Greek Palace

30 John St. N. - (905) 524-2929 - www.greekpalace.ca


Hi everybody! I know it's been a while, but I'm back now!

This week I submit for your approval: The Greek Palace!

As I'm sure I've mentioned to you before, I grew up with, and was heavily influenced by Greeks. I spent almost four years working in a family-run Greek restaurant. Where the cooking was done by old Greek men who continually called me bella and told me to make them very small, strongly flavoured, Turkish coffees while they chopped and sliced. Where the sauces and baklava where made by a woman who insisted that I call her Grandma Sophie. Where I was one of the family, and invited over for the home cooking during the holidays.

Anyway, the point to all this exposition is: I know Greek food.

I know good, homemade, Greek food.

And the Greek Palace? My friends, this is good Greek food.

The place is not fancy. The interior and service is cafeteria-style. The food is the equivalent to fast food, Greek-style. The tables are formica, the floor is basic beige tile, and there are travel prints of the Greek coastline hanging on the wall. Much like many of my favourite places to eat, you have to get around the decor. The entire place is scrupulously clean, just not the most stylishly decorated. But the food, which is what we're all there for anyway, is amazing.

My very favourite thing to eat there (as I go often enough to warrant a favourite meal) is the Greek fries, with the large Greek salad with meat (chicken souvlaki is my personal fave). And yes, I put them in that order on purpose. 

Greek fries, for the uninitiated, are fries which have been topped with feta and their special mayo-based sauce. It's creamy, with just the tiniest hit of spice. I've also had this made with ketchup or tzatziki instead of the special sauce. When I tried it for the first time, it wasn't a standard, but now seems to have gained enough in popularity that it shows up on a lot of menus. And I order it at all the Greek places I go. Because, yum.

Their Greek salads are the good kind, y'know the kind with lettuce (as opposed to the kind with just tomatoes and cucumber). They make them to order re: which veggies you want. And they don't skimp on the feta or the olives (which, let's face it, is everyone's favourite part of Greek salad), and then they add a vinegar based dressing and a little tzatziki. 

As I said before, their food is basically the equivalent to fast food. For the most part, They have the classic favourites, gyros, chicken and pork souvlaki, and falafel. It's all cooked fresh when you order it. The messy foods are as messy as you want them, full of meat and sauces; and the full dinners you want to eat with a fork and knife are loaded with the traditional yellow rice, potatoes, and meat. And those dinner plates, by the way, are enough food for two full dinners.

They also have garden salads, Caesar salads, and grilled chicken for those who want to mix in something less Mediterranean. 

The prices of the dishes range from around $5 to $13, so you can eat extravagantly for less than $15. Which I encourage you to do. Often. 

So the last thing I will leave you with is the thought that this is one of my top three places to eat in Hamilton. Oh, and of course, happy eating! 

Rapscallion Restaurant: Rogue Dining at it's Finest

905.522.0088 61 Young St. Hamilton, ON  www.rapscallionrestaurant.com

Often, a new restaurant opens in Hamilton, and I'm so excited to go. I love everything that this city comes up with, food-wise. And my friends are excited to go. And then schedules conflict, and we don't wind up going for a while. This is what happened with Rapscallion. I wanted to go, and wanted to go, and wanted to go. But it took a friend's birthday to make it actually happen. And I was so excited! And rightfully so. My experience is one I hope to repeat over and over and over again.

I don't even know where to begin.

The cows. I think I'm going to start with the cows.

When I go into a gourmet restaurant, I think I have an expectation of what I'm going to see. And it's not anything even remotely whimsical. Which I think is a shame, since there's so little whimsy to be found in the world. So, I get to Rapscallion and I'm completely charmed by the decor. In the back section opposite the open kitchen (Have I mentioned before how much I love open kitchens? Because I do.) there are pictures, paintings, drawings, of cows. Some are professional looking pieces, some are photographs, and a couple look like children’s' drawings (probably professional and worth more than my car, I'm a food critic, not an art critic). And I find them all whimsical, and maybe a little (delightfully) inappropriate considering how much meat they serve. 

