White on vacation in Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario my family and I stopped in to the Crowsnest Pub in Tobermory for lunch. Many of the other local restaurants in this tourist town were closed on our Monday afternoon visit. Crowsnest was already on my list for its good view of the harbor, but the weather wasn’t the best so we opted to sit inside. We were one of just a handful of occupied tables in the spacious dining room capable of holding a number of summer tourists during the peak season.

Inside

Crowsnest offers a pub style menu full of sandwich, burger, salad, and fish options. A kids menu is also available though ours decided to share a small plain pizza ($12.49) which was plenty for their little stomachs with a couple of slices left to take home.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

I went with the buffalo chicken sandwich topped with a choice of eight sauces along with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle ($11.99). This was served with a choice of fries of homemade potato chips. The medium  sauce was not very spicy, I should have went with a more bold selection. That said the sandwich was coated well with sauce and tasted great. The chips were also good, though a touch on the burnt side.

Whitefish & Chips

My wife went with the local beer battered whitefish and chips, served with coleslaw, tartar sauce, and lemon ($12.99). I did not try the fish though my wife had positive things to say about it. Typically she only eats fish when dining near a body of water, and this did not disappoint.

The beer selection is mostly dominated by Sapporo owned Sleeman Brewery, none of which are particularly interesting. During our visit the also had Okanagan Spring Pale Ale from British Columia, which was a better choice overall. Unibroue  Blanche De Chambly is the best choice.

After a great time at the African Lion Safari near Cambridge, my family and I started our drive north towards the Bruce Peninsula. We didn’t make it far before it was time to stop for dinner. With no dinner plans scheduled we spotted Crabby Joe’s Tap & Grill in Guelph along our route and stopped in for a drink and a bite to eat.

Inside

Crabby Joe’s is an Ontario chain of about three dozen restaurants, started in 1996 and expanding each year. We arrived right at 6pm and found a relatively quiet restaurant, though there were already a few tables full of kids, taking care of their “Kids Eat Free” special on Sundays.

Rickard’s Red

The draft list was full of a few names I’ve never heard of, but looking back it seems that most were likely brands of Molson Coors. I tried the Rickard’s Red, while my wife went with the Rickard’s White. Neither were anything special, though I’m reading that when the Red was introduced in 1984 it was a big departure from the  lager dominated country.

Peppercorn Chicken BLT

For dinner I chose the peppercorn chicken BLT served on a toasted Asiago bun and topped with BBQ ranch ($11.99). I upgraded the standard side of fries to the classic poutine, because Canada ($1.29).  The poutine portion was enough to share with my entire family, so keep that in mind and  you might just one to do one upgrade. Both the poutine and sandwich were fairly good, and I would recommend both.

Edgy Veggie Burger

My wife had the edgy veggie burger topped with goat cheese, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, red onions, arugula, garlic aioli, and a sweet balsamic glaze ($11.99). I didn’t try any of her sandwich but she seemed to enjoy it. Many of her included side of fries ended up dipped into the extra gravy from my plate.

Our service was great despite the young woman telling us that we would be her first unassisted table. The food was good, and the kids ate for free ($6.49 value). We would definitely return, especially on a Sunday.

On our second day visiting Toronto, my family and I found ourselves at the Firkin On Yonge for dinner. The Firkin Pubs chain operates roughly 30 restaurants throughout Ontario. This location is just south of the Yonge-Dundas Square, in the heart of the city.

Inside

The Firkin On Yonge offers two levels of bars and dining sections. A  decent selection on Canadian craft beer is available on tap. I had the Mad & Noisy Brewing Hops & Bolts IPL, while my wife enjoyed the Hop City Brewing Barking Squirrel.

The London Porker

The menu is a solid mix of British style pub food along with a selection of Indian influenced dishes. I had the London porker sandwich with pulled pork, bacon, apple coleslaw, and Keen’s English mustard on brioche bun and a side of fries ($14). I could have used a little more pulled pork on the sandwich, but what I did have was pretty good.

My wife had the chicken curry ($11 small/$16 large), a very solid curry dish over basmati rice, which was  a better choice overall. A kids menu is also offered, making a good place to take the whole family.

After a long day exploring Toronto  I took my family to the Amsterdam BrewHouse for dinner. The location of this restaurant is amazing, right on  Lake Ontario  in the heart of the Toronto waterfront. The space occupies an old boathouse and has a small on-site brewery.

Outside

The inside is very large and offers multiple levels of dining. I really enjoyed the open aspect of the old building and appreciated being able to see into the kitchen and brewing areas. Though the weather wasn’t too nice during our visit, there is also a large outdoor dining area.

