THE EXPRESS ITALIAN EATERY WESTDALE 

1034 King Street West, Hamilton, On., (289) 389-2008, Sun. - Wed. 11:30 - 10:00 pm, Thurs. - Sat. 11:30 - 11:00 pm

Went to the Express, in the Westdale Village in Hamilton, early on a Saturday evening for a light dinner.  It is a relatively new establishment in Westdale, that serves wood oven pizza in an open kitchen, panini, soup, salads, pastas etc..  It is licensed and the house red was only $6 a glass.

It has a quaint bar area

and a variety of seating, including a window view of the village.

There is a wood oven and take out service.

I checked the menu. 

I chose the Muffaletta panini.  It included salami, mortadella, prosciutto, arugala and provolone and came with a soup or salad for $12.

The soup was prosciutto and potato, it was rich but quite salty (because it contained large chunks of prosciutto).

The panini was crisp and quite thick with rich meats.

By the time I was finished the restaurant was filling up.

All in all it was a nice meal.  The service was efficient, the food was tasty (albeit very salty) and the prices were reasonable.  There is another much larger Express located at the other end of Hamilton in Stoney Creek on Grays Road.

http://www.expressrestaurant.com/

THE BURNT TONGUE 
10 Cannon Street, Hamilton, On., (905) - 536-1146, Open Mon - Wed 11-8, Thurs. - Sat. 11 - 9, Closed Sunday.
I finally had the opportunity to try The Burnt Tongue on a Thursday evening with my son Thomas.  He has raved about it after trying several of their home made soup concoctions.  Located in the downtown core of Hamilton on Cannon street near James Street.  It is a rapidly changing area of Artists and Hipsters and has a lively street scene.

It has an open kitchen and a friendly welcoming staff.

The inside has several small tables and a bar and stools at the front window.

There are usually several choices of soup available.  The menu is displayed near the kitchen area and includes vegan choices and burgers.

Tom and I both chose the same soup - it was the split pea and sausage in the large size (there are 3 sizes, small, medium and large).

With the soup there was a choice of bun, carrot and celery vegetables or an apple.  We both chose the carrots and celery.  The soup was very hearty, large and very good!!
We accompanied our soup with an order of their Belgian fries, which are hand cut and double fried.  They come with a couple of dip choices - we chose the curried ketchup, which was sweet and spicy.

This establishment is not licensed, but it has quite a selection of soft drinks.  We chose the Coke, which comes in old school glass bottles.

Two large soups and 2 cokes with fries and dip came to around $35.  Although not cheap, the quality of the ingredients, the tasty fries and the friendly service are all worth it.  We will definitely return soon for more tasty soup concoctions!!