This week is a bit of a miscellany, providing some options for readers to enjoy in the next few weeks.
Taste of Burlington is in full swing, ending March 10th, and it’s a great way to try a new eatery. The prix-fixe promotion features almost two dozen restaurants offering lunches as low as $15, and four-course dinners ranging from $30-40. The website has all the details, including where to find vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and children’s options.
Meanwhile I was alerted via Twitter to the opening of a new Italian restaurant in Hamilton. Prosecco is at 275 King St. East and one of the new owners, Mario Nesci, told me they have been doing good business since they opened February 5th (and not last October per the relatively favourable Spec review by Dan Kislenko). Mario said their website should be up in a couple of weeks and the place certainly sounds like a good addition to our local food scene.
Watching the Valentine’s Day episode of CBC’s Dragon’s Den, I was amused to see a businessman in a cow suit come and make a pitch for funding. Ed Dorian is a Hamilton restaurateur who several years ago invented a different take on poutine, called Mootine! Though Ed did not get the money, he did get the girl, proposing to his girlfriend, Debbie, on the show… (ahhh).
If you want to try this concoction of mashed potatoes, meatballs, gravy and cheese, ($3 for a small, $4 for a medium and $5 for a large according to the pitch), mosey on down to Big Ed's burger joint at 132 Queen St S. (A word of caution however; the Urban Dictionary defines Mootine as “a fat boy” which might just be the outcome of eating too many!)
Finally, earlier this week, I was at a splendid fundraising dinner at Benchmark Restaurant with the proceeds benefitting Niagara College students. I learned the College is running a Chef Signature Dinner series featuring instructors from the College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute. (The last dinner in the series will be May 9th.)
The six featured chefs are a Who’s Who of Niagara cuisine; the next event in the line-up (March 6th) features the ebullient Chef Olaf Mertens who produced a great suckling pig and mud bugs creole appetizer at the afore-mentioned fundraiser. Frankly the events are a relative bargain at $79 all in, including taxes, gratuity and a wine or beer pairing. Call 905-641-2252 ext. 4619 or email benchmark@niagaracollege.ca for reservations.
So whether you are off for a Mootine, or something a bit more haute, happy eating.
For more pictures, click here.
Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info ) or on twitter @AlexBielak
Food for Thought logo, designed and kindly donated by Ninka Bielak. Ninka can be reached at ninka.bielak@gmail.com.
