UPDATE: So, remember how I was looking for the perfect holiday event to get in the Christmas mood? Last week, I found it.
After hearing all of the hype about this event on social media, hubby and I decided to buy tickets to Kitestring creative branding studio Christmas Spectacular event.
Now, we’ve been to a couple of events run by the Kitestring crew before, and they are a fun, ebullient bunch. We always have a good time and needless to say, we had high hopes for this event.
It didn’t disappoint.
So what made it so great?
In my post-party analysis, I came to the conclusion that this particular event ended up being the perfect blend of what many people are looking for this time of year, namely: 1) fun (including good food and drink) 2) giving back and 3) supporting local business.
First of all, it was held at the beautiful, grand old Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts building on James Street South. I had never been inside this building before (truth be told, I didn’t even know it was there until I spied it while walking to the GO station one day earlier this month).
Once inside, we were greeted with comfort food a-go-go – I’m talking Red Hill coffee bar, candy bar and Cake & Loaf COOKIES AND MILK bar (hubby’s fave). All hopped up on sugar and caffeine, we headed to the Christmas Pageant part of the evening’s event.
Yes, this was not a typical mix and mingle/drinks and hors d’oeuvres holiday party – the centrepiece of the event was a Christmas Pageant in the Conservatory’s theatre.
As the show went on, I mentioned to hubby that it felt like we were at a school Christmas play (in a good way) – we were entertained by local professional performers, young and old, with fabulous voices, dancing skills or musical talents (with one of our faves being blues guitarist Rita Chiarelli).
While we thoroughly enjoyed the pageantry part of the evening, the after party was where the event seemed to truly shine.
The Conservatory houses a fantastic loft space, complete with outdoor, rooftop patio (a little chilly at this time of year, but I got the picture.) A live rockabilly band was playing, party-goers were lined up to taste the alcoholic snowcones and a snack table that took me back to birthday party days (think chips, cupcakes & little sandwiches). Essentially, we were surrounded by food, drink, music and new friends. What more could you ask for from a Christmas party?
To top it all off, the event was for the greater good – each ticket paid for one month of after school arts programming with Culture for Kids in the Arts.
I could go on and on about this event, but you get the jist. If you get the chance next year, make sure you go!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Holidays in the Hammer
“Silver Bells, Silver Bells, its Christmastime in the city”
Holidays in the city: for me, this evokes thoughts of lights, shopping, trees and general merriment.
Well, normally, yes. But here we are – it’s our first holiday season in Hamilton, and I need to know what’s going on! I’m floundering a bit with respect to finding all of my usual holiday comforts (and its not just because there’s no snow!)
I’ll chalk it up to being one of the hazards of moving to a new city. Where we used to live, I knew all about 1) the Christmas parade 2) where the best lights were 3) best/most festive/most convenient shopping destinations.
Being a big fan of all the things that come along with this time of year, I’ve been pretty eager to discover what sorts of festive things are on offer in this new city of ours.
So, obviously, I took to the internet.
A quick Google search yielded these suggestions from Tourism Hamilton.
Oops, it appears we missed the tree lighting! But, I did pass by Gore Park the other day, and in addition to the monster Christmas Tree, they’ve got a great little nativity scene set up.
We also checked out one of the lower city's beautiful 100+ year-old churches the other night for a carol service, which did the job of getting us in the Christmas spirit.
More holiday events are listed here.
Part of me realizes it will take a few years to get up to par on all of the seasonal goings-on here in Hamilton. In the days leading up to Dec.25, I’ll be doing my best to find more festive activities. In the meantime, I’d love to hear some of your fave holiday traditions in The Hammer!
Holidays in the city: for me, this evokes thoughts of lights, shopping, trees and general merriment.
Well, normally, yes. But here we are – it’s our first holiday season in Hamilton, and I need to know what’s going on! I’m floundering a bit with respect to finding all of my usual holiday comforts (and its not just because there’s no snow!)
I’ll chalk it up to being one of the hazards of moving to a new city. Where we used to live, I knew all about 1) the Christmas parade 2) where the best lights were 3) best/most festive/most convenient shopping destinations.
Being a big fan of all the things that come along with this time of year, I’ve been pretty eager to discover what sorts of festive things are on offer in this new city of ours.
So, obviously, I took to the internet.
A quick Google search yielded these suggestions from Tourism Hamilton.
Oops, it appears we missed the tree lighting! But, I did pass by Gore Park the other day, and in addition to the monster Christmas Tree, they’ve got a great little nativity scene set up.
We also checked out one of the lower city's beautiful 100+ year-old churches the other night for a carol service, which did the job of getting us in the Christmas spirit.
More holiday events are listed here.
Part of me realizes it will take a few years to get up to par on all of the seasonal goings-on here in Hamilton. In the days leading up to Dec.25, I’ll be doing my best to find more festive activities. In the meantime, I’d love to hear some of your fave holiday traditions in The Hammer!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Hanging out with the Veterans
I have to admit, I didn’t know much about the Legion before we visited our local branch in Toronto a couple of years back.
But when my hubby (who served in the military in his late teens and early 20s) decided that it was something he’d like to join, I was on board. I was curious to find out what this Legion thing was all about.
With initial expectations of it being a social club for older Veterans (which is still partly true, but that’s a whole other issue), and the home of cheap beer (also still pretty true), I was surprised with how our Legion experience turned out.
Sure, initially (before they gave it a facelift last year) it reminded me a lot of my parents’ basement, circa 1985 (aka: a lot of wood panelling), but there was a warm, homey feel - the people at the Legion embraced us right from the get-go, encouraged us to get involved and visit often. That particular Legion branch ended up being a go-to place for socializing on random weekday nights and a must-visit on more ceremonial special occasions (like Remembrance Day or Canada Day). It was a laid-back place for my hubby to chat about military service with older Veterans, play pool or watch sports.
It’s a membership he decided to continue in Hamilton, even though we had been particularly fond of the branch and members in Toronto. This past Remembrance Day, hubby and I headed over to our local Legion branch to commemorate with other Veterans. We’d been there once before when we first moved to Hamilton and were pleasantly surprised by how active this particular branch is.
On Remembrance Day, the Legion was hopping, as we expected it would be. Veterans and other supporters were busy chatting and sharing memories (and yes, there was also Karaoke!). It was wonderful to see the older Veterans with their medals on full display, wearing their finest. Hubby decided that night that this was to be his new Legion branch.
While we are definitely still at the low end of the age range when we visit the Legion, here’s hoping we can start a new trend, with more Vets of my hubby’s era, their families and supporters getting involved as time goes on.
But when my hubby (who served in the military in his late teens and early 20s) decided that it was something he’d like to join, I was on board. I was curious to find out what this Legion thing was all about.
With initial expectations of it being a social club for older Veterans (which is still partly true, but that’s a whole other issue), and the home of cheap beer (also still pretty true), I was surprised with how our Legion experience turned out.
Sure, initially (before they gave it a facelift last year) it reminded me a lot of my parents’ basement, circa 1985 (aka: a lot of wood panelling), but there was a warm, homey feel - the people at the Legion embraced us right from the get-go, encouraged us to get involved and visit often. That particular Legion branch ended up being a go-to place for socializing on random weekday nights and a must-visit on more ceremonial special occasions (like Remembrance Day or Canada Day). It was a laid-back place for my hubby to chat about military service with older Veterans, play pool or watch sports.
It’s a membership he decided to continue in Hamilton, even though we had been particularly fond of the branch and members in Toronto. This past Remembrance Day, hubby and I headed over to our local Legion branch to commemorate with other Veterans. We’d been there once before when we first moved to Hamilton and were pleasantly surprised by how active this particular branch is.
On Remembrance Day, the Legion was hopping, as we expected it would be. Veterans and other supporters were busy chatting and sharing memories (and yes, there was also Karaoke!). It was wonderful to see the older Veterans with their medals on full display, wearing their finest. Hubby decided that night that this was to be his new Legion branch.
While we are definitely still at the low end of the age range when we visit the Legion, here’s hoping we can start a new trend, with more Vets of my hubby’s era, their families and supporters getting involved as time goes on.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Happy trails to us
On a recent weekend, we found ourselves in the midst of a rare warm and sunny day (for this fall anyway!) and decided to head into Westdale to grab a coffee and take the dog for a spin around the neighbourhood.
We, admittedly, aren’t too familiar with the ins and outs of Westdale, apart from King Street West, and vaguely remembered there being some parkland in behind the houses, so we headed due north with our coffees in hand and the puppy in tow.
A block or two up from the coffee shop, we came upon a large field to the right, and a park straight ahead. Then a trail marker caught our eyes.
It was the Royal Botanical Gardens’ “Ravine Road Trail”.
In spite of all of my Hamilton travels, explorations and research, I have to admit I didn’t really know the extent of the RBG's series of trails.
Of course, we had to check it out. So, in we went.
All of a sudden, we were out of Hamilton, and in the middle of a beautiful, forested trail. The leaves were changing colour, people were walking dogs, it was quiet and peaceful and it smelled like fall. It was perfect.
As previously mentioned, we checked out the Rail Trail over the summer, and while we enjoyed it, the RBG trails were beyond our expectations. Where the Rail Trail (at least the part we were in) was largely open to the elements (on that particular day, the sun beating down on us), the trail behind Westdale is shaded, leafy, and in some parts, it seems you can walk for miles without running into a single soul.
The best part is, this trail network is huge – so huge, in fact, that we didn’t know how long it would take us to get back to our starting point if we continued on the trail. (With a young dog, this is a serious consideration. We didn’t want to have to carry her back!) It’s a real pity we didn’t have a map with us, because we ended up turning around just to be safe. Who knows what we missed out on further down the trail!
Needless to say, there is a lot more exploring for us to do here in future.
I love when you’re expecting a certain thing and what you end up getting exceeds all expectations. That was this trail for us. It was so far beyond what we were hoping to find that afternoon, and the dog adored it. It made our Saturday.
We, admittedly, aren’t too familiar with the ins and outs of Westdale, apart from King Street West, and vaguely remembered there being some parkland in behind the houses, so we headed due north with our coffees in hand and the puppy in tow.
A block or two up from the coffee shop, we came upon a large field to the right, and a park straight ahead. Then a trail marker caught our eyes.
It was the Royal Botanical Gardens’ “Ravine Road Trail”.
In spite of all of my Hamilton travels, explorations and research, I have to admit I didn’t really know the extent of the RBG's series of trails.
Of course, we had to check it out. So, in we went.
All of a sudden, we were out of Hamilton, and in the middle of a beautiful, forested trail. The leaves were changing colour, people were walking dogs, it was quiet and peaceful and it smelled like fall. It was perfect.
As previously mentioned, we checked out the Rail Trail over the summer, and while we enjoyed it, the RBG trails were beyond our expectations. Where the Rail Trail (at least the part we were in) was largely open to the elements (on that particular day, the sun beating down on us), the trail behind Westdale is shaded, leafy, and in some parts, it seems you can walk for miles without running into a single soul.
The best part is, this trail network is huge – so huge, in fact, that we didn’t know how long it would take us to get back to our starting point if we continued on the trail. (With a young dog, this is a serious consideration. We didn’t want to have to carry her back!) It’s a real pity we didn’t have a map with us, because we ended up turning around just to be safe. Who knows what we missed out on further down the trail!
Needless to say, there is a lot more exploring for us to do here in future.
I love when you’re expecting a certain thing and what you end up getting exceeds all expectations. That was this trail for us. It was so far beyond what we were hoping to find that afternoon, and the dog adored it. It made our Saturday.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Doggies in The Hammer
I’ll admit, the pace of our “Hamilton exploration” has slowed recently, and no, its not because we’ve seen it all or that we've powered through our 'must-see' list already.
We’ve got a new family member of the four-legged variety, who is keeping us close to home and exploring the four corners of the backyard and every leaf and stick in the neighbourhood.
As a result, my newest obsession is finding out how “dog friendly” Hamilton is - looking for places around the city that we’ll be able to take our pup when she gets older - to run, exercise, socialize with other dogs and have fun.
There are the obvious places we can go in the car – pet stores, the cottage, etc. But as residents of an urban neighbourhood, what we are really looking for is walkability when it comes to activities – namely, dog parks and nice walks around our immediate area.
I read this article on OpenFile Hamilton (a site that I write for quite often), which reported on a new dog park in the North end of the city, but raised the issue of the lack of dog parks in general, in Hamilton's core.
According to the city, these are our options. While one isn’t too far from where we live, I was initially surprised that a city as large as Hamilton doesn’t have more dog parks and off-leash areas available.
It seems as though the subject of dog parks comes up often in the city, with new ones seemingly springing up every once in awhile. Of course, I’d like to see more (in various corners of the city – because, like her parents, my dog likes to explore new places from time to time!)
I know from my days in Toronto that this can be a long and arduous process in some neighbourhoods (just finding the space can be difficult). Anyway, in the meantime, we’ll soon be taking her to each one, so she (and her human parents) can acquaint ourselves with the canine side of Hamilton.
If you know of any other great dog friendly spots in the city, please share!
We’ve got a new family member of the four-legged variety, who is keeping us close to home and exploring the four corners of the backyard and every leaf and stick in the neighbourhood.
As a result, my newest obsession is finding out how “dog friendly” Hamilton is - looking for places around the city that we’ll be able to take our pup when she gets older - to run, exercise, socialize with other dogs and have fun.
