Caniche French Bakery

Visited by: Heather Peter

Caniche French Bakery

346 Wilson St E, Ancaster, ON L9G 2C2

http://www.canichebakery.com/

Let’s all be real here… Ancaster isn’t really well-known for it’s variety of independent restaurants and food offerings. Since I grew up there, I have a special affinity for Ancaster, and I really wish more restauranteurs would see it’s potential.

Luckily for me, the brains behind Cavallo Nero and The Purple Pony (Ancaster staples), are branching out and have opened Caniche French Bakery!

Logo 

I have nothing negative to say about their logo. It’s got a French flair to it and it’s pretty. Apparently, Caniche means poodle in French, so this totally works.  What’s more French than a poodle?!

Food Reviews

From what I understand, they’ll soon be offering sandwiches and salads. At the moment, they have all different types of made-in-house bread, along with a large variety of pastries and sweets (including macarons). They also have Kusmi teas and Balzac’s coffee.

I picked up a crusty loaf of bread  and an almond and sour cherry tart.

The loaf of bread was perfection. At first when I got it, I was worried because it seemed a bit hard (I’m a soft bread kinda girl). There was no reason to worry! It was a lightly crusty outside and soft squishy bread on the inside. Loved it!

The tart was different from what I usually go for, but I love cherries so I was excited to try this one. I wasn’t disappointed! It was soft and sweet with a tart cherry flavour. I’d get this again, for sure.

Check out their detailed menu here: http://www.canichebakery.com/menu/

Atmosphere 

Adorable! The front room with all the bread, pastries, teas and coffees is quite small, but I promise you won’t be disappointed. When I stopped in, it was jam-packed with baked goods, so I was able to spend quite a bit of time browsing at all the yummy french pastries.

Being in Old Ancaster, the building has a lot of character and they really played off of this with the shop.

They also have a bright and sunny side room/cafe side, with a big window seat and greenery. I just want to hang out here all day.

Brand 

Their brand has really good vision. They know they’re a french bakery and they stick to this, right from the entirely french product tags, to the drinks, to their blue and white stripe aprons. It all fits and I love it!

Social Media Campaign 

For a bakery that has just started out, they’re doing pretty great on social media! Head on over to their social media pages and give them a *like*, because you’ll be blessed with some foodie delights for the eyes.

Website – http://www.canichebakery.com/

Facebook – Caniche French Bakery 

Twitter – Caniche_Bakery

Instagram – canichebakery

Suggestions

None really! For a business that just started up, they’re doing well on all fronts. They have a good brand, great customer service, and good online presence so far. I’d love to see them open on Sunday…but that’s just me!

Been to Caniche French Bakery? Review it with us in the comments below! 

Butcher and the Vegan

Butcher and the Vegan

61 Barton Street E

Hamilton, ON 

After visiting Butcher and the Vegan on our first Hamilton Food Tour, we couldn’t stop thinking about and planning our next visit. Shout out to their Beet Fries and their Mushroom Crostinis! We were impressed and ready for more. Lindsay was all about celebrating Friendship Day with her besties, so three of us (Small Fries + Brittany) ended up celebrating the day foodie-style at Butcher and the Vegan.

Logo

Butcher and the Vegan has two different forms of their logo. The ‘B&V’ seen outside and the written out version. They mesh well – black on white, bold fonts.

B&V is making an impact on their neighbourhood. It only makes sense that their logo would be impactful as well.

Food & Reviews

For the table we chose:

Lindsay’s go-to, Beet Salad. She is crazy about Beet Salad and orders it at almost every restaurant. Seriously, tweet her for the best Beet Salads in Hamilton. She will eat all of them. And she’ll post about them. You won’t be disappointed. Anyways, we digress.

This beet salad was definitely up there in the ‘best of’ list. But really, we would have ordered it just for the food porn. Look at how colourful this freakin’ plate is!

Steak Frites with Asparagus. Lindsay ordered this main. The steak was slightly overdone for her taste, but it was still amazing nonetheless. She didn’t complain, but we’re 100% positive they would have given her a new one if she had. But the flavours were mouth-watering. Just writing this makes her want to get it again. Like .. right now…

Anywho, her only complaint was that there was too much (yes, we said too much) food on the plate. It was hard to cut the steak because it was piled on the fries.

