Review - Rumaks, Hamilton, Ontario

During a trip back from the US, Bob and I just had time to meet up quickly one night, before I had to get back to the US. He suggested Rumaks, which is located on Upper Wellington, for some Polish home cooking. Because we went on the new Family Day stat holiday, it turns out that the kitchen was closed for the day, and only finger food (read wings) was available. The beer was good…Okocim from Poland. The fries were the best part of the finger foods, and the nachos would have been nice with some ground beef added. We will have to try this place again for its home-cooked Polish food. Stay tuned.

Review - KOI Lounge in Hess & Sirloin Cellar, Hamilton, Ontario

One of the great things around here in Hamilton, is the abundance of patios to sit and enjoy a nice cold beer on a hot night. Last Tuesday was one of those nights, when Bob and I got together for the monthly dinner. We met up at Hess Village, at KOI Lounge. After a cold Rickards White, we were a bit hungry, so we checked out the KOI menu for an appetizer. We settled on the combo #3, which included lamb chops, spring rolls, beef dumplings, and mango salad. The only complaint I have about it, was that it's advertised as a combo for 2, but it only came with 3 lamb chops...so, they need to fix that up. Same with the spring rolls. We ended up with a bill of $50 for KOI, and then headed down to Sirloin Cellar for dinner.

Bob was set on having a nice steak, which Sirloin Cellar is known. However, Robin, our waitress, suggested that he dive into the rack of lamb. Bob wasn't going to have an appetizer, but he couldn't resist the Oysters Rockafeller. I had the mussels, in a white wine sauce, which were very tasty. For the main course, I had the special - Teriyaki sirloin, and Bob had the rack of lamb. They were delicious. Sirloin was cooked to perfection, and the rack of lamb was 8 ribs...biggest I've seen served at a restaurant!

We ordered a half litre of the Australian house red, and finished off with special coffees and Drambuie. The total bill was $165, and we included a $35 tip, since Robin did a great job. The Drambuie was well worth it, since it was more than a double shot. That's the kind of service you expect at a place like Sirloin Cellar.

After dinner, we headed back to KOI, to enjoy the hot summer night, and to take in the scenery. A couple of special coffees for Bob, and a couple of Grand Marniers on the rocks for me, made for a nice close to the evening, with the final tab at KOI being another $50. Another great night out for dinner and drinks!

Review - Superbowl Party @ Liquid Kitty, Hamilton

This is another post that has been put on the back burner for the last few months, and for some reason, I just couldn't let it go. There were a group of us that went to the Superbowl party at Liquid Kitty Lounge, which is underneath Tailgate Charlie's in downtown Hamilton, courtesy of free passes from Y108. I felt an obligation to post on the experience, if anything, to save the aggravation of others for future sports "parties".

First off, the place was packed, and kudos to the servers and bartenders that kept the beer flowing. Having the Budweiser collectable glasses were a nice touch, along with the VIP passes (see picture). They kind of made you feel special. Then it went downhill from there. I swear that the "kids" at the party had never seen beer before, and most acted like idiots. It didn't make for a good day at the bar. At the end of the first quarter, a guy at our table was so smashed, he ended up spilling a large draft over a couple of buddies that were with me. Besides the jokes about getting the nice gals to suck the beer out of their pants, I am sure that sitting around in someone elses backwashed beer was not their first choice. OK, things happen, so we can let that slide.

Let's get to the biggest disappointment of the night - the "buffet". Turns out that in order to save a few bucks, the bar thought it would be best to serve these things, that looked like "boxed lunches". It may not have been too bad to eat after a few beers and during halftime, but it was almost as if the meals were prepared a few days in advance, and kept warm until the big day. Super Sunday? Try Super Soaked...I am pretty sure that any moisture that was in the food when they packaged the meals, was sucked right out and stayed in the cardboard, which felt like a slightly warm and soggy tortilla. I never got a chance to eat the box, but I am sure it would have ranked up there, compared to the bland hotdog, a few onion rings, and 3 chicken wing pieces. I can't sell them all the way short, because they had chili available also, but I have to ask...who makes chili with canned baked beans?? Not the recipe I have.

We couldn't take it anymore, so we finished up our beers and headed out before the 4th quarter, disappointed in the bar/restaurant's effort to make it a memorable experience. From then on, after that, we have decided to do our own thing, and have the spread at my place, with food that is fit for the occasion. They had a chance to do it up well, but they couldn't handle it. That will be the last time we head there for a sports "party", so to speak.

