WENDEL CLARKS CLASSIC GRILL

380 Brant Street, Burlington, On., (905) 633-9217, Lunch, Dinner, Late Night

Went to Wendel Clarks on Brant Street for dinner on Tuesday evening for my son Thomas's (http://rebuildhamilton.com/) birthday.  This was my second visit here.  When we arrived we were ushered to a booth on the main floor (there are two floors here).  

We reviewed the menus and started with a couple of draft beers.  They were cold and refreshing. 

We decided to start with a couple of appetizers, so we ordered calamari.

We also ordered tempura shrimp in a Thai sauce.

For our mains Thomas (birthday boy) ordered the pulled pork sandwich with mashed potatoes.

I ordered the same sandwich with an accompanying caesar salad (which I had tried on a previous visit).  This time the sandwich tasted like it had a different flavour which seemed odd.  The caesar was just an ordinary caesar.

Katie, my son's girlfriend, had the Wendel burger which included cheddar, bacon and an large onion ring.  She also ordered the sweet potato fries.

My wife ordered the Haddock Crunch with chips.  It was big on crunch but little on haddock!

The meals were rather ordinary in a restaurant that was more like a recreation room filled with Wendell Clark mounted photos and televisions.  The service was rather slow and some of our food did not arrive hot.

http://www.wendelclarks.com/index.php

CHARRED ROTISSERIE HOUSE 

244 James St. North, Hamilton, On. (289) 396 - 0662 , Lunch and Dinner Mon. - Sat.

On a blustery rainy Saturday afternoon my sons Mark (http://www.markallenrealty.ca/) and Thomas (http://rebuildhamilton.com/) and I decided to try a new restaurant on James Street North in Hamilton.  It features charcoal rotisserie chicken and piri piri sauce. It is located in a rapidly changing community of restaurants, bars and art galleries.

There is a chalkboard menu on the exposed brick wall that can be a bit confusing, but they hand you a simplified version on entry.

The interior space is clean and simple in design.

My son Mark decided on their Pulled Charred Chicken Sandwich with peppers and onions, topped with aged cheddar homemade piri piri mayo and cilantro ($7 plus $3 with fries and coke).  The sandwich was tender, tasty and filling.  

My son Thomas and I decided on the 1/2 chicken with fries and a coke.

The chicken was juicy, tender and very good.  The piri piri sauce was a little bland.  The bread was fresh and the fries were great ($13).  Charred has a nice atmosphere, great chicken and worth a visit. The people are friendly here and the prices are reasonable.  We will definitely come back for more delicious chicken.

http://charred.ca/

NERVOSA TRATTORIA 

75 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto On., M5R 3V6, (416) 961-4642, Open for Lunch and Dinner

We went to Nervosa for an early dinner before exploring Nuit Blanche on Saturday evening in Toronto.  We were brought upstairs to the balcony where we could overlook the street.

Upon arriving at our seat, which had a great view of the heart of Yorkville, a basket of fresh bread arrived at our table.

After reviewing the menu, I decided to order the in-house marinated olives with roasted garlic, herbs and chilies. It was a good start.

I followed this with their caesar salad.  It was simple, but I did not like the fact that I had to break up the lettuce as I ate, even though I realized it was to hold the pancetta and fried capers in place.

My son Mark (http://www.markallenrealty.ca/) ordered the pan seared scallops, farro grain panzanella, zucchini, butternut squash, fresh corn.  He really enjoyed it.

We shared a litre of their house red and it was quite good.

For our main we decided to split a prosciutto, arugula, and shaved parmigiano pizza.  It was delicious.  The prosciutto was sliced very thin (easy to chew) and the arugula and cheese were fabulous.  The sauce was mild and the crust was perfectly baked.

This Trattoria is located in the very heart of Yorkville, at the corner of Yorkville Avenue and Bellair.  It has a great people watching patio and is always busy.

We will definitely return for it's atmosphere, location and food.

  Well, my son Mark and I did return with my wife the following Saturday to try some other dishes on their menu.  After having the same appetizers as our last visit, we tried some different mains.  Mark had the chicken marinated in rosemary and thyme with garlic potatoes, chilies and green beans in a red wine reduction ($22.00).  He really enjoyed it.

My wife chose the fettucini con funghi with portobello, oyster mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, cremini mushrooms parmigiana, truffle paste, in a light cream sauce.  It was delicious and a good sized portion ($16.50)

I tried fettuccine alla bolognese with a beef and veal ragout and shaved parmigiana.  It was hearty and worth the price ($17.00).  

The service was efficient considering it was very busy this Saturday.  The atmosphere was as relaxing as our last visit and the food was delicious.  Well worth a visit if you are in Yorkville.
http://www.eatnervosa.com/