Fig, Duck and Arugula Flatbread Pizza. Brittany had this butcher’s pizza. I mean – look at it. That’s what we really love about B&V – the food not only tastes amazing, it looks amazing. It had this delicious sweet taste to it. It was also really good cold the next day.

Wild Mushroom Risotto – Our fabulous waiter suggested we order the risotto, which was his personal fave that week. We went with the non-vegan version – you can get it made either way – which was made with cream and some sort of cheese. We were so happy we went with this suggestion.

Risotto is often hit and miss, and often will be crazy strong with wine or cheese. This one had a perfect balance. It was rich and creamy. With the earthy flavour of the wild mushrooms and the sweet crunch of the carrot (?) topping, this was a perfect dish.

Watermelon Sorbet – While we were there we also heard that one of the kitchen staff had been working hard on perfecting his Sorbet recipe. Of course, this meant we had to get dessert. (Right….that’s the reason..;)…)

Yum. This sorbet was like eating a frozen watermelon. Only way classier. Heather ordered it, but being friendship day, shared with Lindsay and Brittany as well.

Atmosphere

When you think of where to find higher-end, local culinary gems – Barton and John isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind.  (Though a renaissance is beginning!)

In our minds, Butcher and the Vegan is not the norm for when you think of Barton street. It’s a cute little space decorated in bright colours. With mismatched chairs, mahogany wood and blackboard signs, it’s lowkey and comfortable. B&V is a diamond in the rough.

Brand

Butcher and the Vegan has a strong focus on bringing all ingredients in from a 100 mile radius. This means you may pay a bit more for your meal, but we promise – it’s worth it. You’re eating fresh, you’re eating local, and you can feel good about it.

B&V’s aim is to make a space that is meatatarian, vegetarian and vegan friendly. If you bring a group to this resto, you’re going to be able to order a proper meal for everyone.

Oh, and they try to make you really feel at home. Which is why you can find action-figures and other toys on every table. Check out Brittany and cold Spidey!

Social Media Campaign

Facebook – Butcher and the Vegan

Twitter – BandtheV

Instagram – butcherandthevegan

No complaints on the social media front. Whoever manages the B&V social media accounts, they’re doing a great job. They have enough posts to be engaging, without overwhelming their online community. Plus there’s tons of menu info and some great food porn!

Suggestions

We don’t have many suggestions for Butcher and the Vegan, to be honest! If they keep doing what they’re doing – ROCKIN’ IT – we foresee that word of mouth will get them far!

Have you been to Butcher and the Vegan? Review it with us in the comments below!

The Trocadero Restaurant

The Trocadero Restaurant

525 Barton St E,

Hamilton, ON

Visited & Written by: Heather

Did you know The Trocadero Restaurant just celebrated their 70th birthday this month? (On June 6th to be exact!) I’m slightly ashamed to say I had never visited until a few weeks ago. With it’s predominantly driving-traffic-location on Barton, and slightly dated stone front without a working sign…it never dawned on me that I might be missing out on one of Hamilton’s best-kept secrets. Luckily, one Wagjag prixe-fixe deal later with Mom, I’m scratching it off the bucket list!

Read more about the history of the Trocadero in Paul Wilson’s article below.

http://www.thespec.com/living-story/4553740-paul-wilson-d-day-to-b-day-the-troc-turns-70/

Logo

The logo is antique design style with a Mediterranean flair…and not in a bad way! It’s exactly what you’d expect for a resto like the Trocadero. I just wish their sign worked.

Food and reviews

The food is the prime element of the Trocadero that will keep me coming back time and time again. (Plus I heard a cool tidbit from a gentleman that worked there, the chef is a 70 year old woman who has been a cuisinier all over the world and has even cooked in castles for the elite! Amazing!)

Now, onto the meal:

My Mom and I started off with Bruschetta and Garlic toast plus a salad with Mediterranean veggies (basically a fancy Greek salad) to share. Even these appetizers in themselves were enough to fill us up, but alas..there was more!

There were a few main dishes to choose from in the prix-fixe menu. The mains we chose were a Cheese Tortellini pasta in a rose sauce topped with chicken and a Pork Tenderloin Spiral filled with a hazelnut-cherry-proscuitto mixture over smashed potatoes with seasonal veggies.

They both had a delicious balance of sweet and savory that made for a perfect meal. We would have preferred to have the veggies on the side of the Pork cooked more (they were raw or close to raw), but other than that…the meal was a dream.