The rest of the decor is also interesting for a gourmet eatery. But I guess I should expect nothing less from a self-titled "rogue" dining establishment. Their menu and wine list are written on chalk boards. The seating is unassuming but comfortable. No plants. Simple and delightful. Everything about the place is unassuming and friendly and...delightful.

So the food. We didn’t try everything on the menu, because there was only four of us. But we managed to hit about a third of it. 

We started with the full charcuterie board: seven kinds of meat, pickled vegetables, and quail eggs. All of the meat was delicious, my favourite being the duck. It was so smooth and buttery! And while a couple of the offerings were spiced, they were lightly done and enjoyable to my baby palette. And while I couldn’t eat the pickled vegetables, the quail eggs were interesting. They were so tiny, and...different tasting. I know "different tasting" is a cop out, but I've never eaten anything like them before. It was kinda like a sour egg, but vinegary at the same time? 

For the main course, we all decided to order a dish and share. On the table, we wound up with Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon, Grilled Cheese, and the Pear and Chevre Salad with House Made Pancetta.

Pickled Pork Shoulder & Triple Cream Grilled Cheese. Yes, that is a thing. It happened in my mouth. You are jealous. The grilled cheese is amazing. I can't even express to you just how amazing it is. And there's a lot of delicious grilled cheese to be had in Hamilton (I'm pretty sure View Magazine gave it it's own category in their "Best of" edition), but this beats them all out. The pork melted in my mouth. I don't think I've actually had a meat do that before. I had to force myself to eat it slowly because I didn't want it to be gone.

Mini Bacon Wrapped Fillet Mignon with Frank’s Hollendaise and Truffle Chips. I have to start out by saying that the presentation of this plate was very nice. It's hard to dress up chips next to filet mignon, but they managed it. Again, the meat melted in my mouth. Lightly spiced, so that the delicate flavour of the meat could shine through. Plus bacon. Because everything is better when you wrap it in bacon.

Pear and Chevre Salad with House Made Pancetta. Very delicious! Okay. So I have (had, I'm working on it) this thing where I don't eat fruit in my salads. I'm slowly breaking myself of this. But at the time I was still firmly against fruit in my veggies; so I didn't actually get any of the pear on my fork when I tried this. But the bites I had with the chevre and pancetta were so amazing I don't feel like I missed out (I probably really missed out). The house made pancetta is not to be missed. I'd never had pancetta before, and it was so soft and just a little sweet. It complimented the salt of the chevre perfectly.

And just as an aside, something that struck me as I tried all the salads with each of the dishes that I just have to mention. Each salad had a different oil based dressing on it. Maybe this doesn't surprise you, but every time I've eaten out somewhere and they serve the little field green side salad with a fancy dish, it's the same oil based dressing for all of it. But at Rapscallion, they crafted a dressing for each dish to compliment the whole dish, not just to juice up the lettuce. That impressed me out of all proportion, but I think it speaks to the dedication and creativity of the owners and chefs that they bothered. And I was delighted by it.

Symposium Café Stoney Creek Restaurant & Lounge

905.578.9900 2247 Rymal Road East Stoney Creek, On http://www.symposiumcafe.com


I'd never been to Symposium before the other night. It's one of those places that you just hear great things about, but never actually get out there to try it for yourself. I have friends who'd been, but their stories fell a little short for me.


The ambiance of the place is quite nice, not overstated. It's a classy cafe. Soft chairs, lots of plants, and just slightly subdued lighting. The bar is made of dark wood, and is full of bottles. It would be good for a variety of outings. We were there for a family dinner, and one of my parents' friends stopped at the table to say hi as she was just leaving her book club. It would make a lovely casual dinner date spot too.




My dad ordered the Maryland Crab Cakes for an appetizer and generously shared one with me. But only one, because they were too delicious. I don't blame him for keeping them mostly to himself. They were full of crab and fried lightly so that the inside was still soft but the outside was just a little cripsy. Served with a sauce, kind of a lightly spiced thousand island dressing? But it complimented the seafood perfectly and wasn't too spicy. Barely there spice. Definitely recommending them to anybody who likes crab cakes, or anybody who likes to eat delicious things.