There are the obvious places we can go in the car – pet stores, the cottage, etc. But as residents of an urban neighbourhood, what we are really looking for is walkability when it comes to activities – namely, dog parks and nice walks around our immediate area.
I read this article on OpenFile Hamilton (a site that I write for quite often), which reported on a new dog park in the North end of the city, but raised the issue of the lack of dog parks in general, in Hamilton's core.
According to the city, these are our options. While one isn’t too far from where we live, I was initially surprised that a city as large as Hamilton doesn’t have more dog parks and off-leash areas available.
It seems as though the subject of dog parks comes up often in the city, with new ones seemingly springing up every once in awhile. Of course, I’d like to see more (in various corners of the city – because, like her parents, my dog likes to explore new places from time to time!)
I know from my days in Toronto that this can be a long and arduous process in some neighbourhoods (just finding the space can be difficult). Anyway, in the meantime, we’ll soon be taking her to each one, so she (and her human parents) can acquaint ourselves with the canine side of Hamilton.
If you know of any other great dog friendly spots in the city, please share!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Super Duper Saturday
It was called Super Saturday, Superb Saturday – and one person even called it Hamilton’s Christmas – Saturday September 10: the day when the Supercrawl and the Locke Street Festival converged on downtown, bringing thousands of Hamiltonians and tourists out to experience the best of the core.
Like good downtown residents, hubby and I hit up both of these extravaganzas on Saturday, starting with the Locke Street Festival. First impressions: I’ve never seen so many people on Locke Street. I mean, it was crowded, packed and hopping – and that was at noon (ie: when it had just started).
Every store on the street had set up a booth outside, selling their various wares, which means – you guessed it – there were tons of amazing food options on offer.
We each opted for something on Locke Street we’d never tried before (I was surprised that there was something we haven’t yet tried, but it was true). I had a hotdog from Beach Road, and hubby tried the NaRoma pizza. Both were tasty and fulfilled their objectives (ie: we’ll likely be making return trips to these establishments in the future).
We loved the festival vibe on Locke Street – live music, a patio at West Town, cupcakes galore – it had the feel of any street party we’d been to in Toronto or London – but somehow better and more community-focused.
After savouring the best of Locke Street, we headed home to recharge and get out of the sun for a bit, then ventured out to James Street North for the much-anticipated and talked about Supercrawl.
I had heard about Supercrawl for what seemed like months. When we moved here, nearly everyone mentioned that we should visit the Art Crawl, but that in September, there was the mother-of-all art crawls that couldn’t possibly be missed.
Well, with all the hype on Twitter and in the community in general ahead of Supercrawl, we couldn’t possibly miss it. We got there, and it was like the art crawl on steroids. The art crawl and so much more. There were street vendors everywhere, huge grandstands with music blaring, the usual galleries open for a browse around, yummy food options – it was fabulous. About the only thing James St. N. was missing that Locke Street had (or maybe I missed it) was a patio right on the street somewhere, so people could have a drink and enjoy the bands.
What a stellar weekend to be a HamOnt-ian! Can't wait to enjoy more.
Like good downtown residents, hubby and I hit up both of these extravaganzas on Saturday, starting with the Locke Street Festival. First impressions: I’ve never seen so many people on Locke Street. I mean, it was crowded, packed and hopping – and that was at noon (ie: when it had just started).
Every store on the street had set up a booth outside, selling their various wares, which means – you guessed it – there were tons of amazing food options on offer.
We each opted for something on Locke Street we’d never tried before (I was surprised that there was something we haven’t yet tried, but it was true). I had a hotdog from Beach Road, and hubby tried the NaRoma pizza. Both were tasty and fulfilled their objectives (ie: we’ll likely be making return trips to these establishments in the future).
We loved the festival vibe on Locke Street – live music, a patio at West Town, cupcakes galore – it had the feel of any street party we’d been to in Toronto or London – but somehow better and more community-focused.
After savouring the best of Locke Street, we headed home to recharge and get out of the sun for a bit, then ventured out to James Street North for the much-anticipated and talked about Supercrawl.
I had heard about Supercrawl for what seemed like months. When we moved here, nearly everyone mentioned that we should visit the Art Crawl, but that in September, there was the mother-of-all art crawls that couldn’t possibly be missed.
Well, with all the hype on Twitter and in the community in general ahead of Supercrawl, we couldn’t possibly miss it. We got there, and it was like the art crawl on steroids. The art crawl and so much more. There were street vendors everywhere, huge grandstands with music blaring, the usual galleries open for a browse around, yummy food options – it was fabulous. About the only thing James St. N. was missing that Locke Street had (or maybe I missed it) was a patio right on the street somewhere, so people could have a drink and enjoy the bands.
What a stellar weekend to be a HamOnt-ian! Can't wait to enjoy more.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The End of Summer (or Hamilton's endless summer?)
In Toronto, the “universally” accepted definition of the end of summer is the arrival of the CNE – the Ex. Personally, the Ex has never really been a part of my end of summer traditions (ie: I’ve obviously been, but its not a tradition), but without fail, when it comes to town, talk of school starting and the arrival of fall are not far behind.
This led me to wonder about the equivalent “end of summer” sign in Hamilton. What I do know is that Hamilton had a ton of summer festivals, and we managed to make it to a great deal of them, as mentioned in previous posts – Its Your Festival, Festival of Friends, BuskerFest and most recently, the Augusta Block Party (awesome chili cook-off!) and the Winona Peach Festival (which, as an aside, was much bigger than we thought it would be!)
My conclusion is that Hamilton doesn’t really have an end of summer tradition (not that I’m aware of anyway), but the party seems to continue into fall, with exciting events like the Locke Street Festival and the James Street North Supercrawl to look forward to in the next couple of weeks, along with all of the usual pumpkin and apple-related events that fall seems to bring. I’m particularly interested to see how James Street North hosts such a large event, with concerts and the like.
Looking forward to our first autumn in The Hammer! If you know of any other great end of summer or early fall events that we should check out, please let me know!
This led me to wonder about the equivalent “end of summer” sign in Hamilton. What I do know is that Hamilton had a ton of summer festivals, and we managed to make it to a great deal of them, as mentioned in previous posts – Its Your Festival, Festival of Friends, BuskerFest and most recently, the Augusta Block Party (awesome chili cook-off!) and the Winona Peach Festival (which, as an aside, was much bigger than we thought it would be!)
My conclusion is that Hamilton doesn’t really have an end of summer tradition (not that I’m aware of anyway), but the party seems to continue into fall, with exciting events like the Locke Street Festival and the James Street North Supercrawl to look forward to in the next couple of weeks, along with all of the usual pumpkin and apple-related events that fall seems to bring. I’m particularly interested to see how James Street North hosts such a large event, with concerts and the like.
Looking forward to our first autumn in The Hammer! If you know of any other great end of summer or early fall events that we should check out, please let me know!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Festival of Friends and a very Hamilton weekend
Here we are, at the end of a VERY Hamiltonian weekend.
I have to admit that the original plan this weekend was to head into Toronto. Since Ontario Place announced that they would have free admission all summer long, we have been trying to make time to go (its one of my favourite childhood places, and I wanted to check it out again) and decided we would try this weekend.
It didn't happen.
Leading up to Friday, we were constantly hearing about the "Festival of Friends" and how wonderful it is. One person on Twitter called it "the essence of Hamilton"...with a description like that, we decided we had no choice but to check it out. I was also intrigued by the name "Festival of Friends"...as an aside, early on in our Hamilton experience, I observed that all of the festivals in Hamilton have very interesting names (case in point: "It's Your Festival"...)
After some serious navigating on Saturday afternoon, we found Ancaster Fairgrounds, parked in the field for $6 (pretty reasonable, compared to what you'd be charged in the T-dot for a similar event) and headed into the festival for FREE.
It was pretty much what you'd expect - lots of food, vendors, a carnival, and of course, music.
What made it unique though, was the Hamilton-ness of it all...by this, I mean that a lot of the vendors were local companies I recognized from Twitter (Gorilla Cheese and Cupcake Diner, for example), which gave us the opportunity to try a variety of awesome local eats. We were also able to buy some local decorative-type items for our new place.
Eventually, we settled down with a beer in the fenced-in beer garden (a concept I think is pretty silly, but that's for another time...) and listened to the afternoon band playing on the main stage. While we didn't see any "friends" at this festival, it was great to be able to enjoy some Hamilton-specific summer activities.
As a result of fortunate timing (a complete fluke, really!) we managed to get out of there before the massive rainstorm came down, and I imagine everyone would have been crowding into the craft vendor buildings...
I hear that this festival used to be held in Gage Park...I can't even imagine what that would have done to traffic in the area, given how many people were at Ancaster Fairgrounds on Saturday. Hubby thinks Hamilton should try to get the Festival of Friends back to Gage Park, as long as there's enough transit available to take people there. At the moment, I think Ancaster Fairgrounds is probably the right place for it -basically, there's more parking, although I'm sure that more transit from various parts of town to this festival (in the middle of nowhere) would be welcome.
Anyway, I conclude that: Festival of Friends + mucho eating out in Hamilton + working on our Hamilton house = we're officially Hamiltonians now :)
I have to admit that the original plan this weekend was to head into Toronto. Since Ontario Place announced that they would have free admission all summer long, we have been trying to make time to go (its one of my favourite childhood places, and I wanted to check it out again) and decided we would try this weekend.
It didn't happen.
Leading up to Friday, we were constantly hearing about the "Festival of Friends" and how wonderful it is. One person on Twitter called it "the essence of Hamilton"...with a description like that, we decided we had no choice but to check it out. I was also intrigued by the name "Festival of Friends"...as an aside, early on in our Hamilton experience, I observed that all of the festivals in Hamilton have very interesting names (case in point: "It's Your Festival"...)
After some serious navigating on Saturday afternoon, we found Ancaster Fairgrounds, parked in the field for $6 (pretty reasonable, compared to what you'd be charged in the T-dot for a similar event) and headed into the festival for FREE.
It was pretty much what you'd expect - lots of food, vendors, a carnival, and of course, music.
What made it unique though, was the Hamilton-ness of it all...by this, I mean that a lot of the vendors were local companies I recognized from Twitter (Gorilla Cheese and Cupcake Diner, for example), which gave us the opportunity to try a variety of awesome local eats. We were also able to buy some local decorative-type items for our new place.
Eventually, we settled down with a beer in the fenced-in beer garden (a concept I think is pretty silly, but that's for another time...) and listened to the afternoon band playing on the main stage. While we didn't see any "friends" at this festival, it was great to be able to enjoy some Hamilton-specific summer activities.
As a result of fortunate timing (a complete fluke, really!) we managed to get out of there before the massive rainstorm came down, and I imagine everyone would have been crowding into the craft vendor buildings...
I hear that this festival used to be held in Gage Park...I can't even imagine what that would have done to traffic in the area, given how many people were at Ancaster Fairgrounds on Saturday. Hubby thinks Hamilton should try to get the Festival of Friends back to Gage Park, as long as there's enough transit available to take people there. At the moment, I think Ancaster Fairgrounds is probably the right place for it -basically, there's more parking, although I'm sure that more transit from various parts of town to this festival (in the middle of nowhere) would be welcome.
Anyway, I conclude that: Festival of Friends + mucho eating out in Hamilton + working on our Hamilton house = we're officially Hamiltonians now :)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
More culinary adventures in The Hammer
To be honest, the trials, tribulations and general craziness involved with moving house have monopolized my time in recent weeks (specifically, my time for having fun and blogging).
Something else that moving has resulted in, however, is the chance to try new restaurants (sometimes after painting or putting stuff away, cooking is the last thing we want to do!)
I'm not saying you have to move to a new house or new city to get excited about discovering different restaurants (we were still exploring new places in Toronto after nearly five years), but in Hamilton, we have had a blank slate with no preconceived ideas about what's good, new or the latest 'cool' place to eat. We've been relying on online reviews as well as recommendations from people we know.
As I've said before, I'm no restaurant reviewer. But as someone who enjoys discovering new gems, here are a few places we've been to recently that merit a return visit!
Having never tried Ethiopian food before, I honestly didn't know what kinds of flavours and foods to expect when my husband suggested we try Wass Ethiopian on James Street South one night, after he saw it mentioned on Twitter. I was super intrigued and excited to try it out.
We visited Wass on a random weeknight and instantly felt welcomed and comfortable. The restaurant is unassuming, but the food is an awesome adventure. We ordered one of the combination platters (meat and vegetarian dishes) and dug in with our hands. The flavours were fantastic.
Given that we went to Wass in the evening (and if I drink coffee after 7pm I don't sleep!) we didn't get to partake in the famous Ethiopian coffee that night. This alone means we'll be making a return trip, but rest assured, we'll be going back for the food too!!
In Toronto, we were blessed to have lived in a neighbourhood with THREE awesome Indian restaurants. Since we moved to Hamilton last winter, we had been on the hunt for something comparable.
After craving it one night, we did a quick internet search and noticed some particularly great reviews for The Flavour of Himalaya on King William Street downtown.
We decided to go for it, and ended up having a fabulous Indian meal for less than $30 for the two of us (and hubby even got a beer.) Incredible.
While we've found these great restaurants which may become Hamilton faves, we're still on the hunt for an awesome wine bar or bistro-type place. (And as always, are always keeping our eyes peeled for more of our faves: sushi restaurants or BBQ places).
