistro, St. Catharines, Ontario

I really need to get something off my chest: bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese. There. I said it! I feel much better. It's been consuming my thoughts since I went to Dani's Bistro in St. Catharines. I'll explain. 

First thing's first: Why Dani's? 

I had looked at a number of places online, reviewing the menus and wine selection prior to my visit. Dani's stood out to me because of their menu and the way it is written. Under each item is a description and/or commentary:

"Pot Roast: local grass-fed Beef from Comform Farm, braised in red wine served with caramelized onion mashed potato, veggies & yorkshire pudding (This will make you happy, I promise!)" 

Risotto Balls (Arancini)

I love the personable style of writing, not too mention the wonderful options and VQA only wine selection. I was sold!

The restaurant is fairly small with deep red walls and paisley table cloths. They have a nice big bar at the back and the service is fast and friendly (read: hilarious!) We started with a bottle of Southbrook's 2007 Cabernet Merlot Shiraz, upon the server's recommendation. It was a fruity-smoky-mildly acidic bottle of deliciousness. 

They specialize in tapas with various hot & cold options to choose from. My mom and I decided to order 5 different tasty plates to share which were perfectly staggered coming to the table. What is nice is that you don't have to wait too long for the server to bring by a complimentary bread basket with a pesto spread.  Shortly after that came our first round: Mushroom ragu atop golden toasted crostini. This was a warm, woody spread with crispy crostini! 

Following this was the crunchie brie, a big ol' wedge of brie that gets coated and deep fried. I love deep fried anything cheese! It came with a cranberry compote and more crostini. 

Crunchy Brie

Now, la crème de la crème: bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese. ohmygoodness. I have never tasted something like this before. 

Happiness.

Crispy, salty bacon. Sweet, chewy dates. Tangy, creamy blue cheese. Yes. There were 4 on the plate and after they were gone, I was honestly considering ordering fifteen 4 more! My mom and I both loved them and they were easily my favorite item, despite also having ordered poutine.

The next item that came out was risotto balls (aka: arancini). While I really enjoyed the gooey cheesy centres, I would suggest adding some sharp parmesan and maybe event some fried pancetta to the risotto to really add depth of flavor. That's how I make it at home (lots of parm, pancetta and peas along with cream and one egg yolk to keep is creamy and rich). That being said, they were still a tasty addition to our Smörgåsbord of local flavor. 

The last tapas item was the pot roast poutine. A beautiful, cheesy poutine with big chunks of melt-in-your-mouth roast beef, rich gravy and stringy mozzeralla. 

Pot Roast Poutine

As an avid poutine lover/eater/maker, I would have to say that cheese curds (instead of the mozzarella they used) would really go a long way here. While I don't necessarily think that a poutine needs to have curds (see internal dialogue here) I think that the squeeky, creamy addition of a cheese curd would be pretty amazing in this dish.

Despite being super full I felt the need to order a dessert, you know, for the sake of the blog! 

I ordered the bread pudding with whiskey sauce because it had the following description: 


"#1 dessert in Niagara by Niagara Magazine so good it’ll make you say, 'I’ll have what she’s having!' "

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

I am not normally a bread pudding person and my mom isn't normally a dessert person and we both loooved it. There is a warm puddle of whisky caramel sauce in the bottom of a shallow bowl, topped with a gallette of warm bread pudding. We paid $1 extra for the vanilla ice cream. It was a perfect ending to our meal!

Be sure to let me know your thoughts on the bacon-wrapped dates when you visit Dani's :)

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