I love food. Give me a dish from any culture and I will try it at least once. It's very rare I find a dish that I dislike in its entirety. Given the opportunity to travel to many countries all of over the world including many parts of Europe and Asian, I've experienced a lot of diverse and strange meals so far in my life.
I have lived in Hamilton, Ontario for just over three years now and I must admit I have grown to love this city. Unfortunately it wasn't until a co-worker of mine moved to Hamilton that it became apparent I haven't even remotely began to experience what this city has to offer in regards to dining out. When he began asking me where the best places to eat around my area where, that's when it hit me. All of these years I'd been running off to Toronto to meet with friends every weekend not taking the time to experience my very own backyard.
I've decided that for 2014 I am going to make an effort to find a couple new places every month too dine at and rate right here on my blog.
Below is a general rating systems I will be using to critique the various places I end up at.
Food and Presentation: (1-5 stars)
Ambiance and Decor: (1-5 stars)
Quality of Service: (1-5 stars)
Best Suited For: (List to choose from)
Kid Friendly? (Yes/No)Vegetarian Friendly? (Yes/No)
Overall Product Rating: (1-5 stars)
Recommend to a friend? (Yes/No)
In additional to these areas, any fun or entertaining stories will added as well.
Let the adventures begin!
O
ver the Christmas holidays, I managed to get my new apartment unpacked and somewhat livable. I was quite fortunate my belongings arrived shortly after I did in Ontario a few days before Christmas eve. Just as easily as all my stuff was put onto the big moving truck in Calgary, everything was offloaded and strewn about in boxes in my new Hamilton apartment. I was excited about my new place and had been for about a month now...
I've always wanted to live in a loft apartment and instantly fell in love with this place when I stumbled upon it on my last visit to Ontario for work. Twenty-two foot ceilings...it still throws me off sometimes when I look up and see the large white pipes intertwined along my ceiling. It reminds of my that old windows screen saver. So far, there has only been one incident where some condensation from one of the pipes above started dripping onto the floor below. There isn't much that can be done especially when the weather changes so abruptly from time to time. You get used to the noise some of the pipes make as time goes on. The ticking, the sloshing, the draining, these start to become background noises you don't even notice anymore. One advantage of this is tha I can tell what time it is when my neighbour above me takes his/her morning shower during the week days. It acts as an indication of how much time I can snooze for before I too have to roll out of bed myself.
So far I have no complaints about Hamilton (aka Ambitious City, Steeltown, The Hammer). Living in downtown Hamilton has been great. Being just two blocks away from Cops Coliseum, the Hamilton Art center, and most of the downtown core is quite convenient. I've been told Hess street (2 blocks north) becomes quite the drinking spot in the summer when many bars open up their patios which extend right out onto the street. It will be nice to save on cab fare and walk home after a few pints during the summer months. I was quite surprised when I saw that the population of Hamilton was half of million. I always knew it was a sizable city but never this big. With so many people I'm sure they won't mind one more.
So as I wait out this terrible cold and snowy winter, I continue to shuffle around the last few remaining boxes I haven't unpacked in my apartment and listen to the symphony of music emanating from the pipes above. Ontario is home once again and this time I hope for a long time....I hope...