Any and all suggestions and reviews are welcome :)
Something else that moving has resulted in, however, is the chance to try new restaurants (sometimes after painting or putting stuff away, cooking is the last thing we want to do!)
I'm not saying you have to move to a new house or new city to get excited about discovering different restaurants (we were still exploring new places in Toronto after nearly five years), but in Hamilton, we have had a blank slate with no preconceived ideas about what's good, new or the latest 'cool' place to eat. We've been relying on online reviews as well as recommendations from people we know.
As I've said before, I'm no restaurant reviewer. But as someone who enjoys discovering new gems, here are a few places we've been to recently that merit a return visit!
Having never tried Ethiopian food before, I honestly didn't know what kinds of flavours and foods to expect when my husband suggested we try Wass Ethiopian on James Street South one night, after he saw it mentioned on Twitter. I was super intrigued and excited to try it out.
We visited Wass on a random weeknight and instantly felt welcomed and comfortable. The restaurant is unassuming, but the food is an awesome adventure. We ordered one of the combination platters (meat and vegetarian dishes) and dug in with our hands. The flavours were fantastic.
Given that we went to Wass in the evening (and if I drink coffee after 7pm I don't sleep!) we didn't get to partake in the famous Ethiopian coffee that night. This alone means we'll be making a return trip, but rest assured, we'll be going back for the food too!!
In Toronto, we were blessed to have lived in a neighbourhood with THREE awesome Indian restaurants. Since we moved to Hamilton last winter, we had been on the hunt for something comparable.
After craving it one night, we did a quick internet search and noticed some particularly great reviews for The Flavour of Himalaya on King William Street downtown.
We decided to go for it, and ended up having a fabulous Indian meal for less than $30 for the two of us (and hubby even got a beer.) Incredible.
While we've found these great restaurants which may become Hamilton faves, we're still on the hunt for an awesome wine bar or bistro-type place. (And as always, are always keeping our eyes peeled for more of our faves: sushi restaurants or BBQ places).
Any and all suggestions and reviews are welcome :)
Friday, July 8, 2011
Hamilton's history and my old house
For someone who grew up in the suburbs where most buildings dated from the 1970s or later, my recent move into a 100-year old Hamilton house has proved to be both exciting and daunting.
On the one hand, the house needs work, as most 100-year old houses do (and I’m sure this will never end!).
But my fascination for history and interesting stories has had me champing at the bit, since before we moved in, to find out more about this place – who built it? Who has lived here over the past century and what did they do for a living?
Essentially, I’m excited to discover more about Hamilton’s own history through my old house.
While we do have plans to research the house’s past properly through the city’s records, a quick walk around the place provides some evidence of the house’s (and Hamilton’s) evolution – a bricked-up old door to where we think the "service entrance" to the kitchen used to be, a conversion into apartments at some point, various additions and removals and now, big plans to eventually convert it back to its former glory.
Over the years, I’ve heard stories of people unearthing treasures and random artefacts from days gone by when fixing up houses like this. I was excited to start our exploration and see what we could find.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to renovate anything to get the first clues into the history of our house. This started on the day we moved in. Tucked up between some pipes in the basement, my husband found a little book on the history of the British Royal family, ending at King George VI and praising the power of radio communication for its impact and ability to broadcast the King’s Coronation ceremony around the globe. The book’s publication date was 1937 and it was perfectly preserved.
One day later, he was putting more things away in the basement and came across something even older – the top of a wooden crate, with someone’s army rank, name and our address stencilled on it. I knew it was ancient – the postal code was a different format than we’re used to.
As any amateur history buff might do, I instantly Googled the man’s name. It turns out he served in World War I – likely the first owner of this house, or their son. I find it absolutely fascinating that, through a century’s worth of owners, renters and renovations, these pieces of history have survived intact in our house.
I’m hoping these are just the first of many clues into our property’s past, and that we get a few more glimpses into early 20th century Hamiltonian life.
Have you found any interesting relics from the past in your old Hamilton house or apartment?
This post was originally published on OpenFile Hamilton's website.
On the one hand, the house needs work, as most 100-year old houses do (and I’m sure this will never end!).
But my fascination for history and interesting stories has had me champing at the bit, since before we moved in, to find out more about this place – who built it? Who has lived here over the past century and what did they do for a living?
Essentially, I’m excited to discover more about Hamilton’s own history through my old house.
While we do have plans to research the house’s past properly through the city’s records, a quick walk around the place provides some evidence of the house’s (and Hamilton’s) evolution – a bricked-up old door to where we think the "service entrance" to the kitchen used to be, a conversion into apartments at some point, various additions and removals and now, big plans to eventually convert it back to its former glory.
Over the years, I’ve heard stories of people unearthing treasures and random artefacts from days gone by when fixing up houses like this. I was excited to start our exploration and see what we could find.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to renovate anything to get the first clues into the history of our house. This started on the day we moved in. Tucked up between some pipes in the basement, my husband found a little book on the history of the British Royal family, ending at King George VI and praising the power of radio communication for its impact and ability to broadcast the King’s Coronation ceremony around the globe. The book’s publication date was 1937 and it was perfectly preserved.
One day later, he was putting more things away in the basement and came across something even older – the top of a wooden crate, with someone’s army rank, name and our address stencilled on it. I knew it was ancient – the postal code was a different format than we’re used to.
As any amateur history buff might do, I instantly Googled the man’s name. It turns out he served in World War I – likely the first owner of this house, or their son. I find it absolutely fascinating that, through a century’s worth of owners, renters and renovations, these pieces of history have survived intact in our house.
I’m hoping these are just the first of many clues into our property’s past, and that we get a few more glimpses into early 20th century Hamiltonian life.
Have you found any interesting relics from the past in your old Hamilton house or apartment?
This post was originally published on OpenFile Hamilton's website.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Moving from the east to the west....
This post originally appeared on OpenFile Hamilton, but I thought I'd repost it here as well - please let me know your thoughts.
This is it – this is the month that this former Torontonian officially became invested in Hamilton.
Since we arrived here in the winter, my husband and I have made it our goal to get to know our new home by becoming ingrained in the Hamilton culture in small ways. We joined the Art Gallery of Hamilton, a gym and go to as many events, festivals and restaurants as possible, trying to get a sense of what the city has to offer, and find our new favourite spots.
By invested, however, I mean that after six months or so of living, learning and experiencing Hamilton, I have now taken the plunge and become a property owner in the city.
When we moved to Hamilton from Toronto, we didn’t know much about the city, and needed to find a place to live pretty quickly. After looking at a few rental places, we settled on an apartment in the east end, not far from Gage Park, in a neighbourhood called Delta West.
Notwithstanding the fact that it was January, our first impression was that the area had a nice neighbourhood feel to it, there seemed to be a lot of pride of ownership and the neighbours were quick to say hello, and even help push our car out of a snowbank or two.
This part of town definitely has a lot going for it. Gage Park is a gorgeous green space, Ottawa Street and the new Centre Mall are not too far away and a lot of families have settled here.
Very quickly, however, the difficulties with walkability in this neighbourhood became apparent. For nearly the last decade, we had always lived in urban neighbourhoods (in Ontario and the UK) where nearly everything we needed on a daily basis – anything from the grocery store to the optometrist to the drugstore or coffee – was only a five or ten minute walk away. Until recently, we didn’t realize how essential this had become to our way of life.
As a one-car family in Hamilton, (a car which I rarely use, as I work from home), I often felt stranded in our new place, especially in the winter, with the only things to walk to being the convenience store and No Frills. Sure, the bus and taxis are readily available to take people wherever they want to go (and I did use them often), but there’s something to be said for heading out to the coffee shop for a break or taking a stroll to pick up something fresh for dinner.
With walkability at the top of our list of wants, we ended up putting down our permanent roots in the west end, with the shops and services of Locke Street or downtown now just a short walk away, and the hope that this will make all the difference to our quality of life in Hamilton.
This is not to say that a car will always be essential for those in the east end – I have every reason to think that my experience will not be the reality for much longer.
Things are constantly brewing on Ottawa Street, which seems to present the greatest potential for walkability for the neighbourhoods to the east of downtown, with new coffee shops and restaurants springing up regularly. It was also recently named one of the best streets in Canada.
Even closer to home, if the same type of amenities begin to move onto Main Street East, the residents of gorgeous south central and east neighbourhoods like Delta, St. Clair and Stinson will gain the opportunity that those in the west end have to shop local and stay out of the car more often – a concept which I’m sure is at the top of many people’s lists.
This is it – this is the month that this former Torontonian officially became invested in Hamilton.
Since we arrived here in the winter, my husband and I have made it our goal to get to know our new home by becoming ingrained in the Hamilton culture in small ways. We joined the Art Gallery of Hamilton, a gym and go to as many events, festivals and restaurants as possible, trying to get a sense of what the city has to offer, and find our new favourite spots.
By invested, however, I mean that after six months or so of living, learning and experiencing Hamilton, I have now taken the plunge and become a property owner in the city.
When we moved to Hamilton from Toronto, we didn’t know much about the city, and needed to find a place to live pretty quickly. After looking at a few rental places, we settled on an apartment in the east end, not far from Gage Park, in a neighbourhood called Delta West.
Notwithstanding the fact that it was January, our first impression was that the area had a nice neighbourhood feel to it, there seemed to be a lot of pride of ownership and the neighbours were quick to say hello, and even help push our car out of a snowbank or two.
This part of town definitely has a lot going for it. Gage Park is a gorgeous green space, Ottawa Street and the new Centre Mall are not too far away and a lot of families have settled here.
Very quickly, however, the difficulties with walkability in this neighbourhood became apparent. For nearly the last decade, we had always lived in urban neighbourhoods (in Ontario and the UK) where nearly everything we needed on a daily basis – anything from the grocery store to the optometrist to the drugstore or coffee – was only a five or ten minute walk away. Until recently, we didn’t realize how essential this had become to our way of life.
As a one-car family in Hamilton, (a car which I rarely use, as I work from home), I often felt stranded in our new place, especially in the winter, with the only things to walk to being the convenience store and No Frills. Sure, the bus and taxis are readily available to take people wherever they want to go (and I did use them often), but there’s something to be said for heading out to the coffee shop for a break or taking a stroll to pick up something fresh for dinner.
With walkability at the top of our list of wants, we ended up putting down our permanent roots in the west end, with the shops and services of Locke Street or downtown now just a short walk away, and the hope that this will make all the difference to our quality of life in Hamilton.
This is not to say that a car will always be essential for those in the east end – I have every reason to think that my experience will not be the reality for much longer.
Things are constantly brewing on Ottawa Street, which seems to present the greatest potential for walkability for the neighbourhoods to the east of downtown, with new coffee shops and restaurants springing up regularly. It was also recently named one of the best streets in Canada.
Even closer to home, if the same type of amenities begin to move onto Main Street East, the residents of gorgeous south central and east neighbourhoods like Delta, St. Clair and Stinson will gain the opportunity that those in the west end have to shop local and stay out of the car more often – a concept which I’m sure is at the top of many people’s lists.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Patio season starts at Hess Village
A few weeks ago, we were greeted with a particularly sunny Friday afternoon. It was the first warm, sunny Friday of the season, so naturally, our minds drifted to patios.
Now, back in our former Toronto neighbourhood, we knew the patio options like the backs of our hands. No debate, we just headed up the street to one of three or so fave places. Hamilton is a different story - here we were, in the throes of this nice afternoon/evening, and no idea where to go to sit and enjoy a drink outside.
After some brief inquiries on Twitter, we found out that Hess Village was the place to go. Hess Village? The only thing I'd ever heard about this particular part of town was from my friend who went to McMaster for undergrad (you can see where this is going). Essentially, the only time she ever left campus was to party in Hess Village.
Well, that was not exactly the scene I was looking for on that particular day (or really ever these days!) but we headed off to Hess Village anyway, not really knowing what to expect.
To our surprise and delight, Hess Village (only about a block or two in size) was busy but not rowdy, and ideal. We settled on the Gown & Gavel patio, and sat down for a great dinner and drinks out in the sun. (This was also apparently voted best patio!)
Keep in mind that this was May (school was out!) I gather that September-April can be quite different in this area....
Hess Village is an interesting street - lots of eating/drinking options, obviously a desirable area for pubs/clubs and some other businesses as well. Our first thought was that a pedestrianized Hess Village (even one that is only pedestrianized on weekends) would be really cool - especially with the addition of street musicians or performers on busy evenings, for example.
I'm sure we'll be spending a few more warm, sunny afternoons there between now and August (but I'll be honest and say we likely won't be heading to Hess during the school year!)
We've also heard about a few other great patios to visit in the area - what's your fave summer patio in Hamilton?
Now, back in our former Toronto neighbourhood, we knew the patio options like the backs of our hands. No debate, we just headed up the street to one of three or so fave places. Hamilton is a different story - here we were, in the throes of this nice afternoon/evening, and no idea where to go to sit and enjoy a drink outside.
After some brief inquiries on Twitter, we found out that Hess Village was the place to go. Hess Village? The only thing I'd ever heard about this particular part of town was from my friend who went to McMaster for undergrad (you can see where this is going). Essentially, the only time she ever left campus was to party in Hess Village.
Well, that was not exactly the scene I was looking for on that particular day (or really ever these days!) but we headed off to Hess Village anyway, not really knowing what to expect.
