RED CROW COFFEE 

211 James Street South, Hamilton, Ontario (905) 521-2124, for hours of operation see there website provided below.

Went to Red Crow with my son Tom for their Brunch and a coffee.  He had been here before and suggested we try their brunch.  It included a selection of omelettes, so we both selected their mushroom and potato omelette.  We were going to order an americano coffee, but Bob at the counter suggested we try their Red Crow version.  It was very strong and satisfying version that was just the way Tom and I like our coffee.

 The Brunch selections were written in a blackboard, and today the omelette selection was $5!  

It was accompanied by a nice salad, watermelon, and a multigrain toast.  It was a tasty brunch that was not greasy, but very tasty and good value for $5.  There are a variety of seating choices and it was quite full on a Victoria Day holiday Monday.

We sat at a bar table at the front window overlooking James Street South.

The inside is typical of many independent coffee bars.

The menu is posted on a board:

We found Red Crow friendly, inviting and reasonably priced.  The Red was a great coffee and we will definitely return.  It has a relaxing atmosphere and a good variety of food choices.

http://www.redcrowcoffee.com/

ROLLY ROCKET'S 

470 King St. West, Hamilton On. (905) 393-3555, Open for Lunch, Dinner, Late night 7 days a week.

Decided to try Rolly Rocket's for dinner. This restaurant has been around for a few years now and has a regular following in the downtown.  It is basically a bbq ribs and chicken kind of place that is very informal and kitschy.  It has picnic tables for furniture and rock music in the background. 

The menu has an extensive list of bbq items. The interior is furnished with picnic tables and is very informal.

There is a bar that extends around into the pool table area.

There are rolls of paper towel on the tables reminding you that your hands  will get messy.

For my meal I chose 2 pounds of wings one in mild sauce and one in dry rub.

My son Thomas chose the pulled pork dinner.  It came with 3 pulled pork sliders, sweet potato fries, coleslaw, a maple covered cornbread biscuit and a cup of baked beans.  It was gigantic and he had to take the leftovers home.

All in all it was a good hearty meal.  We were full and everything tasted quite good.  The coleslaw was especially tasty.  They have karaoke on Fridays!



http://www.rollyrocketsbbq.com/index.php?pg=home

PIER 39 FISH AND CHIPS 

3305 Fairview Street Unit 9, Burlington On., (905) 407-0565

Three of us had an urge on Thursday evening for a plate of fish in chips.  Thomas had seen a line up going into a brand new fish and chip restaurant in Burlington, so we decided to try it.  It is named after pier 39 in San Francisco which has an abundance of fish restaurants.  

After reviewing the menu we realized most items here are deep fried, so we ordered a couple of small appetizers; cheese sticks to share and deep fried mushroom caps.

Although the  cheese sticks were tasty and the sauce was quite good, there weren't enough of them for the price charged.  The deep fried mushrooms however were worth their price and were quite filling.

Thomas, Katie and I ordered the same main - halibut and fries.  It came with a vinegar based coleslaw, which is unusual with fish and chips, we usually see mayo based coleslaws with fish.  However, it was crisp and tasty.  The fish was rather ordinary and the fries were soft, but on the whole it was a pretty good choice.   

The restaurant is very new and not yet licensed so we had a coke.  The server was polite and efficient.  There is potential here, but I think they need to have some broiled options to attract a regular crowd.  Deep fried fish and chips are really the item of choice in pubs.  Hopefully as the restaurant matures they will look at some other methods of cooking besides deep frying.

There is a nice space on the side for a future patio, so hopefully they will get their license soon.  They also need to update their website.

http://www.pier39.ca/

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

GABBY'S

GABBY'S GRILL AND BAR 

309 King Street West, Entertainment District, Toronto On., (416) 967-9671, Open for Lunch, Dinner, Late, 7 days a week.

On a hot humid Saturday afternoon we decided to visit Harbourfront in Toronto.  It was very hot and there wasn't even a breeze, so we decided to head back into the city to have some cold libations and a late lunch.  We have been to a Gabby's before on Bloor Street, but we were on King Street and figured we should try this one.

notice the humidity in the photo

We ordered a selection of beers, Katie and Thomas ordered Molson Canadians.

I ordered a Rickard's White with a slice of orange.

We were quite hungry and after studying the menu we decided to order from the sandwich section.

Katie ordered the grilled chicken ciabatta with sweet potato fries.

Tom ordered the pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries.

I ordered the club sandwich which had one small boneless chicken breast an a couple of small pieces of bacon.

It is obvious from the pictures that the sandwiches were very small and certainly not worth $11.50 to $12.00.  The server was rather cursory and just went through the motions.  The inside was quite empty even though the patio was quite busy.

It is basically in a high tourist zone and seems to take advantage of it, with it's visible and busy patio.

We will not be returning here in the future - we left hungry and disappointed with the quantity and quality.


http://www.gabbys.ca/