Food trucks, glorious food trucks

So there's this show on the Food Network that always makes me hungry. Its called Eat St. and essentially, they go around the U.S. and Canada visiting amazing food trucks and profiling their delicacies - everything from Mexican to gourmet chicken wings to vegetarian cuisine, all at a street corner near you.

The food on there always looks so gourmet, so fresh, so different from the ordinary (these 'food truck chefs' seem to always come up with their own sauces, their unique spin on dishes and like to use fresh ingredients.)

All this to say that, aside from ice cream/fry trucks, I don't think I'd ever seen one of the new generation of food trucks - until I moved to Hamilton.

Our first interaction with Hamilton's burgeoning food truck scene was last summer at the Festival of Friends in Ancaster. The newest and most popular kid on the block, Gorilla Cheese, was there (the name of this truck is fantastic). Hubby, of course, had to partake (sadly, I don't eat cheese so I probably won't ever get to taste the delicacy that is Gorilla Cheese, unless they can throw together some lactose-free variety!) Needless to say, he agreed with all of the praise other people had heaped on Gorilla's version of these classic sandwiches.

We then started to notice more and more 'food trucks' around Hamilton - such a noticeable change from Toronto, where I don't think I had even seen one (apart from the aforementioned fry/hotdog/ice cream vans). In Hamilton, we even noticed bakery food trucks parked outside of the mall - I mean, who doesn't want a cupcake when they're shopping on a Saturday morning?!

I know its not exclusively a Hamilton thing, but this city does seem to have more than its share of these delicacies on wheels (as evidenced by the Sew Hungry event that pops up every so often on Ottawa Street - we keep missing out on this one, but apparently, we didn't have to wait for this event to experience a whole crew of food trucks in one spot!)

Essentially, hubby found out via Twitter last week that several food trucks were gathering in a certain spot on the mountain and we got in the car and headed out there. Yes, recently, we went to our first gathering of food trucks and had dinner. A good number of trucks showed up to the event, including one serving Schnitzel, another offering Greek food, a couple of BBQ/Southern trucks and of course, Gorilla Cheese.

We opted to try out one of the newer food trucks - Dirty South. I chose the chicken tacos, while hubby had a pulled pork sandwich - they do have an awesome looking chicken sandwich made with WAFFLES - but neither of us felt we could handle it that day! Anyway, the food was great, the place was packed and it was great to see so many Hamiltonians gathering to try out the tasty local food truck fare for dinner. Other than the cupcake truck (which is so yum!) Dirty South might be my new fave restaurant on wheels.

A few days later, we ran into more food trucks at the Dundas Cactus Festival (which I'll talk about in another post), but if you have a fave local food truck, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

First impressions, continued...

Now that we've been here for more than a year and are immersed in Hamilton on a daily basis , I sometimes forget that initial feeling of shock and surprise that some people (from Toronto, mainly) have when they come to the Hammer (usually for the first time) and discover how nice some of the neighbourhoods are.

Seeing that moment where people file away their preconceived notions of what they thought Hamilton was all about and replace them with visions of how nice the houses are and how great some of the amenities we have here are is pretty gratifying for those of us who chose to move here, enjoy the city and work hard to show people how nice it really is.

Since Christmas, we have had a steady stream of visitors from various parts of Canada, including the Big Smoke, stop by to see our new place, and we always take the opportunity to show off our new city. And we try to show it all - everything from a walk down Locke Street to a drive to the waterfront, up James Street and across Barton Street.

The overwhelming consensus is that no one knew that places like Locke Street and James Street North existed here (in fact, one recent visitor who grew up in Brantford said that he wasn't aware that Hamilton had neighbourhoods like Durand and Kirkendall).

I've discussed, at length, our great Hamilton discoveries over the last few months, but in no particular order, the things that seem to most often seem to turn other people's opinions/prejudices of Hamilton on their heads are:

- how historic the homes are (and how reasonably priced), the gorgeous architecture and the community feel in many of the city's neighbourhoods.

- the calibre of Hamilton's food scene always floors people. We always make a point of taking visitors out to one of the city's unique restaurants (think Bread Bar or Wass or even Rolly Rockets), with one visitor saying she had the best sandwich she had ever had IN HER LIFE at one of these establishments. We know that they are up there with the best that other large cities have to offer.

- Hamilton's cultural scene. Yes, we have an Art Gallery and there are loads of festivals and cultural events in the Hammer all year long. You don't need to drive into Toronto to experience art, concerts, culture and festivals.

More friends from far-off places are sure to be stopping by this summer and I'm sure we will hear many more positive 'first impressions' of our city (and, of course, I'm sure we will continue to find new Hamilton gems and favourite spots ourselves!)

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 :)

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!

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 :)