To our surprise and delight, Hess Village (only about a block or two in size) was busy but not rowdy, and ideal. We settled on the Gown & Gavel patio, and sat down for a great dinner and drinks out in the sun. (This was also apparently voted best patio!)
Keep in mind that this was May (school was out!) I gather that September-April can be quite different in this area....
Hess Village is an interesting street - lots of eating/drinking options, obviously a desirable area for pubs/clubs and some other businesses as well. Our first thought was that a pedestrianized Hess Village (even one that is only pedestrianized on weekends) would be really cool - especially with the addition of street musicians or performers on busy evenings, for example.
I'm sure we'll be spending a few more warm, sunny afternoons there between now and August (but I'll be honest and say we likely won't be heading to Hess during the school year!)
We've also heard about a few other great patios to visit in the area - what's your fave summer patio in Hamilton?
Friday, June 3, 2011
Dundas, the rail trail and other exploits
One of the first things we'd heard about, before we even moved to Hamilton, was how pretty Dundas is - and the rail trail in particular. This was back in January, so given the temperature, we filed this away in our minds for another, warmer time. That time came up in May.
On a particularly nice day, we decided it was time to find out what this rail trail was all about. I don't think we quite realized exactly how massive it was. In doing a bit of research on the trail before heading out (basically to find out where to park), we discovered that it is 32km in length, and stretches all the way from Hamilton to Brantford.
We had just come from the gym, so decided that it might be wise to tackle only a small part of the trail that day, just a km or two - but that was enough to prove to us that this is a great way to spend a day, or even an hour. The part of the trail we were on was wide enough for people and bikes alike, surrounded by trees, farmers fields and even a house or two (as an aside, how cool would it be to live on the rail trail!)
How awesome to be able to get into nature so close to Hamilton, and only come across a few people along the path.
The only complaint I have about the rail trail (at least the part we were on) was the lack of shade, not ideal on a super sunny day, but that's just my opinion.
After we were done exploring the country around Dundas, we headed into the town itself. I don't really know what we were expecting, but we were instantly impressed by the charm of Dundas' main street - cafes, pubs, shops, basically what we consider to be an ideal, walkable old main street - touristy, yet still functional for those who live there. We've definitely got a few places earmarked for our return trip.
We heard there's a buskerfest in Dundas this weekend - a perfect opportunity to head back! I'll share my thoughts on this later!
On a particularly nice day, we decided it was time to find out what this rail trail was all about. I don't think we quite realized exactly how massive it was. In doing a bit of research on the trail before heading out (basically to find out where to park), we discovered that it is 32km in length, and stretches all the way from Hamilton to Brantford.
We had just come from the gym, so decided that it might be wise to tackle only a small part of the trail that day, just a km or two - but that was enough to prove to us that this is a great way to spend a day, or even an hour. The part of the trail we were on was wide enough for people and bikes alike, surrounded by trees, farmers fields and even a house or two (as an aside, how cool would it be to live on the rail trail!)
How awesome to be able to get into nature so close to Hamilton, and only come across a few people along the path.
The only complaint I have about the rail trail (at least the part we were on) was the lack of shade, not ideal on a super sunny day, but that's just my opinion.
After we were done exploring the country around Dundas, we headed into the town itself. I don't really know what we were expecting, but we were instantly impressed by the charm of Dundas' main street - cafes, pubs, shops, basically what we consider to be an ideal, walkable old main street - touristy, yet still functional for those who live there. We've definitely got a few places earmarked for our return trip.
We heard there's a buskerfest in Dundas this weekend - a perfect opportunity to head back! I'll share my thoughts on this later!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
First impressions of the Hamilton waterfront
I originally wrote this blog post for OpenFile Hamilton - thought I'd also repost it here! Enjoy :)
My first trip to the Hamilton waterfront happened shortly after we moved to the city, last winter.
We were looking for something fun to do on Family Day, and decided to check out what the city had on offer down by the lake. I’ll admit that previous to this, my only perspective of the water’s edge in The Hammer was the view of the steel mills as you come over the Burlington Skyway bridge.
Notwithstanding the fact that this was a Canadian waterfront on an icy February day, there was a decent amount going on. A few people were trying out the skating rink, or walking the path that runs the perimeter of the waterfront area near James St. North and Guise St. East.
Where the crowds were really gathered was the Williams Fresh Café – what I would, on first impression, call the “main attraction” of this part of Hamilton’s waterfront area, (although I will admit that I haven’t yet paid a visit to Pier 4 Park, Bayfront Park, taken the trolley or a boat tour yet).
Fast forward to Victoria Day weekend, and we decided to head down to the waterfront again, for a warmer weather perspective. There were a few more people mulling around this time, the ice cream store was open, there was a lineup in the Williams Café and we managed to get a better view of the path around the site, where dog walkers, couples and families alike took in the warm spring evening. (Some people were also fishing: I assume the they were doing so for sport, rather than dinner, but I can’t confirm - there’s also a fishing derby coming up in August!)
Hamilton’s evolving waterfront area is a fascinating mesh of Hamilton old meets Hamilton new – cafes, skating rinks, picnickers and dog walkers share their space with old warehouses (which boast great murals painted by school kids), one or two huge rusting ships and views of factories in the distance.
Both times we have visited the waterfront area, we noticed the beautiful Discovery Centre building, which looks freshly built, but also slightly unused. In the winter, we chalked this up to it being the “off-season”, but in May, the closed patio and deserted feel of the place was disappointing.
Being newbies, we didn’t know the history of this building. Upon further research, it seems the six-year-old centre was closed last summer and its management transferred from Parks Canada to the Hamilton Waterfront Trust, which is reportedly exploring options and proposals for its use.
From the perspective of a new Hamiltonian, finding an innovative use for this building seems absolutely crucial to the success of the waterfront.
What the fledgling waterfront development doesn’t need right now is to start losing relevance and I have to say - a beautiful, new empty building doesn’t do much in terms of piquing people’s interest to visit the area. It also seems particularly critical when you hear that other events that previously drew people to the waterfront are also running into difficulties.
Generally, I find the transformation of Hamilton’s waterfront not unlike what is happening to the eastern part of Toronto’s shoreline, but there are a few notable differences.
Around the same time I first visited this part of Hamilton, a friend also took us on a winter “tour” of the new Toronto East Bayfront site, complete with man-made beach. Yes, this area also used to be industrial. It will soon reportedly boast condos, a college campus, corporate offices and restaurants.
I’m excited to see what else is in store for Hamilton’s waterfront - Hamiltonians are undoubtedly showing an interest in the area, and while there are several exciting things happening, I think a few more restaurants, attractions or exhibitions wouldn’t go amiss.
What are you hoping to see built at Hamilton’s waterfront?
My first trip to the Hamilton waterfront happened shortly after we moved to the city, last winter.
We were looking for something fun to do on Family Day, and decided to check out what the city had on offer down by the lake. I’ll admit that previous to this, my only perspective of the water’s edge in The Hammer was the view of the steel mills as you come over the Burlington Skyway bridge.
Notwithstanding the fact that this was a Canadian waterfront on an icy February day, there was a decent amount going on. A few people were trying out the skating rink, or walking the path that runs the perimeter of the waterfront area near James St. North and Guise St. East.
Where the crowds were really gathered was the Williams Fresh Café – what I would, on first impression, call the “main attraction” of this part of Hamilton’s waterfront area, (although I will admit that I haven’t yet paid a visit to Pier 4 Park, Bayfront Park, taken the trolley or a boat tour yet).
Fast forward to Victoria Day weekend, and we decided to head down to the waterfront again, for a warmer weather perspective. There were a few more people mulling around this time, the ice cream store was open, there was a lineup in the Williams Café and we managed to get a better view of the path around the site, where dog walkers, couples and families alike took in the warm spring evening. (Some people were also fishing: I assume the they were doing so for sport, rather than dinner, but I can’t confirm - there’s also a fishing derby coming up in August!)
Hamilton’s evolving waterfront area is a fascinating mesh of Hamilton old meets Hamilton new – cafes, skating rinks, picnickers and dog walkers share their space with old warehouses (which boast great murals painted by school kids), one or two huge rusting ships and views of factories in the distance.
Both times we have visited the waterfront area, we noticed the beautiful Discovery Centre building, which looks freshly built, but also slightly unused. In the winter, we chalked this up to it being the “off-season”, but in May, the closed patio and deserted feel of the place was disappointing.
Being newbies, we didn’t know the history of this building. Upon further research, it seems the six-year-old centre was closed last summer and its management transferred from Parks Canada to the Hamilton Waterfront Trust, which is reportedly exploring options and proposals for its use.
From the perspective of a new Hamiltonian, finding an innovative use for this building seems absolutely crucial to the success of the waterfront.
What the fledgling waterfront development doesn’t need right now is to start losing relevance and I have to say - a beautiful, new empty building doesn’t do much in terms of piquing people’s interest to visit the area. It also seems particularly critical when you hear that other events that previously drew people to the waterfront are also running into difficulties.
Generally, I find the transformation of Hamilton’s waterfront not unlike what is happening to the eastern part of Toronto’s shoreline, but there are a few notable differences.
Around the same time I first visited this part of Hamilton, a friend also took us on a winter “tour” of the new Toronto East Bayfront site, complete with man-made beach. Yes, this area also used to be industrial. It will soon reportedly boast condos, a college campus, corporate offices and restaurants.
I’m excited to see what else is in store for Hamilton’s waterfront - Hamiltonians are undoubtedly showing an interest in the area, and while there are several exciting things happening, I think a few more restaurants, attractions or exhibitions wouldn’t go amiss.
What are you hoping to see built at Hamilton’s waterfront?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The great Hamilton BBQ search - Part 2
On our endless (and delicious) quest for good BBQ places, we came across Buckeye's Smokehouse last weekend, one of the (seemingly) multitude of BBQ offerings in the Hammer.
Well, not exactly came across - we had seen it during the course of our travels (on Ottawa Street) and had always planned to give it a try. After reading some really positive reviews, we decided it was time.
Slightly different than Rolly Rockets, Buckeye's has more of a sports bar feel to it, but the menu is all barbeque (nestled in the textile district, its also pretty unassuming-looking from the outside). There was also a steady stream of customers while we were there, a surefire sign of a neighbourhood fave.
We partook in the ribs, coleslaw and sides (me: sweet potato fries, hubby: jambalaya rice) and it was TASTY. The ribs were delicious, and the jambalaya in particular looked (and tasted) homemade and fresh (but as with most BBQ places, the portions were too big for me!) Still, it was definitely perfect end-of-the-week comfort food.
In our humble opinions, the prices at Buckeyes were incredibly reasonable. They also seem to have various deals throughout the week, so perhaps next time we'll head there on a weekday.
This seems like a great (and welcome) BBQ option for those in the east end of Hamilton, and probably even worth a visit for those in the west end! The BBQ search continues, and all suggestions are welcome!
Well, not exactly came across - we had seen it during the course of our travels (on Ottawa Street) and had always planned to give it a try. After reading some really positive reviews, we decided it was time.
Slightly different than Rolly Rockets, Buckeye's has more of a sports bar feel to it, but the menu is all barbeque (nestled in the textile district, its also pretty unassuming-looking from the outside). There was also a steady stream of customers while we were there, a surefire sign of a neighbourhood fave.
We partook in the ribs, coleslaw and sides (me: sweet potato fries, hubby: jambalaya rice) and it was TASTY. The ribs were delicious, and the jambalaya in particular looked (and tasted) homemade and fresh (but as with most BBQ places, the portions were too big for me!) Still, it was definitely perfect end-of-the-week comfort food.
In our humble opinions, the prices at Buckeyes were incredibly reasonable. They also seem to have various deals throughout the week, so perhaps next time we'll head there on a weekday.
This seems like a great (and welcome) BBQ option for those in the east end of Hamilton, and probably even worth a visit for those in the west end! The BBQ search continues, and all suggestions are welcome!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Doors Open Hammer and other signs of spring
As I sit here writing this blog post on a gorgeous spring evening, I can't believe how much Hamilton-related activity we've managed to pack into this weekend.
Going into Saturday, I knew this would happen...a simple inquiry on Twitter as to what types of activities were going in Hamont this weekend solicited a flurry of different replies. Yes, this was the weekend when 1) Doors Open Hamilton 2)West Hamilton Artists Tour and 3) Jane's Walk were all happening.
After starting our Hammer-filled weekend off right with a trip to Buckeye's Smokehouse (BBQ!) on Ottawa Street on Friday night (I will be dedicating a blog post to this later), we woke up bright and (not) early on Saturday to explore Doors Open Hamilton.
We decided to hit Dundurn Castle first, given that we're new to the city and its a notable and much mentioned tourist attraction. Before I get in to specifics about Dundurn, let me just say that Doors Open Hamilton is a much more enjoyable experience to Doors Open Toronto, which we visited a few times while we were TO residents.
For example, a trip to check out the inside of the Royal York a couple of years ago resulted in a three-hour lineup for a brief (but still informative) walk around the hotel.
Getting into Dundurn Castle, however, was a breeze. We didn't show up until late morning, but had no trouble getting in, with no lineup to be found. (Don't get me wrong - there were loads of people meandering around the house and grounds, but it wasn't absurdly crowded).