My main course...well...so i kind of made up my main course. I wanted the grilled veggie wrap because it was made with guacamole and goat cheese. Because guacamole and goat cheese are two of my favourite foods. But I wanted the Crispy Chicken Wrap because it had crispy chicken. So they made me the veggie wrap with crispy chicken. And pesto mayo. Guys. The pesto mayo is SO GOOD. And it made the whole thing AMAZING. Exactly everything I wanted in a sandwich. The best part? I told her my dilemma, and SHE suggested the substitution. I didn't have to be a food diva or anything. Just an example of excellent customer service, unlooked for but completely appreciated.


Now, there was a downside. It's a tiny one. Doesn't even effect everybody. But the fries...they weren't terrific. They were not crispy or hot. And I didn't complain, because my sandwich gave me such a hard foodgasm that I didn't mind cold fries so much. But just as an FYI, fries are not awesome; I recommend paying a little extra for the onion rings. Which were firm and not too greasy. Much more delicious.


I don't normally mention customer service in my posts, just the general feel of the people that work there. I don't think it's fair to judge a place simply on how one person treats you (be it good or bad), because if you go and don't get that person you'll have a different experience and think I'm crazy. But I have to mention it here because through the course of our dinner we talked to three different servers (two extra waiters brought our food out so it would all get out faster) and the owner. And all of them were absolutely lovely. Our waitress, Crystal, was so nice and welcoming, and HELPFUL. She made sure we all got exactly what we wanted and left with smiles on our faces. 


The food, and ambiance, and all the things at Symposium are delightful and delicious. And because of this, I was expecting a much higher price tag than what I actually got. My meal, drink included, was less than $20, even with the substitution. Granted, we didn't get dessert there, as it was a birthday thing with the fam, so we HAD to go back to the 'rents place for cake and prezzies. So I can't tell you about the desserts. But from the look of them...well, I will be going back there at some point to try out the enormous pieces of cake available. Because seriously, they looked to be about a pound of cake. And I'd like to eat a pound of cake, wouldn't you?

Baltimore House: Part, the First

289.396.4830  43 King William St. Hamilton, On  www.facebook.com/thebaltimorehouse


I continue my foray down King William at Baltimore House.


Okay. I'm just going to say it. I love Baltimore House. It might be my favourite place to go in all of Hamilton.


The end.


Okay, just kidding.


There is nothing to dislike about it. The building is amazing. The décor is amazing. The vibe is amazing. The coffee is amazing. The food is amazing.


As a business, Baltimore House is a cafe, wine bar, and performance space. Wednesdays are open mic, Thursdays are Seance Thursdays, and I heard on the twitters that Saturday is going to have a house party vibe? Everything they do is gold, guys. So, I've decided that I'm going to have to write more than one post on the lovely, and amazing Baltimore House because there's just too much to the place to limit it to just one. This post will deal with the Balmer as a restaurant. The fooooood.

Veggie Melt

Pear and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

They have a wide menu of sandwiches. I have eaten all of them. They're all very good! My favourite is the Veggie Melt. Grilled peppers, and onions, and cheese, lots and lots of avocado! All on fresh sourdough bread! They also have a Pear and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese that is pretty much amazing. Now, normally, I don't go in for fruit on my main courses, but I had to make an exception in this case. The caramelized onions set off the sweetness of the pear perfectly. And the Three Cheese Grilled Cheese! And the H'Amazing Ham made with Ukranian village ham! And the Reuben, with it's crunchy coleslaw! And the vegetarian-friendly Avocado Dream, full of avocado and sprouts and goat cheese!

H'Amazing Ham

And all of their sandwiches can be made into a salad, or so I'm told. I have a friend with severe Crohn's and she wasn't sure if she could eat at the Balmer, but with the salad option, she could.


Their desserts are amazing too. The brownies are the best I've ever had. No contest, hands down, done. Aaaand it is at this point that I'm going to start wandering into how great they are as a cafe, because they're desserts go SO perfectly with their lattes, so I'm going to end it here. And then get started on the cafe post!

Jack and Lois

289.389.5647  301 James St. N. Hamilton, ON L8L 1H3  www.jackandlois.com

So I know I said my next post would be on Baltimore House, and I am working on it, but I have to drop this short post really quickly. I went to a new place today and I wanted to tell you about it.