Inside

The bar area offers numerous seats and plenty of televisions. I especially enjoyed seeing playoff hockey on every screen, something that you just don’t see back home in Cincinnati. I enjoyed the Boneshaker IPA as well as the Downtown Brown.

So Many TVs

To start our meal we ordered something the entire family would enjoy, including our two preschool aged children, the Boneshaker Cheddar Dip served with toasted pretzel breads and pickled vegetables ($13). The kids enjoyed the pretzels just as much as I did. The pickled veggies were all for me, and they were also very good, though not recommended for dipping.

Boneshaker Dip

My wife and I split the chicken and brie wood oven pizza, which also featured white sauce, mozzarella, smoked bacon, baby spinach, and roasted garlic ($18). The portion was large enough for two and we still had a couple of slices leftover. The slices of brie were very generous and the toppings all paired well together.

Chicken & Brie Pizza

Our entire family had a great visit to the Amsterdam BrewHouse and I would definitely return anytime I find myself back in Toronto.

With increasingly busy schedules my wife and I don’t find much time to enjoy a meal without our kids very often. So we recently started meeting for lunch during the work week. Revolution Rotisserie & Bar was our first destination. We had passed by earlier in the week with our kids in tow, but didn’t think there was much on the menu that they’d like to eat. The menu is limited to pita sandwiches all featuring their signature rotisserie chicken, along with a handful of salads and some chicken based specialty plates.

Inside

Upon our arrival on a Thursday for lunch, all the tables were occupied and we were told it would be a ten minute wait.  We let the hostess know that we needed to be in and out in an hour and she was kind enough to pass this along to our server when we were seated a few minutes earlier than the quoted wait time.

George Washington Pita

We had already browsed the menu while waiting for our table and put in our order right away. I went with the George Washington pita sandwich with rotisserie chicken, arugula, feta cheese, red onion, cucumber, tomato, and tzatziki sauce ($8).  With such a Greek influence on the dish, I’m not sure why it is named as it is, but regardless the taste was outstanding!

Nelson Mandela Pita

My wife went with the Nelson Mandela with rotisserie chicken, pepperjack, black beans, corn chips, cilantro, tomato, and chipotle ranch ($8). Again this was a very good sandwich, though I think I’d give a slight edge to Washington’s creation as it seemed to pair best with the pita bread.

Joan of Arc Side Salad

My wife also ordered the Joan of Arc salad as a side ($2) with strawberries, toasted almonds, goat cheese, and raspberry basil vinaigrette. The portion size was very generous and the ingredients were really fresh. I tried just a small bite of the salad and it was excellent.

Tater Tots

For my side I went with the tater tots served with chipotle ranch dipping sauce ($3). The price tag for this side is a little high when compared to the salad.  If you are planning to order two or more sides of tots it might be better to split  the tater tot poutine appetizer instead ($8), which features cheese, gravy, and chicken on top of a generous portion of tots.

The food at Revolution Rotisserie is excellent. Our service was fast and attentive to our needs. I will absolutely be back in the future, though I wish some more kid friendly dishes were on the menu.

It took me quite some time to realize that Hyde Park Gourmet Food & Wine in Hyde Park Square is more than just a boutique grocer. It’s true that the store has an extensive selection of gourmet cheeses, crackers, chocolates, sauces, and not to mention the massive collection of wine, but they also offer quick salads, sandwiches, and soups.

Inside

There are roughly a dozen choices of panini sandwiches, all served on grilled Ciabatta bread. I chose the Hyde Park with turkey and pepper jack ($7.99). The bread was rubbed with an olive oil mix before being pressed on the grill, which added a great flavor to the sandwich. It came served with pretzels or chips and a pickle on the side.

Hyde Park Panini

I also ordered a chicken salad sandwich on rye with choice of lettuce, tomato, onion, sprouts, mayonnaise, mustard, and horseradish sauce ($6.00). I was planning to split the sandwiches with my wife, but I quickly discovered almonds in the chicken salad mix, which I’m allergic to, so my wife ended up with this sandwich to herself, which she didn’t seem to mind. Again this was served with chips or pretzels and a pickle slice.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Overall the sandwiches were good and were offered for a fair price. As far as cold sandwiches go, it is hard to beat the nearby Carl’s Deli, but I think the panini sandwiches are worth at stop at Hyde Park Gourmet Food & Wine. We took our’s to go and enjoyed them on a bench in the square, or a small patio is available just outside the front door.