We were greeted by staff in period costume, who gave us a brief history of Dundurn Castle along with a map, and sent us on our merry way to explore the three levels of the restored home of Sir Allan Napier MacNab (including a taste-test of homemade pickles and preserves from the estate's garden!) If you haven't been, I would recommend a visit - its not only fascinating from a historical perspective, but the grounds are beautiful, and a definite gem in Hamilton. While there, we also checked out the Military Museum on the grounds, which was also well done, and had lots of kid-related activities.
Elsewhere on the Doors Open Hamilton trail, we took a tour through Stinson School Lofts (well, the construction site, but its quite an impressive building) as well as 281 Herkimer St, built in 1919 (currently the offices of Marsales Real Estate, but once the Bank of Hamilton), complete with vaults still in place and an ancient bullet hole in the window!
In amongst all of this Doors Open fun, we managed to squeeze in a couple of visits to studios on the West Hamilton Artists Tour, not dissimilar from the art crawl, but held in the daytime and a bit quieter.
We, unfortunately, didn't make it to Jane's Walk in Hamilton, but I would be interested to hear how it went, as well as which Doors Open Hamilton sites were your faves!
Going into Saturday, I knew this would happen...a simple inquiry on Twitter as to what types of activities were going in Hamont this weekend solicited a flurry of different replies. Yes, this was the weekend when 1) Doors Open Hamilton 2)West Hamilton Artists Tour and 3) Jane's Walk were all happening.
After starting our Hammer-filled weekend off right with a trip to Buckeye's Smokehouse (BBQ!) on Ottawa Street on Friday night (I will be dedicating a blog post to this later), we woke up bright and (not) early on Saturday to explore Doors Open Hamilton.
We decided to hit Dundurn Castle first, given that we're new to the city and its a notable and much mentioned tourist attraction. Before I get in to specifics about Dundurn, let me just say that Doors Open Hamilton is a much more enjoyable experience to Doors Open Toronto, which we visited a few times while we were TO residents.
For example, a trip to check out the inside of the Royal York a couple of years ago resulted in a three-hour lineup for a brief (but still informative) walk around the hotel.
Getting into Dundurn Castle, however, was a breeze. We didn't show up until late morning, but had no trouble getting in, with no lineup to be found. (Don't get me wrong - there were loads of people meandering around the house and grounds, but it wasn't absurdly crowded).
We were greeted by staff in period costume, who gave us a brief history of Dundurn Castle along with a map, and sent us on our merry way to explore the three levels of the restored home of Sir Allan Napier MacNab (including a taste-test of homemade pickles and preserves from the estate's garden!) If you haven't been, I would recommend a visit - its not only fascinating from a historical perspective, but the grounds are beautiful, and a definite gem in Hamilton. While there, we also checked out the Military Museum on the grounds, which was also well done, and had lots of kid-related activities.
Elsewhere on the Doors Open Hamilton trail, we took a tour through Stinson School Lofts (well, the construction site, but its quite an impressive building) as well as 281 Herkimer St, built in 1919 (currently the offices of Marsales Real Estate, but once the Bank of Hamilton), complete with vaults still in place and an ancient bullet hole in the window!
In amongst all of this Doors Open fun, we managed to squeeze in a couple of visits to studios on the West Hamilton Artists Tour, not dissimilar from the art crawl, but held in the daytime and a bit quieter.
We, unfortunately, didn't make it to Jane's Walk in Hamilton, but I would be interested to hear how it went, as well as which Doors Open Hamilton sites were your faves!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Searching for sushi in Hamilton
As I've said before, hubby and I are far from being restaurant critics - but we do know a good meal/restaurant when we see one. One of our fave genres of food (other than the pre-requisite Southern BBQ) is sushi...as such, we are always on the lookout for a good sushi place to frequent in The Hammer.
In Toronto, we lived on a street with two sushi restaurants, literally right next to each other. (Yes, we were spoiled). And they were both fabulous. As such, any new sushi place we try in Hamilton has a lot to live up to.
Our first sushi experience in The Hammer ended up being the first week we were here. The oven/stove in our place broke (ugh) and we had to eat - we looked up sushi places on the net and found Sapporo - an all you can eat sushi extravaganza on Main Street. Incidentally, I had never been to all-I-could-eat sushi in my life, but have always been intrigued by the concept.
We decided to give it a try. Rather than being the buffet-style I expected, you can literally order anything and everything you desire from the menu, with no limits (I assume). Yes. Anything and EVERYTHING you want.
The only real problem is that while the restaurant may not have limits, I certainly do - you get full FAST. In spite of this, I still feel we got our money's worth - this is the only sushi place I've ever seen where I've been able to try all kinds of different sushi, sashimi, etc...for one set price. (Even the sushi places with the conveyer belts charge you per item!)
The parking at Sapporo was less than desirable, but we were willing to work with that. Also, the second time we went to Sapporo (a random Wednesday night), the place was PACKED (I think they had a Groupon-type offer on recently, but i concur...) I rarely consider a full restaurant to be a disadvantage, but rather a sign of quality/trendiness (or perhaps just good value). At the same time, waiting for a table at 8pm on a Wednesday night is annoying.
Other great Hamilton sushi places suggested to us include August 8,
Kasa Sushi, Spring Sushi, Koi Sushi and Atami Sushi. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some eating to do. (Incidentally, most of the sushi places in Hamilton seem to be all-you-can-eat. I'm loosening my belt as we speak!)
Feel free to leave your thoughts on fave sushi spots in Hamilton in the comments below :)
In Toronto, we lived on a street with two sushi restaurants, literally right next to each other. (Yes, we were spoiled). And they were both fabulous. As such, any new sushi place we try in Hamilton has a lot to live up to.
Our first sushi experience in The Hammer ended up being the first week we were here. The oven/stove in our place broke (ugh) and we had to eat - we looked up sushi places on the net and found Sapporo - an all you can eat sushi extravaganza on Main Street. Incidentally, I had never been to all-I-could-eat sushi in my life, but have always been intrigued by the concept.
We decided to give it a try. Rather than being the buffet-style I expected, you can literally order anything and everything you desire from the menu, with no limits (I assume). Yes. Anything and EVERYTHING you want.
The only real problem is that while the restaurant may not have limits, I certainly do - you get full FAST. In spite of this, I still feel we got our money's worth - this is the only sushi place I've ever seen where I've been able to try all kinds of different sushi, sashimi, etc...for one set price. (Even the sushi places with the conveyer belts charge you per item!)
The parking at Sapporo was less than desirable, but we were willing to work with that. Also, the second time we went to Sapporo (a random Wednesday night), the place was PACKED (I think they had a Groupon-type offer on recently, but i concur...) I rarely consider a full restaurant to be a disadvantage, but rather a sign of quality/trendiness (or perhaps just good value). At the same time, waiting for a table at 8pm on a Wednesday night is annoying.
Other great Hamilton sushi places suggested to us include August 8,
Kasa Sushi, Spring Sushi, Koi Sushi and Atami Sushi. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some eating to do. (Incidentally, most of the sushi places in Hamilton seem to be all-you-can-eat. I'm loosening my belt as we speak!)
Feel free to leave your thoughts on fave sushi spots in Hamilton in the comments below :)
Monday, April 4, 2011
Its coffee time in The Hammer, Part 2
My coffee tour of Hamilton continues. Although the last time I wrote about this I had scarcely ventured outside of the Locke Street Starbucks (which I enjoy, by the way), I am now slightly more versed on the java options available in The Hammer.
One of our most recent destinations was the Mulberry Street Coffee House - which hubby and I visited one Sunday afternoon after a particularly long open-house visiting session. It is housed in a beautiful building, with photography exhibited on the walls, eclectic, not your run of the mill chain and people were sitting and chatting, enjoying the atmosphere on a laid-back afternoon. We ordered and sat down to do the same.
I will caveat my comments about our trip to Mulberry with a bit of honesty. While we really did enjoy it, we did feel that perhaps we didn't exactly fit in here - it reminded us a lot of some of the artsy coffee houses in Toronto and us being a) not in our 20s anymore and b) not artists/photographers/crafty people and c) not overtly eclectic, we felt that we may have stuck out as being a bit plain and boring! lol. :) Having said that, I'm sure we will go back. It seems like a great addition to the James St. N neighbourhood. To move away from the atmosphere for a second, we enjoyed our coffee, but found the food to be a tad on the expensive side here as well.
Perhaps my favourite new coffee find was Locke St Bakery & Bagel. I decided to give this place a go one afternoon when I was looking to get some writing done outside of the house. It turned out to be a wonderful place to sit and get work done - the coffee & tea were great (and the cookies), the staff are extremely friendly, and they have wi-fi! (also, after the lunch rush finishes, its not too busy).
I've also been to P.A.M.'s in Jackson Square - the coffee was good, but I didn't stay long enough to get any work done there, so can't comment too much on the atmosphere.
Of course, none of these places are walking distance from where we're living at the moment. It does seem that this may not be a concern for much longer (and not just because we're looking to move soon!) I hear on Twitter that a coffee house is on its way to Ottawa Street this summer!
One of our most recent destinations was the Mulberry Street Coffee House - which hubby and I visited one Sunday afternoon after a particularly long open-house visiting session. It is housed in a beautiful building, with photography exhibited on the walls, eclectic, not your run of the mill chain and people were sitting and chatting, enjoying the atmosphere on a laid-back afternoon. We ordered and sat down to do the same.
I will caveat my comments about our trip to Mulberry with a bit of honesty. While we really did enjoy it, we did feel that perhaps we didn't exactly fit in here - it reminded us a lot of some of the artsy coffee houses in Toronto and us being a) not in our 20s anymore and b) not artists/photographers/crafty people and c) not overtly eclectic, we felt that we may have stuck out as being a bit plain and boring! lol. :) Having said that, I'm sure we will go back. It seems like a great addition to the James St. N neighbourhood. To move away from the atmosphere for a second, we enjoyed our coffee, but found the food to be a tad on the expensive side here as well.
Perhaps my favourite new coffee find was Locke St Bakery & Bagel. I decided to give this place a go one afternoon when I was looking to get some writing done outside of the house. It turned out to be a wonderful place to sit and get work done - the coffee & tea were great (and the cookies), the staff are extremely friendly, and they have wi-fi! (also, after the lunch rush finishes, its not too busy).
I've also been to P.A.M.'s in Jackson Square - the coffee was good, but I didn't stay long enough to get any work done there, so can't comment too much on the atmosphere.
Of course, none of these places are walking distance from where we're living at the moment. It does seem that this may not be a concern for much longer (and not just because we're looking to move soon!) I hear on Twitter that a coffee house is on its way to Ottawa Street this summer!
Monday, March 28, 2011
House hunting in The Hammer
Sorry for the delay in posting but we've been busy. Why, you ask? Well, the Hamilton House Hunt has officially begun. Yes, that's right - we're scouring The Hammer for our "perfect house" (if such a concept actually exists).
Because of our still fairly limited knowledge of Hamilton, we're keeping an open mind with respect to area, but I imagine our fave/preferred Hamilton neighbourhoods will come as no surprise to any of you, as they seem to be the same hoods that everyone else likes (I'm not going to get too specific - this is the internet after all!) :)
On the surface, as newbies to the city, this early house search (we've only been here two months) presents a challenge. Which neighbourhoods do we look at? Do we pay a bit more and be close to amenities, or save some money and drive everywhere? Where are the good schools for our future children to go to? What about dog parks? (and of course, coffee shops). Lots to consider.
That said, the endeavour is so far proving to be easier than our (failed) T-dot house/condo search of last year. For one, I was told not to expect a huge bidding war in The Hammer - welcome news to us, as this is what we now consider normal, thanks to Toronto.
Also, given Hamilton's size, we can look/keep our eye on a smaller area day to day, rather than having to keep tabs on MLS listings in a city the size of Toronto.
Needless to say, the house-buying dollars also go further in Hamilton.
Will keep you posted on my thoughts/musings as the Great Hamilton House Hunt continues...would also be interested to hear tips/thoughts from anybody who has gone through a Hamilton House Hunt of their own.
Because of our still fairly limited knowledge of Hamilton, we're keeping an open mind with respect to area, but I imagine our fave/preferred Hamilton neighbourhoods will come as no surprise to any of you, as they seem to be the same hoods that everyone else likes (I'm not going to get too specific - this is the internet after all!) :)
On the surface, as newbies to the city, this early house search (we've only been here two months) presents a challenge. Which neighbourhoods do we look at? Do we pay a bit more and be close to amenities, or save some money and drive everywhere? Where are the good schools for our future children to go to? What about dog parks? (and of course, coffee shops). Lots to consider.
That said, the endeavour is so far proving to be easier than our (failed) T-dot house/condo search of last year. For one, I was told not to expect a huge bidding war in The Hammer - welcome news to us, as this is what we now consider normal, thanks to Toronto.
Also, given Hamilton's size, we can look/keep our eye on a smaller area day to day, rather than having to keep tabs on MLS listings in a city the size of Toronto.
Needless to say, the house-buying dollars also go further in Hamilton.
Will keep you posted on my thoughts/musings as the Great Hamilton House Hunt continues...would also be interested to hear tips/thoughts from anybody who has gone through a Hamilton House Hunt of their own.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Art Crawling
Since arriving in Hamilton a few weeks ago, multiple people have taken the opportunity to tell us about the James Street North Art Crawl, and how great an event it is.
Silly me, I thought this Art Crawl was a summer event - you know, people strolling down the street, looking at art on a sunny summer's evening. Wrong. Much to our delight, its held on the second Friday of EVERY month!