If you don't want to be disappointed, stay away...the food of yore from that building is long gone, and the substitute merely caters to the tastebuds of drunk students. Sorry Tailgates, you need to do more to get me there next time.

Review - Sizzle & La Luna on King St.

With the nice weather this time of year, Bob and I decided to meet up at Hess Village again, to enjoy a cocktail before we went to our choice for our monthly dinner. We decided to check out Sizzle Lounge, which seems to have replaced the old Ivories that used to be there.

We decided to have Grey Goose martinis ($15 each...), and looked at the menu for appetizers. We both ordered the baked oysters, which were delicious. The calamari sounded good, so we split an order of those too. The calamari was fresh, with a light batter, which we enjoyed with a jalapeno mayonnaise. This is a nice place to go, and is very upscale dining. A bit pricey for appetizers, as the bill came in at $100 with tip, but great none the less. We will be heading back there for a main course sometime in the future. Nice to see a classy place in the middle of Hess, which is usually the 18-25 crowd on weekends.

After the visit to Sizzle Lounge, we walked a block and a half down to La Luna on King St. It was recommeded as the better of the 2 La Luna's in Hamilton, although they are run by the same extended family.

We asked them to give us the best they had for Lebanese fare, and started with 2 salads...tabouli and another salad, which seemed to be a regular chef salad with deep fried pita chunks. Both salads were refreshing, with the tabouli being prepared properly...no parsley stems, which is the right way to make it!!

The appetizers were part of the La Luna platter we ordered...you have to forgive me for not knowing the official names of the dishes...I should have grabbed the menu, but I will explain the dishes, and you can figure them out from that.

The appetizers were: baba ghanoush, hummus, fried cauliflower and tomato, falafel, mushrooms, and some sort of deep fried spiced meat, reminiscent of a donair taste, but a little spicier. They were all excellent, with the hummus being especially good. The falafel wasn't dry, and the spiciness of all the appetizers were perfect.

For the main course, we had skewers of chicken and filet mignon, on a bed of rice. The chicken was done to perfection, but the highlight of the meal had to be the beef. The marinade with the taste of the grill, was a perfect match with the vodka martinis we used to wash down this great meal. Whatever the marinade was, we know that if it we ever had a BBQ, we would definitely look for a similar marinade, for our own backyard dinners.

We topped the meal off with some baklava, and coffee, and walked out with a bill of $95, including tip.

All in all, it was a great experience of Meditteranean food, and we will definitely go back again, and perhaps even try the La Luna on the Mountain next time. If you are looking for great food at a great price, try La Luna, you won't be disappointed!

See you here next month!!

Review - The Keg, Hamilton, Ontario

I am a little late getting to this post, but better late than never!! Bob and I had our monthly get together 2 weeks ago. I was on vacation with the kids last week, so I didn't get a chance to get on the computer much with the kids here. So, here goes....

We met up at Hess Village, at the Gown and Gavel, for a few drinks, to sit and get caught up with each other as to what's been happening. Hess Village is a nice place to relax, with numerous bars and patios. We tend to stick to the G&G, but the other bars look ok. While we sat and had a few beers and some appetizers, we decided to head up to the Keg for dinner for this month. Although it wasn't our usual fare of walking into a restaurant and asking for the staff to serve us their specialties, it's a good standby for getting a great meal.

We started off with martinis, which we considered as salads, since there was an olive in them...next time, we will ask for Grey Goose, and really enjoy the martini!

Since we had appetizers at Hess, we went right into the Prime Rib. Bob and I ordered the Keg cut, and we were a little disappointed with the size. Seemed to us that the portions were a little on the light side, from what we had remembered. We checked with the waiter, and he assured us that it was the right cut. Regardless of the size, it was delicious. I don't think there is another restaurant that can give a better Prime Rib meal out there...feel free to let me know if there is a better place, and we will add it to the list for future consideration.

For dessert, we indulged in a Keg special coffee, which was standard. No big surprises with that. A special coffee is a special coffee!

Although the meal wasn't as exciting as we have experienced in the past, it was a good, hearty meal, and that is what we were looking for, for the evening.

If you want a good meal, you can't beat the Keg for prime rib.

The plan is to get together again the third week of September for another night out. We haven't decided what or where, but I am sure Greek food is on the menu, to make up for the disappointing meal we had a couple of months ago. We both have a craving for a good lamb dinner, so we will see what happens.

Until next time, enjoy your next meal out!