Jack and Lois. It's on James N. down near Barton St. The interior is stylish, but still cute. Very formal wallpaper paired with modern paint colours and simple furnishings. And a picture of William Shatner up on the wall. I couldn't stop looking at everything!


And oh my god, you guys. The food. THE FOOD, YOU GUYS. I had the classic cheeseburger with soup and slaw. The cheeseburger was fairly basic, just burger and lots and lots of cheese. But the beef was perfectly spiced and grilled to be tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The soup was tomato and was obviously freshly made, with actual ingredients (not processed from a can). The slaw wasn't typical coleslaw, it was more of an Asian inspired slaw with a vinegar-based dressing and bean sprouts, with crunchy bits on top. It was very good, I just couldn't eat very much because of the vinegar. But it got scooped by one of my dining partners, so it didn't go to waste!


And speaking of scooping leftovers, I was granted another friend's leftovers in the form of half of the Chancellor, which is essentially a chicken parm sandwich. But with mushrooms and caramelized onions and asiago! I'm pretty sure that my thank-you-for-your-leftovers text involved a few expletives over how good it was for dinner.


My other two dining partners had breakfast. Because they do all day breakfast. Because they weren't awesome enough. I would have had breakfast for lunch, but they didn't have their Eggs Benny today. And Eggs Benedict is my favourite breakfast food. So anyway. The Cobra is their big breakfast, eggs/double meat/hash browns, and I have no idea how he got through all that food. The Hummingbird was a similar meal, but smaller. And instead of toast, you get GRILLED CHEESE FINGERS. They make a grilled cheese and cut it up into fingers. With your breakfast. Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'll stop talking about it. I...I just like it a lot, guys. 


My only sad about my meal today is how long it took to come out. Don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining. The food was incredible and definitely worth the wait! I was just late getting back to work and that makes me sad. So maybe it won't be a regular lunch place for me and my work colleagues, but I can see it becoming a regular for other meals.  I especially want to get back for breakfast and that Eggs Benny!

Thai Memory

905.296.1077  25 King William Street  Hamilton, ON L8R 1A1  www.thaimemory.ca


Okay guys, King William. It's this little street that joins James and John, right? Not so! This tiny little street is full of food, music, art, and culture! I tried find out if the test of awesomeness to be on the street is written or oral but nobody had the information for me.


So, in the interests of my sanity and a sense of order, I've decided to write about the deliciousness in the order that I tried it.


So we start with Thai Memory.


I've been eating at Thai Memory for much longer than I've writing this blog. It's my go-to when I can't decide where I want to eat after work. It was the first Thai food that I ever tried, and I will probably always love it more than any other Thai food because of that. So be prepared for my bias, PREPARE FOR IT.


Are you ready?


So I love it. (You're shocked, after that lead in, I know you're shocked.) But here's where I have a shameful confession. I always order the same thing. Everytime. I've only tried one appetizer, one main dish, and one dessert. I know. I know, it's awful of a food blogger to not try something different at one of her favourite restaurants, but I can't help it. The coconut shrimp, pad thai, and deep fried bananas are so good there! But it's not just the food I love, the atmosphere isn't beat by any other restaurant I've been in.


I'll start with the atmosphere, because despite the amazing food, it's my favourite part. Diffuse lighting, running water, soft music, and tables made from slices of trees. Yes, that's right. The tables are made from slices of very large trees, with benches carved from the same wood. They're beautiful. Everything about it is calming and soothing. It's a feeling that decends on you from the moment you walk in. There are also handcrafted goods imported from Thailand for you to purchase if you're so inclined. The time between when I sit down and when food comes is my favourite time.


Okay, the food. My god, the food! I realize I only have three dishes to talk about, but they are an amazing three dishes. The coconut shrimp are amazing! The breading is light, but the coconut stays nice and crispy. It's served with a sweet and sour sauce that's just a smidge spicy. It's not so spicy that I can't eat it, just spicy enough that I can't eat very much of it. Perfection.


The pad thai is the same, spicy, but not so much that I can't eat it. Granted, I order the mild, because I'm a baby. But it's full of chicken and shrimp and tofu. The portion size is decent for the price, but I always eat all of it and never have any left for lunch the next day. I realize that it being too delicious to save any for lunch is not really a legitimate complaint though.