Anyway, one Friday night earlier this month (the second Friday, obviously), we were sitting around, weighing our options for fun Hamilton things to do. Lo and behold, someone on Twitter reminded us about the art crawl. Perfect opportunity to check it out!
So, we headed down to James St. N. It was a chilly sort of evening, and there weren't too many people out and about....we initially wondered where the art crawl was...I thought it would be one of those Toronto-style events where they close off part of the street and throngs of people are wandering around (silly me, again! I don't think I've seen a throng of people since we've been here).
Anyway, after parking the car, we started to wander up James St. N, and went into the first art gallery we saw. It was full of people, talking, looking at art (obviously!) drinking wine and snacking. Wonderful! After soaking up the atmosphere there, we continued on our way, meandering through boutiques, musicians playing and even an art installation in what we assumed is usually an empty building. (Also fascinating to get a look inside these places from an urban design perspective, says my hubby).
Now, I'm not going to pretend to critique art here (definitely not my forte) - lets just say it was all very thought-provoking and interesting.
What I am equally as fascinated with is the art crawl concept itself. What better chance to get to know a part of Hamilton we had never been to, get a look inside several galleries in a short period of time, and interact with other appreciators of art. It was also through this crawl that we discovered the Mixed Media store, Mulberry Street Coffee House and Acclamation.
I didn't take any pictures while in the galleries (I didn't know if it was allowed and I didn't want to be THAT person!) but I can see us going back to this event again, perhaps on a warm summer's evening :)
Silly me, I thought this Art Crawl was a summer event - you know, people strolling down the street, looking at art on a sunny summer's evening. Wrong. Much to our delight, its held on the second Friday of EVERY month!
Anyway, one Friday night earlier this month (the second Friday, obviously), we were sitting around, weighing our options for fun Hamilton things to do. Lo and behold, someone on Twitter reminded us about the art crawl. Perfect opportunity to check it out!
So, we headed down to James St. N. It was a chilly sort of evening, and there weren't too many people out and about....we initially wondered where the art crawl was...I thought it would be one of those Toronto-style events where they close off part of the street and throngs of people are wandering around (silly me, again! I don't think I've seen a throng of people since we've been here).
Anyway, after parking the car, we started to wander up James St. N, and went into the first art gallery we saw. It was full of people, talking, looking at art (obviously!) drinking wine and snacking. Wonderful! After soaking up the atmosphere there, we continued on our way, meandering through boutiques, musicians playing and even an art installation in what we assumed is usually an empty building. (Also fascinating to get a look inside these places from an urban design perspective, says my hubby).
Now, I'm not going to pretend to critique art here (definitely not my forte) - lets just say it was all very thought-provoking and interesting.
What I am equally as fascinated with is the art crawl concept itself. What better chance to get to know a part of Hamilton we had never been to, get a look inside several galleries in a short period of time, and interact with other appreciators of art. It was also through this crawl that we discovered the Mixed Media store, Mulberry Street Coffee House and Acclamation.
I didn't take any pictures while in the galleries (I didn't know if it was allowed and I didn't want to be THAT person!) but I can see us going back to this event again, perhaps on a warm summer's evening :)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Experience Hamilton
We had a friend visiting from out of town on a recent weekend. After giving him a brief tour around The Hammer (which basically consisted of a quick spin in the car and a trip to Rolly Rockets), we headed to Niagara.
Our decision to get out of town for a day or two wasn't a slight against Hamilton - far from it. We just had plans to pay a visit to a few wineries :) And yes, even though Niagara is 30 minutes from our place (a definite perk of Hamilton!), we decided to take a mini vacation and stay over.
Anyway, nestled in between the usual "go behind the Falls" and "visit the house of Frankenstein" brochures in our hotel, I came across "Experience Hamilton" - a tourist booklet/brochure I was excited (and more than a little surprised) to see.
I've been outlining some of my finds over the last few weeks, and many people who live here don't need to be schooled on the benefits/gems of The Hammer. But somehow I feel tourists are a different story.
Before we moved here from Toronto, I would have been hard pressed to point anyone towards a Hamilton tourist attraction. I wonder what types of tourist attractions someone from Halifax, Montreal, or Vancouver expect to find in our fair city.
Looking at this particular brochure, I was initially a little worried - African Lion Safari was pictured on the cover. I too have fond memories of family trips through there as a child, but am I wrong in saying its actually outside of Hamilton itself?
Once you get past that sticking point, there actually is a wealth of info inside this particular brochure, detailing all the best parts of Hamilton.
Things I was excited to see in this brochure included:
- More info on Locke Street (we've paid many visits to Locke Street over the last six weeks, but before we moved here, we had no idea it existed (we found it randomly). I think this great street definitely needs to be pointed out to tourists.
- The brochure also talks about James St. N as being like Toronto's Queen West 35 years ago - we visited James St. N for the first time on Friday night (for the art crawl) and thought it had such a great vibe (I'll write more about the art crawl later!)
- Details on the Hamilton music scene
- Festivals like Festival of Friends, It's Your Festival (can't wait to check some of these out)
- How to use Hamilton as a "vacation-base" for trips around the Golden Horseshoe (I didn't know people did this, but it makes sense...)
Tourists aside, as a new Hamiltonian, I'm keeping this book handy so I can find my way around!
Our decision to get out of town for a day or two wasn't a slight against Hamilton - far from it. We just had plans to pay a visit to a few wineries :) And yes, even though Niagara is 30 minutes from our place (a definite perk of Hamilton!), we decided to take a mini vacation and stay over.
Anyway, nestled in between the usual "go behind the Falls" and "visit the house of Frankenstein" brochures in our hotel, I came across "Experience Hamilton" - a tourist booklet/brochure I was excited (and more than a little surprised) to see.
I've been outlining some of my finds over the last few weeks, and many people who live here don't need to be schooled on the benefits/gems of The Hammer. But somehow I feel tourists are a different story.
Before we moved here from Toronto, I would have been hard pressed to point anyone towards a Hamilton tourist attraction. I wonder what types of tourist attractions someone from Halifax, Montreal, or Vancouver expect to find in our fair city.
Looking at this particular brochure, I was initially a little worried - African Lion Safari was pictured on the cover. I too have fond memories of family trips through there as a child, but am I wrong in saying its actually outside of Hamilton itself?
Once you get past that sticking point, there actually is a wealth of info inside this particular brochure, detailing all the best parts of Hamilton.
Things I was excited to see in this brochure included:
- More info on Locke Street (we've paid many visits to Locke Street over the last six weeks, but before we moved here, we had no idea it existed (we found it randomly). I think this great street definitely needs to be pointed out to tourists.
- The brochure also talks about James St. N as being like Toronto's Queen West 35 years ago - we visited James St. N for the first time on Friday night (for the art crawl) and thought it had such a great vibe (I'll write more about the art crawl later!)
- Details on the Hamilton music scene
- Festivals like Festival of Friends, It's Your Festival (can't wait to check some of these out)
- How to use Hamilton as a "vacation-base" for trips around the Golden Horseshoe (I didn't know people did this, but it makes sense...)
Tourists aside, as a new Hamiltonian, I'm keeping this book handy so I can find my way around!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Its coffee time! But where should I go...
The part of Hamilton that we're calling home for the time-being (while we explore different neighbourhoods and consider our home-buying options) is not too far from the First Tim Horton's Ever.
Wow, exciting, right? This Canadian institution started just around the corner from where we live!
Needless to say, we've paid this landmark a visit. While this is kind of cool, I feel that it points to an alarming trend in The Hammer - many, many, many Tim Hortons and not too much else for the coffee lover. (I've even seen a gas station with a Tim's in it, next to a real Tim's...I mean, come on!)
Don't get me wrong - I love Timmies (doughnuts, sandwiches, coffee) but 1) as an avid coffee consumer and 2) a freelance writer who sometimes needs a break from the home office, I place great importance on both the taste of the coffee and the atmosphere of the coffee house. Lets face it - you can't work in Tims for hours like you can in some other coffee places (I think many of them have a 20-30 minute limit) and (as far as I know) they don't have wifi!
Since our arrival in Hamilton, something we noticed pretty much right off the bat was the lack of comfortable coffee spots(at least in the part of the city we live in). No nice coffee pubs to walk to - Tim Hortons and McD's being the only caffeine options nearby. Being sans-car most of the week, I've been pretty keen to find any nearby options that are available.
Putting the "walking distance" factor aside for a moment, my very first "real" non-Tim's coffee find in The Hammer was the welcome (but predictable) Starbucks on Locke Street - great atmosphere, has the wifi I need, but its the only Starbucks for miles. And its always full - which leads me to conclude that Hamilton is crying out for more Starbucks or similar!
On Family Day, we were in exploring-mode, so we decided to take a trip out to the Hamilton waterfront. I'll save my thoughts on the waterfront for another post (mainly because I want to compare what we saw in the winter to how it looks in the summertime!)
What I will talk about now, is the Williams Fresh Cafe. The place was humming (probably because it was Family Day). What stood out for me, however, was the atmosphere. Comfy, fireplace, wifi, decent view - the kind of place you could linger, write, catch up with friends, etc.. The only problem is, yep, you guessed it - its far away from where most people live (including me)- its really a haven for those with car access.
I also attended a really nice get-together with a group of Hamilton tweeters at Coffee Culture in Ancaster - this place was great (can't comment on the coffee too much, I had decaf!) but too far from me for regular visits.
Keep in mind - these are just my observations so far as a new Hamiltonian (I'm sure there are a few gems I have yet to find!) For example, I've heard from several people on Twitter that there are other great coffee options on Locke Street - namely the Locke Street Bakery. Can't wait to try it out. Also, Red Hill Coffee, Mulberry House on James St. and Free Trade in Westdale. I'm also purposely not mentioning anything on the mountain because a) we haven't tried any new places there (except Tim's) and b) its far from our place.
I'm going to put it out there right now - the East End of Hamilton needs more coffee houses (or at least one!) Either that, or we're going to have to move :) (or perhaps get another car? I'm trying to avoid that option.)
What are your suggestions around Hamilton for great coffee & atmosphere?
Wow, exciting, right? This Canadian institution started just around the corner from where we live!
Needless to say, we've paid this landmark a visit. While this is kind of cool, I feel that it points to an alarming trend in The Hammer - many, many, many Tim Hortons and not too much else for the coffee lover. (I've even seen a gas station with a Tim's in it, next to a real Tim's...I mean, come on!)
Don't get me wrong - I love Timmies (doughnuts, sandwiches, coffee) but 1) as an avid coffee consumer and 2) a freelance writer who sometimes needs a break from the home office, I place great importance on both the taste of the coffee and the atmosphere of the coffee house. Lets face it - you can't work in Tims for hours like you can in some other coffee places (I think many of them have a 20-30 minute limit) and (as far as I know) they don't have wifi!
Since our arrival in Hamilton, something we noticed pretty much right off the bat was the lack of comfortable coffee spots(at least in the part of the city we live in). No nice coffee pubs to walk to - Tim Hortons and McD's being the only caffeine options nearby. Being sans-car most of the week, I've been pretty keen to find any nearby options that are available.
Putting the "walking distance" factor aside for a moment, my very first "real" non-Tim's coffee find in The Hammer was the welcome (but predictable) Starbucks on Locke Street - great atmosphere, has the wifi I need, but its the only Starbucks for miles. And its always full - which leads me to conclude that Hamilton is crying out for more Starbucks or similar!
On Family Day, we were in exploring-mode, so we decided to take a trip out to the Hamilton waterfront. I'll save my thoughts on the waterfront for another post (mainly because I want to compare what we saw in the winter to how it looks in the summertime!)
What I will talk about now, is the Williams Fresh Cafe. The place was humming (probably because it was Family Day). What stood out for me, however, was the atmosphere. Comfy, fireplace, wifi, decent view - the kind of place you could linger, write, catch up with friends, etc.. The only problem is, yep, you guessed it - its far away from where most people live (including me)- its really a haven for those with car access.
I also attended a really nice get-together with a group of Hamilton tweeters at Coffee Culture in Ancaster - this place was great (can't comment on the coffee too much, I had decaf!) but too far from me for regular visits.
Keep in mind - these are just my observations so far as a new Hamiltonian (I'm sure there are a few gems I have yet to find!) For example, I've heard from several people on Twitter that there are other great coffee options on Locke Street - namely the Locke Street Bakery. Can't wait to try it out. Also, Red Hill Coffee, Mulberry House on James St. and Free Trade in Westdale. I'm also purposely not mentioning anything on the mountain because a) we haven't tried any new places there (except Tim's) and b) its far from our place.
I'm going to put it out there right now - the East End of Hamilton needs more coffee houses (or at least one!) Either that, or we're going to have to move :) (or perhaps get another car? I'm trying to avoid that option.)
What are your suggestions around Hamilton for great coffee & atmosphere?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Climbing the walls
By the title of this post, I don't mean I'm going crazy in Hamilton (well, maybe occasionally) - I mean we have literally been climbing.
Back in the T-Dot, we were avid gym-goers. Nothing wrong with that, right? The problem is that workout-wise, for the last couple of years, going to the gym (and sometimes running around the neighbourhood) was all we did.
Hubby and I recently decided that we would use this move to explore our different exercise options. We tried out a gym downtown for a couple of weeks - nothing wrong with it, but the parking was actually more complicated than our Toronto gym (!) and it wasn't quite as fancy, equipment-wise.
