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.

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?

“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...

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.

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!)

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.

It's Hamilton, not Siberia

So a typical reaction to us telling someone we're moving to Hamilton is almost the same as the response I got when I told people I was moving overseas several years ago - something to the effect of “oh my god, I hope we’ll still get to see you”!

MY new reaction to this is to tell people that I Google-mapped the journey from T.O. to Hamilton, and it is 70-ish kilometres from the city, or 45 minutes to an hour away, depending on how fast you’re driving. Roughly the same distance from Toronto as Oshawa to the east. (We’re also at the end of the GO Train line, just like the Shwa).  The funny thing is, when people move within the GTA itself (lets say, to Newmarket or Whitby), I don’t think they get the same reaction. Hamilton seems to evoke strange feelings from Torontonians – my initial thought is that most people just don’t know much about it. I’ll confess, I was one of those people.

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!

Hamilton, population 505,000 + 2

“Toronto to HAMILTON”? said the guy installing our phone line this week.

True, it’s not a typical move, as a Toronto friend who went to McMaster told me recently. Young professional people from Toronto (pop. 2.5 million) apparently don’t just up and move to Hamilton (pop. 505,000) en masse. But that’s exactly what we’ve just done. My husband and I, both in our early 30s, have left the big smoke for Steeltown.

I know for most people, Toronto is the end goal. Believe me, I’ve been there, having grown up in the suburbs. But staying in Toronto was never really in the cards for us. I mean, unless you’re a banker, doctor or some other highly-paid professional, what the hell can you afford to buy? For us, me: freelance journalist and him: environmental professional, all we could really afford was either 1) a teeny house badly in need of renos or 2)a 400sq foot box in the sky…and after living and working in such a space for the last five years, we’re officially over it.

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 or the Niagara Region.

Won’t bore you with the details, but here we are, half a year later – hubby has a new job in Hamilton and we’ve just braved a winter move to relocate to the slightly smaller smoke.

I hope you’ll follow me as we explore all that Hamilton has to offer – from a former Torontonian’s point of view. I’m almost certain there are others in The Hammer just like us – can’t wait to hear your experiences and advice as we find our way here.

H.