Deep fried bananas. Oh, the deep fried bananas. I've eaten a lot of them, at many different restaurants. And the ones at Thai Memory are my favourite. You've got to try them served with a scoop of the vanilla, and a scoop of the green tea ice cream! The bananas are hot and delicious with a hint of vanilla. The tartness of the green tea ice cream sets that off the sweetness of the bananas perfectly. Again the portion size is very good, perfect for sharing.


So that's Thai Memory. It's amazing. It's...perfect (because I haven't used that word enough in this post)! You should go. You should try all the things! Not just what I wrote about. In fact, I'm making a promise to you fair readers. The next time I go to Thai Memory, I will try something new, something not mild Pad Thai. ...but I'm still getting the fried bananas!


Stay tuned for my next post, BALTIMORE HOUSE!

Earth to Table Bread Bar

905.522.2999  258 Locke St. S. Hamilton, On L8P 4B9  www.breadbar.ca

I continue my quest to love Locke St at Earth to Table Bread Bar. Now while I do definitely recommend ETT, I actually visited twice before writing this post. Because the first time I went, I was horribly disappointed and didn't want to say negative things about them because everyone seems so lovely there. I had, as I'm sure you have too, heard such awesome reviews about the place and had high hopes for an unforgettable dining experience.
My first visit was with my favourite foodie dining partner. We ordered an appetizer to share and a pizza each. For the app, we got the Local Burrata Cheese plate. Cottage-like cheese with olive tapenade and fresh bread. It was simple, fresh and delicious. The cheese and the tapenade together was a perfect match. I have no complaints about it. But the pizza...
Now, I've heard all about the pizza, and about how everybody loves the pizza and orders the pizza for take-out. My pizza was...problematic. I ordered the field greens pizza. What I got was a crust with sauce and cheese and a salad. I couldn't figure out how to eat it. I couldn't pick it up, and it was too difficult to cut. I wound up taking it home and tossing it a couple days later, very disappointed. And for the whole meal we paid $50, and didn't even order drinks. All in all, the visit was kind of a let down from what I was expecting. My dining partner and I both agreed that we wanted what everyone else ordered at the tables around us instead of what we got.
So when my sisters decided that ETT was going to be the destination for our monthly dinner with Grams, I was a little upset. I tried to tell them about my problematic pizza, but they insisted. And I'm glad they did!
This was visit was a total 180 from the first. I took a lesson from myself and ordered what I'd seen all the other tables ordering last time. Loaded fries for the app and the ETT burger for dinner.
Each day the loaded fries change. The daily loaded fries special while we were there was chili cheese fries. Which was incredible. Pretty much the best loaded fries I've ever had. The chili had the perfect spice; it was mild enough that I could eat it, but was still spicy enough to make me feel accomplished for eating it. My Grams ordered the chili to start (because we wouldn't let her eat too many fries) and said it was just as good on it's own too.
For the main course, I eschewed the pizza in favour of trying the ETT burger. I know I've posted here about how incredible Chuck's burgers are (and they ARE incredible!) but I have a new favourite burger. The meat was tender and flavourful without being over spiced, and it was topped with honey-pickled mushrooms! And brie! HONEY-PICKLED MUSHROOMS AND BRIE.
Ahem. Sorry about the yelling, I just got excited. ABOUT THE MUSHROOMS. Ahemcoughcough. Sorry.
Some other random things I love about Earth to Table (besides the burgers) are their commitment to community and sustainable practices and the decor.
As far as sustainability goes, they installed a filtration system and serve water to the table in old-school milk bottles instead of bottled water. They're promoting drinking local tap water, which is good for everyone. Plus, the milk bottles are retro-cool and now I want one for my place.

The layout is done in a bistro-style with the tables close together. Both times I visited, I made friends with the people next to me (I've learned that only nice, foodie-type people go to ETT, and I'm okay being grouped like that). Oh, and they have a chalk-board wall. I know there's nothing especially new about this as a concept, I've just...I've just always loved chalk-board walls.
So clearly, after the rocky start, I've found yet another place on Locke that has won my heart and will draw me back again and again. Maybe next time I'll go during the day so I can visit some of the shops too? Epic Books and Textures Craftworks, I'm looking at you. Here's hoping!
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