As a result, we've started looking into more niche choices. We explored the possibility of membership in a tennis club near us, for example. A good Yoga class is something else I'm hoping to locate. And on Saturday, we made an interesting impulse decision (about 20 minutes before the class started) to sign up for an indoor rock climbing lesson at Gravity Climbing Gym (on Frid Street).
I'll admit, this was hubby's idea - he was really into rock climbing a decade or so ago, and I thought (with some hesitation) that I'd give it a go as well.
We walk in - first think I notice is that, man, those walls are higher than I thought! Second - there are hand and food holds (whatever they're called) on the CEILING and third - there are nine year old kids in here, shimmying up the wall like its no big deal.
An hour or so of learning how to harness ourselves and tie the right knots and we're off - ready to climb the mountain (okay, maybe I'm being a big baby).
I went first, with hubby as the belayer. Surprisingly, if you're focused on the rocks and where you're going to step/hold next, its not that scary (ie: don't look down, or up.) Next, it was time for me to hold the rope (belay) as hubby climbed the wall....this part was actually scarier than climbing, although in actual fact, the rope's mechanism does all the real heavy lifting.
After a few more practice runs up the wall, it was turning into a real workout and three hours later, we were pros (well, not exactly, but definitely more comfortable with the whole heights thing.)
I was feeling pretty good about my wall-scaling (making it to the top on a couple of occasions and coming up just short on others because I felt I had climbed high enough!)until the instructor mentioned that a nine-year old kid had climbed in that same spot earlier, and made it to the top no problem! lol. I also failed to mention that there was a FOUR-year old child climbing beside us. Hubby tells me that its easier for kids - they have no fear. Once you have three-plus decades under your belt, the preconceived (irrational) fears can sometimes get the better of you!
I didn't take any photos while we were there, which I'm regretting now! I know we'll be going back though - I can see this becoming a semi-regular activity for us in The Hammer.
Back in the T-Dot, we were avid gym-goers. Nothing wrong with that, right? The problem is that workout-wise, for the last couple of years, going to the gym (and sometimes running around the neighbourhood) was all we did.
Hubby and I recently decided that we would use this move to explore our different exercise options. We tried out a gym downtown for a couple of weeks - nothing wrong with it, but the parking was actually more complicated than our Toronto gym (!) and it wasn't quite as fancy, equipment-wise.
As a result, we've started looking into more niche choices. We explored the possibility of membership in a tennis club near us, for example. A good Yoga class is something else I'm hoping to locate. And on Saturday, we made an interesting impulse decision (about 20 minutes before the class started) to sign up for an indoor rock climbing lesson at Gravity Climbing Gym (on Frid Street).
I'll admit, this was hubby's idea - he was really into rock climbing a decade or so ago, and I thought (with some hesitation) that I'd give it a go as well.
We walk in - first think I notice is that, man, those walls are higher than I thought! Second - there are hand and food holds (whatever they're called) on the CEILING and third - there are nine year old kids in here, shimmying up the wall like its no big deal.
An hour or so of learning how to harness ourselves and tie the right knots and we're off - ready to climb the mountain (okay, maybe I'm being a big baby).
I went first, with hubby as the belayer. Surprisingly, if you're focused on the rocks and where you're going to step/hold next, its not that scary (ie: don't look down, or up.) Next, it was time for me to hold the rope (belay) as hubby climbed the wall....this part was actually scarier than climbing, although in actual fact, the rope's mechanism does all the real heavy lifting.
After a few more practice runs up the wall, it was turning into a real workout and three hours later, we were pros (well, not exactly, but definitely more comfortable with the whole heights thing.)
I was feeling pretty good about my wall-scaling (making it to the top on a couple of occasions and coming up just short on others because I felt I had climbed high enough!)until the instructor mentioned that a nine-year old kid had climbed in that same spot earlier, and made it to the top no problem! lol. I also failed to mention that there was a FOUR-year old child climbing beside us. Hubby tells me that its easier for kids - they have no fear. Once you have three-plus decades under your belt, the preconceived (irrational) fears can sometimes get the better of you!
I didn't take any photos while we were there, which I'm regretting now! I know we'll be going back though - I can see this becoming a semi-regular activity for us in The Hammer.
Friday, February 25, 2011
The great Hamilton BBQ search
I wouldn’t say we’re Southern BBQ connoisseurs. Well, let me rephrase that – I’M not a Southern BBQ connoisseur, but my hubby is. He grew up in the Southern United States, where biscuits, pulled pork and all that good stuff are staples - standard dinner fare.
When living in Toronto, we stumbled upon a southern BBQ place that would fast become our favourite restaurant/general hang out place – we took all our friends there, out-of-towners, family, you name it. Highway 61 on Bayview Ave. became our favourite go-to spot (especially on Monday nights) for its cheap beer, live blues and excellent BBQ.
I’ll admit, of all the things I knew I'd miss about Toronto, not being able to go to Highway 61 regularly was definitely one of them. (Call me sad!)
Needless to say, finding an equivalent (or even somewhere half as good) as 61 became a priority for us early on in our Hamilton experience.
Last week, driving up Locke Street, we stumbled upon Rolly Rockets. Not much to look at from the outside, but it had parking and a neat slogan (“We Put The South In Your Mouth”), so we decided to give it a try.
Rolly Rockets doesn’t have the “take a seat and a server will be right with you” feel of Highway 61. Instead, you order at the bar, and make yourself comfortable at one of the picnic tables while you wait.
Hubby assures me that this is what a “real” southern BBQ place should look like.
We ordered our ribs (which, incidentally came with fries, coleslaw and beans! One bonus point for Rolly Rockets.) and sat down.
The food arrived, and it was….Delicious! In actual fact, these were some of the best ribs we’ve had in awhile. (Two bonus points for Rolly Rockets).
After we had finished, the owner (or it may have been the manager...)came over and asked us how our meal was. He explained that the restaurant has been open for about a year, and told us about all of the different events held there (Karaoke Fridays for example!) and generally made us feel very at home and welcome. (Three bonus points for Rolly Rockets, and we’re sold.)
As my hubby said, I think we may have found our new 61 - but that said, we're definitely still on the lookout for more BBQ gems in the Hamilton area.
When living in Toronto, we stumbled upon a southern BBQ place that would fast become our favourite restaurant/general hang out place – we took all our friends there, out-of-towners, family, you name it. Highway 61 on Bayview Ave. became our favourite go-to spot (especially on Monday nights) for its cheap beer, live blues and excellent BBQ.
I’ll admit, of all the things I knew I'd miss about Toronto, not being able to go to Highway 61 regularly was definitely one of them. (Call me sad!)
Needless to say, finding an equivalent (or even somewhere half as good) as 61 became a priority for us early on in our Hamilton experience.
Last week, driving up Locke Street, we stumbled upon Rolly Rockets. Not much to look at from the outside, but it had parking and a neat slogan (“We Put The South In Your Mouth”), so we decided to give it a try.
Rolly Rockets doesn’t have the “take a seat and a server will be right with you” feel of Highway 61. Instead, you order at the bar, and make yourself comfortable at one of the picnic tables while you wait.
Hubby assures me that this is what a “real” southern BBQ place should look like.
We ordered our ribs (which, incidentally came with fries, coleslaw and beans! One bonus point for Rolly Rockets.) and sat down.
The food arrived, and it was….Delicious! In actual fact, these were some of the best ribs we’ve had in awhile. (Two bonus points for Rolly Rockets).
After we had finished, the owner (or it may have been the manager...)came over and asked us how our meal was. He explained that the restaurant has been open for about a year, and told us about all of the different events held there (Karaoke Fridays for example!) and generally made us feel very at home and welcome. (Three bonus points for Rolly Rockets, and we’re sold.)
As my hubby said, I think we may have found our new 61 - but that said, we're definitely still on the lookout for more BBQ gems in the Hamilton area.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Are we home yet?
Last weekend marked our first real foray back to Toronto since the big winter move to The Hammer a few weeks ago. I must confess, although I am enjoying my new city, the T-dot still has that familiar feeling of home. It’s comfortable, we know people and we know instantly where to go to get whatever food or services we need. (I’m not naïve though – I do know that it takes awhile to gain that level of comfort. Heck, it took us a year or two to really enjoy Toronto after having been overseas for a few years.)
Having said that, there are some sure-fire signs that I am slowly becoming Hamiltonian. Several things in Toronto really drove me crazy after a few weeks of being in Hamilton, namely:
a) the driving
b) the parking situation (i.e., none)
c) too many people (everywhere we went)
Another sure sign that we are slowly entering a comfort level in our new home would have to be our quick defence and promotion of Hamilton when we’re around Torontonians.
At a party on Saturday night downtown, we found ourselves in deep conversation with several urban professionals (mostly city planning types) about Hamilton, its potential, how it is probably one of the last affordable and commutable places in the GTA, and its general up-and-comingness. Surprisingly, among this group, not much coercion was needed – they were all on board with our thoughts on Hamilton, and also shared our thoughts on the fact that Toronto has really become too expensive for our generation.
The question is, will more of them actually take the plunge and move here over the next few years?
Having said that, there are some sure-fire signs that I am slowly becoming Hamiltonian. Several things in Toronto really drove me crazy after a few weeks of being in Hamilton, namely:
a) the driving
b) the parking situation (i.e., none)
c) too many people (everywhere we went)
Another sure sign that we are slowly entering a comfort level in our new home would have to be our quick defence and promotion of Hamilton when we’re around Torontonians.
At a party on Saturday night downtown, we found ourselves in deep conversation with several urban professionals (mostly city planning types) about Hamilton, its potential, how it is probably one of the last affordable and commutable places in the GTA, and its general up-and-comingness. Surprisingly, among this group, not much coercion was needed – they were all on board with our thoughts on Hamilton, and also shared our thoughts on the fact that Toronto has really become too expensive for our generation.
The question is, will more of them actually take the plunge and move here over the next few years?
Friday, February 18, 2011
“CLiC”-ing in Hamilton
Earlier this week, a contact on Twitter told my husband about a CLiC get-together at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, happening on Thursday night. For those who haven’t heard of CLiC, it is - and I quote - “a fresh collective of like minded individuals under 45, coming together with the Art Gallery of Hamilton to create an awareness of art, culture and community.” (I have to admit, I was pretty excited about the idea of this event from the moment I heard about it.)
Now – like it or not, Hamilton still has a certain reputation that precedes it (in Toronto and elsewhere) for being Steeltown – rather rugged, slightly down on its luck and perhaps a poorer cousin of the T-dot. Whether this is still true or not is up for debate.
That said, something I’ve constantly heard since we got here (mostly from Hamiltonians on Twitter, but also others out and about) is that the city has a rapidly growing and thriving artsy and cultural side. From my own POV, I have to say, the more I explore the city, the more I’m seeing it.
Case in point: The CLiC event. According to its website, the group gets together seasonally for “signature social evenings” as well as monthly receptions including exhibition tours with curators and artists, film presentations, and performances “with a welcoming social atmosphere for meeting other people from the area.”
Well, that’s me sold. Being:
a) under 45
b) in a creative profession (writer), and
c) itching to meet people in our new city,
I was practically salivating when I got wind of an event like this (as an aside – I’ve found that Twitter is unparalleled for people trying to make their way in a new city, in terms of finding interesting things to do and see – a little shoutout to the #Hamont tweeters, who have been especially welcoming and knowledgeable. We would have never heard of this event/group, had it not been for Twitter.)
Anyway, back to the event. This month’s theme was Quebec Winter Carnaval, and the venue was decked out as such – Quebec-themed food (think tourtiere), paper snowflakes, the northern lights projected onto a screen, a Bay blanket – you get the idea. It looked great. (There were also tours available of the Diane Landry: The Defibrillators exhibit).
While its always daunting entering a room full of strangers and striking up a conversation, the hubby and I found that everyone was super friendly and welcoming at CLiC. We met loads of people – transplanted Torontonians, lifelong Hamiltonians, people in our fields, people out of our fields, but we all had something in common (the desire to see this different side of Hamilton and to meet new people).
People's suggestions at this event led me in two separate directions, in terms of other things we can get involved with/explore here. The first obviously involves other art/cultural events in the area. At CLiC, we heard about the Art Crawl from several people, all raving about it - this is something we will definitely be checking out.
The other involves groups for young professionals. It turns out that there are quite a few in Hamilton: GenNext and Hype sound particularly interesting to me. I should probably note that art and professional networking are not all hubby and I are looking to do in this city - occassionally stopping by the Legion (he's a veteran) and finding great Southern BBQ places are two of our other pastimes :) We'll discuss those two topics another day...
Now – like it or not, Hamilton still has a certain reputation that precedes it (in Toronto and elsewhere) for being Steeltown – rather rugged, slightly down on its luck and perhaps a poorer cousin of the T-dot. Whether this is still true or not is up for debate.
That said, something I’ve constantly heard since we got here (mostly from Hamiltonians on Twitter, but also others out and about) is that the city has a rapidly growing and thriving artsy and cultural side. From my own POV, I have to say, the more I explore the city, the more I’m seeing it.
Case in point: The CLiC event. According to its website, the group gets together seasonally for “signature social evenings” as well as monthly receptions including exhibition tours with curators and artists, film presentations, and performances “with a welcoming social atmosphere for meeting other people from the area.”