Recently there was an article posted by  WCPO’s Jesse Folk asking the question, “Are there too many breweries in Cincinnati?” Most seem to be believe that we are far from the saturation point and I couldn’t agree more.

Jagged Mountain Brewery

I spent the majority of last week on business in Denver. When I moved away from Denver in 2011 there were definitely less breweries in town than there are in Cincinnati now. And now there are over 100 breweries in the greater Denver metro area.

On my first night in town I explored a couple of these breweries in the newly revitalized River North  Art  District. There are currently ten breweries in this one neighborhood, none of which existed five years ago.

River North Brewery

In fact there are so many breweries in the area now that even my friends living in Denver have become a little overwhelmed. There is definitely a long way for Cincinnati to go before I could  become overwhelmed by the choices available.

A couple of weekends ago I made it into the newly opened Taft’s Ale House for the first time.  Taft’s now occupies a previously abandoned church in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati’s oldest remaining Protestant church building, which had previously sat vacant since 1993. Since Taft’s opening on April 6 I had seen plenty of pictures of the magnificent renovation  but I was still completely blown away by the work.

Nellie’s, The Downstairs Bar

Our group started in Nellie’s, the downstairs bar, but couldn’t get a drink before our table upstairs was ready. One member of our used the NoWait app before our arrival to get us on the waiting list and I was impressed by how will it worked.

Bar Area

The main restaurant area occupies what would have been the church. There are two levels of dining areas, which make good use of the space while still allowing all visitors to marvel at the beautiful structure. Above the bar are some serving tanks and a list of beers on tap.

Tasting Flight

Taft’s has opened with a very impressive list of ten beers. Everything from a German Pilsner to a milk stout and eight other styles in-between. The Mooly Wooly coffee milk stout was a quick favorite of mine. Nellie’s Key Lime Caribbean Ale was another that really stood out and I’m hearing reports that this beer may soon be available in cans to go.

Full View of Taft’s Ale House

I didn’t have time for dinner on this visit but I’m sure I will be back soon for a full meal. I did try a few tots with the house made ketchup and they were delicious. I can’t wait to try more!

My wife and I met some of my family members for lunch at Parkers Blue Ash Tavern over the weekend. Parkers is hard to miss at the corner of Reed Hartman and Cooper, though the large white  Colonial style building looks more like a home than a restaurant. The walls inside are decorated in equestrian style and  several distinct dining areas are offered.

Inside

Since the weather was so pleasant, we decided to sit on the patio, which was not as big as I expected. With so many tables inside I assumed there would be more than a  handful of tables available on the outside. Even so our party of eight didn’t have to wait long to be seated at a table (or two).

The lunch menu offers plenty of burger and sandwich choices, as well as seafood and a selection of tavern favorites. I went with one of these favorites, the Tavern “Mac & Cheese” with  cavatappi pasta, chicken, Andouille sausage, applewood smoked bacon, scallions, spicy tomato cream sauce topped with Parmesan panko bread crumb ($13). I’m guessing the mac & cheese was put in quotes as the dish isn’t really all that cheesy, but it is very good.

Tavern “Mac & Cheese”

Parkers is known for their prime rib, and many in our group took advantage of the daily trifecta offering of prime rib sliders served with a choice of soup as well as fries, coleslaw, or house-made chips ($12). I didn’t try any of this, but everyone who ordered seemed very pleased.

A small variety of craft beer options were available as well as an award-winning wine list. Our service was very friendly, but  a little on the slow side. However I think Parkers is meant for a relaxed and  slow-paced meal. Though a children’s menu is offered, I’m not sure our kids  would have enjoyed our nearly one and half hour visit to Parkers.

Over the weekend I finally paid a visit to the Rivertown Brewing Company.  With so many breweries opening shop on the eastern side of town, it took me way too long to visit one of the originals. But I can now say that I’ve been there and had a great time too.

Tasting Room Bar

Free Arcade Games

Inside the tasting room is a decent size bar, along with a handful of larger tables, plenty of space to spread out. They’ve also recently added some classic arcade games to the space which are available for free for anyone to play.

Brewery Area

While visiting the brewery we also took the 45 minute tour of the facility ($6 per person). Tours are currently offered Wednesdays at 5, Fridays at 6, and Saturdays at 3 and reservations can be made on their website.

Bottling Line

Cellared Beers

The tour offered both general information on the brewing process and also things that are special to Rivertown including their awesome sour program. I truly hope it doesn’t take me so long to make a return visit to their brewery.