Well, that’s me sold. Being:
a) under 45
b) in a creative profession (writer), and
c) itching to meet people in our new city,
I was practically salivating when I got wind of an event like this (as an aside – I’ve found that Twitter is unparalleled for people trying to make their way in a new city, in terms of finding interesting things to do and see – a little shoutout to the #Hamont tweeters, who have been especially welcoming and knowledgeable. We would have never heard of this event/group, had it not been for Twitter.)
Anyway, back to the event. This month’s theme was Quebec Winter Carnaval, and the venue was decked out as such – Quebec-themed food (think tourtiere), paper snowflakes, the northern lights projected onto a screen, a Bay blanket – you get the idea. It looked great. (There were also tours available of the Diane Landry: The Defibrillators exhibit).
While its always daunting entering a room full of strangers and striking up a conversation, the hubby and I found that everyone was super friendly and welcoming at CLiC. We met loads of people – transplanted Torontonians, lifelong Hamiltonians, people in our fields, people out of our fields, but we all had something in common (the desire to see this different side of Hamilton and to meet new people).
People's suggestions at this event led me in two separate directions, in terms of other things we can get involved with/explore here. The first obviously involves other art/cultural events in the area. At CLiC, we heard about the Art Crawl from several people, all raving about it - this is something we will definitely be checking out.
The other involves groups for young professionals. It turns out that there are quite a few in Hamilton: GenNext and Hype sound particularly interesting to me. I should probably note that art and professional networking are not all hubby and I are looking to do in this city - occassionally stopping by the Legion (he's a veteran) and finding great Southern BBQ places are two of our other pastimes :) We'll discuss those two topics another day...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Hamilton Farmer's Market, re-designed edition
So, we paid a visit to the new, re-designed Hamilton Farmer's Market on Saturday.
Keep in mind - I have no point of reference for the "re-vamped" Hamilton Farmer's Market (HFM), as I never saw the old farmer's market. In doing some research though, it seems to have a long and interesting history.
(the article calls it "a magnet and an anchor"...given its location and appeal, I can understand that!)
Things I like about the market include:
1) Brightness and openness. Now, I'm no design guru or anything, but a dark windowless farmer's market would never make sense to me. I like the bright, fresh, open look of the HFM, and the Birks Clock in the centre was wonderful to look at (we were staring at it, as were tons of other people!) FYI, for anyone not familiar with the Birks Clock, here's an informative article I found on the subject.
2)The traffic level. Nothing drives me crazier than too much hustle and bustle when you're trying to browse, select and buy food (ahem, St. Lawrence Market on a Saturday!) As I was saying to my hubby, HFM was busy enough that you're not wondering where everyone is, but not busy enough to make you lose your mind on a Saturday.
3)Samples! To me, this is one of the marks of a good farmer's market - the availability to taste-test some of the fresh wares you're interested in buying. There were enough samples on hand at the HFM (chocolate, specifically!) to make me happy.
4)Location, location location. How can you beat a farmer's market literally right in the heart of the city? Also (and this may sound funny), but I am in favour of the market being attached to the library and Jackson Square. Let me tell you - on a cold Saturday, less required walking outside is welcome!
5)Obviously, the food. We loaded up on meat & veggies for the week, and the prices were incredibly reasonable (especially for meat). Some of the veggies had seen better days, but I anticipate this is a result of it being February in Ontario. We hope to make heading to the HFM a regular event - I'm especially interested to see what comes into the market during the summer/harvest time.
We also recently heard that there's a farmer's market on Ottawa Street, which is also open year-round. We'll be checking this one out as well.
Keep in mind - I have no point of reference for the "re-vamped" Hamilton Farmer's Market (HFM), as I never saw the old farmer's market. In doing some research though, it seems to have a long and interesting history.
(the article calls it "a magnet and an anchor"...given its location and appeal, I can understand that!)
Things I like about the market include:
1) Brightness and openness. Now, I'm no design guru or anything, but a dark windowless farmer's market would never make sense to me. I like the bright, fresh, open look of the HFM, and the Birks Clock in the centre was wonderful to look at (we were staring at it, as were tons of other people!) FYI, for anyone not familiar with the Birks Clock, here's an informative article I found on the subject.
2)The traffic level. Nothing drives me crazier than too much hustle and bustle when you're trying to browse, select and buy food (ahem, St. Lawrence Market on a Saturday!) As I was saying to my hubby, HFM was busy enough that you're not wondering where everyone is, but not busy enough to make you lose your mind on a Saturday.
3)Samples! To me, this is one of the marks of a good farmer's market - the availability to taste-test some of the fresh wares you're interested in buying. There were enough samples on hand at the HFM (chocolate, specifically!) to make me happy.
4)Location, location location. How can you beat a farmer's market literally right in the heart of the city? Also (and this may sound funny), but I am in favour of the market being attached to the library and Jackson Square. Let me tell you - on a cold Saturday, less required walking outside is welcome!
5)Obviously, the food. We loaded up on meat & veggies for the week, and the prices were incredibly reasonable (especially for meat). Some of the veggies had seen better days, but I anticipate this is a result of it being February in Ontario. We hope to make heading to the HFM a regular event - I'm especially interested to see what comes into the market during the summer/harvest time.
We also recently heard that there's a farmer's market on Ottawa Street, which is also open year-round. We'll be checking this one out as well.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Food, glorious food
Its still freezing out, which means those yummy fruit + veggie stands I mentioned earlier (you know, the ones in Vineland, Beamsville, Niagara) obviously have yet to open for the season. While I chomp at the bit for that time of year to arrive, we still have to get our nice, fresh food somewhere.I'm looking forward to checking out the revamped Hamilton Farmer's Market this weekend, and will report back with my thoughts (and maybe a photo or two!). http://www.hamilton.ca/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonFarmersMarket/
For staples though, we've been going to No Frills over the last couple of weeks (I can confirm, its the same as the No Frills in Toronto or anywhere else for that matter....) you know - basic and cheap.
However, one welcome find (to us, anyway) was the random discovery of Lococo's on Barton Street http://www.lococos.ca/ ....we were driving around last weekend and there it was...being curious types, hubby and I decided to check it out.
I was confused at first - Lococo's seemed like a strange hybrid of Costco and Sobeys to me (ie: not quite sure what it was trying to be), and we (perhaps naively!) were fully expecting to have to take out a Costco-like membership before checking out. We were surprised to learn that it is actually a fruit/veggie wholesaler, open to the public (hence, the giant portions of meat!) and very reasonably priced. The veggie selection is also excellent (I think a lot of it is local as well.)
We've had to try out a few restaurants so far, as a result of the unfortunate breaking-down of the oven in our temporary rental place (we'll talk restaurants and Hamilton house-hunting in later posts). For now, the grocery quest continues.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on great grocery stores in Hamilton (for staples or fresh stuff!)
For staples though, we've been going to No Frills over the last couple of weeks (I can confirm, its the same as the No Frills in Toronto or anywhere else for that matter....) you know - basic and cheap.
However, one welcome find (to us, anyway) was the random discovery of Lococo's on Barton Street http://www.lococos.ca/ ....we were driving around last weekend and there it was...being curious types, hubby and I decided to check it out.
I was confused at first - Lococo's seemed like a strange hybrid of Costco and Sobeys to me (ie: not quite sure what it was trying to be), and we (perhaps naively!) were fully expecting to have to take out a Costco-like membership before checking out. We were surprised to learn that it is actually a fruit/veggie wholesaler, open to the public (hence, the giant portions of meat!) and very reasonably priced. The veggie selection is also excellent (I think a lot of it is local as well.)
We've had to try out a few restaurants so far, as a result of the unfortunate breaking-down of the oven in our temporary rental place (we'll talk restaurants and Hamilton house-hunting in later posts). For now, the grocery quest continues.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on great grocery stores in Hamilton (for staples or fresh stuff!)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Where to go, where to go....
One thing hubby and I are both pretty excited about is the opportunity for "discovery" in our new city - finding new favourites in everything from the basics (a nice grocery store, for example) to restaurants to touristy sites and places to spend our free time (especially as spring and summer approach - I can't say there's much incentive to get out and explore in -15 degrees).
In Toronto, it was easy. We were there for awhile, we knew where we liked to go and we had seasonal favourites.
Hamilton is a bit more of a challenge. Sure, we like going to wineries and the Niagara region in general, and will definitely be doing some of that. But what about Hamilton itself? Surely there are interesting things to explore here? So far, we've ventured as far as Lime Ridge Mall and the movie theatre....fun, yes - but you can visit these in any suburb/city. We're on the hunt for some Hamilton-exclusive gems.
I'll be talking about our hunt for new favourite spots in this blog - but lets start with exciting places to visit in The Hammer (tourist attractions, if you will).
So far, I've relied on my friends who spent their university years here to give me their initial recommendations. Something I was surprised to hear is that there's a castle in Hamilton - check it out: http://www.hamilton.ca/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonCivicMuseums/Dundurn/Dundurn_Castle.htm
An acquantaince who grew up in Dundas, ON also told us about the "Rail Trail" - a 32k hiking and biking trail, which looks fantastic: http://www.grandriver.ca/index/document.cfm?Sec=21&Sub1=86&sub2=0
Also, coincidentally, the Hamilton Air Show is coming back this summer, after a 10-year absence. (Egotistically, I said to hubby that this decision was made in order to welcome us to town....he, of course, rolled his eyes :)) http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/477559--hamilton-air-show-returns-after-10-years
As a big fan of Toronto's St. Lawrence Market, the grand re-opening of Hamilton Farmer's Market also excites me. I can safely say this is something we'll be checking out - will report back later with my thoughts. http://www.hamilton.ca/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonFarmersMarket/
Anyway, these are the things I've found so far in our short time here - I would be interested in hearing any suggestions from other Hamiltonians on fun things to explore in the city.
So, safe to say, it will be a spring full of discovery, from the mundane to the exciting....hope you'll join me as I share my thoughts on it all.
In Toronto, it was easy. We were there for awhile, we knew where we liked to go and we had seasonal favourites.
Hamilton is a bit more of a challenge. Sure, we like going to wineries and the Niagara region in general, and will definitely be doing some of that. But what about Hamilton itself? Surely there are interesting things to explore here? So far, we've ventured as far as Lime Ridge Mall and the movie theatre....fun, yes - but you can visit these in any suburb/city. We're on the hunt for some Hamilton-exclusive gems.
I'll be talking about our hunt for new favourite spots in this blog - but lets start with exciting places to visit in The Hammer (tourist attractions, if you will).
So far, I've relied on my friends who spent their university years here to give me their initial recommendations. Something I was surprised to hear is that there's a castle in Hamilton - check it out: http://www.hamilton.ca/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonCivicMuseums/Dundurn/Dundurn_Castle.htm
An acquantaince who grew up in Dundas, ON also told us about the "Rail Trail" - a 32k hiking and biking trail, which looks fantastic: http://www.grandriver.ca/index/document.cfm?Sec=21&Sub1=86&sub2=0
Also, coincidentally, the Hamilton Air Show is coming back this summer, after a 10-year absence. (Egotistically, I said to hubby that this decision was made in order to welcome us to town....he, of course, rolled his eyes :)) http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/477559--hamilton-air-show-returns-after-10-years
As a big fan of Toronto's St. Lawrence Market, the grand re-opening of Hamilton Farmer's Market also excites me. I can safely say this is something we'll be checking out - will report back later with my thoughts. http://www.hamilton.ca/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonFarmersMarket/
Anyway, these are the things I've found so far in our short time here - I would be interested in hearing any suggestions from other Hamiltonians on fun things to explore in the city.
So, safe to say, it will be a spring full of discovery, from the mundane to the exciting....hope you'll join me as I share my thoughts on it all.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
It's Hamilton, not Siberia
So a typical reaction to us telling someone we're moving to Hamilton
MY new reaction to this is to tell people that I Google-mapped the journey from T.O. to Hamilton Toronto Oshawa Newmarket Whitby Hamilton
In the interests of education (and generally proving to friends and family that we’re still close by!) here are some interesting facts I’ve recently learned (via Wikipedia) about my new home city:
- Hamilton’s metropolitan area is the ninth largest in Canada and the third largest in Ontario
- There are an insane amount of waterfalls here, apparently
- Hamilton is the mid-point between Toronto and Buffalo
- We’re not alone in wanting to move here: Environics Analytics apparently sees a future Hamilton with younger upscale Hamiltonians choosing to live in the downtown and surrounding areas rather than just visiting.
- Hamilton is expected to grow by more than 28,000 people by next year.
The moral of this story: We’re not that far. Public transit can and will get you here, and you can come to Hamilton to eat/drink/generally hang out, just as we will (occasionally) come to Toronto to do the same J Can’t wait to acquaint more people with this town!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Hamilton, population 505,000 + 2
“Toronto HAMILTON
True, it’s not a typical move, as a Toronto Toronto Hamilton
I know for most people, Toronto Toronto
Something donned on us last summer when we were driving back from a weekend in Niagara on the backroads. The houses were lovely. The fruit stands were tasty. The wineries were nearby. We thought, these people have it figured out. Later, looking up houses on the internet, we were blown away by how reasonable everything was. The plan was originally to look into moving to St. Catharines
Won’t bore you with the details, but here we are, half a year later – hubby has a new job in Hamilton
I hope you’ll follow me as we explore all that Hamilton
H.
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