Though we’re not usually big dessert people, it came with the prix fixe deal so we tried a tiramisu and a berry cheesecake which were both served with suspiciously delicious strawberries. (Seriously, what was with them? Local goodness, perhaps.)

Tea to finish, of course!

Atmosphere

The Trocadero was started by one family, is still owned by the same family, and hasn’t changed since day one. The whole resto has that warm and cozy vintage feel, but with a fancy touch. There’s two sections to the resto. One near the bar includes classier elements like mirrored walls and dark wood tables, the second section had rounded booth tables with a retro feel, and lace privacy curtains made by the original founder of the Trocadero! (I also loved the fact that they were playing some Etta James and Frank Sinatra, my fave! It definitely added to the atmosphere and overall brand.)

Brand

Their logo isn’t very prevalent in the eatery, but I understand what they’re going for with their brand. The character of the restaurant is shown throughout the whole space and – even though I don’t love the concept – in their lack of social media as well! They’re an old-fashioned place with good food and they plan to stay that way.

Social Media Campaign

No online presence whatsoever. Word of mouth sure has gotten them a long way!

Suggestions

The Trocadero is only open every Friday and Saturday and closes during the Summer months, so if you’d like to visit you’ll have to visit on their schedule! My suggestions would be that they open up the hours a bit and maybe implement a small social media presence OR at the very least a website. People want to see that yummy menu!

Been to The Trocadero? Review it with us!

Embrace the ‘Detour’s

Detour Cafe & Restaurant
41 King St W,
Dundas, ON

Set in the heart of downtown Dundas, Detour Cafe is a bit out of the way for us (living in East End Hamilton and North End Hamilton) – a ‘detour’ if you will – but every time we visit, we can’t help falling in love with the cafe all over again.

Logo
The logo reminds us of a road sign and, in our minds, portrays exactly what the cafe offers: a detour from the everyday grind. It’s a place to take a coffee break with friends and enjoy high quality food at low costs.

Food and reviews
Lindsay- I tried one of the Specials of the Day, which was a French Toast Brioche with chocolate, sprinkled with icing sugar. I swapped the sauce for some fruit preserves and was happy I did so! The meal was extremely rich and sweet (just what the doctor ordered), but I would have liked it in a smaller portion. It was definitely a meal made for sharing!

Heather – The Detour Hash is probably my favourite dish in Hamilton, and also one of the main reasons I LOVE to visit Detour. It’s got a variety of different ingredients in it (smoked meat, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, onions, peppers and poached eggs), but they all blend together so well! I also appreciate that you can add oven roasted tomatoes on top, which of course, I always do! Mmmm.

Atmosphere
We love everything about the atmosphere! They have a gorgeous location, a comfortable space with dark woods and cozy accents (featuring local art) and have added in a huge patio for those warm weather days. It’s definitely a place you’d take a detour to visit.

Brand
Detour is a brand done right. You can find their logo in a few locations in the cafe (great for brand recognition) and it can be found easily on their social media.

Social Media Campaign
Facebook – www.facebook.com/pages/Detour-Cafe/520840597946844
Twitter – twitter.com/_DetourCafe
Instagram – instagram.com/detourcoffee
Website – http://detourcafe.ca/

We love all the food porn pictures they have been posting to their Facebook lately, but we would love to see more posts per week. Being that it’s a “detour” out of the way, we need to be reminded!

Suggestions
We love everything about Detour! Our only suggestions would be: why not post from Instagram to Facebook? Let more people see those gorgeous photos! Also – offer poached eggs all day please! 🙂

Side note: we’ve also heard that Detour Cafe has recently purchased the Manual Labour Coffee trailer and will be frequenting local events with it!

Been to Detour Cafe & Restaurant? Review it with us!

One Duke Restaurant and Oyster Lounge

One Duke Restaurant and Oyster Lounge

1 Duke Street,

Hamilton, Ontario 

One Duke Restaurant is not one that comes to our minds very often for dinner suggestions and after visiting recently…we have no idea why the heck not! Since our most recent foray, we’ve been craving their fair price, home cookin’ and comfortable atmosphere.

Logo 

The logo portrays exactly what they are. ‘One Duke’. We’re not loving the addition of “Restaurant and Oyster Lounge” though and would love to see this in a font that matches with the main text.

Food and reviews

Lindsay – Cajun Potato and Spinach Soup + Sweet Potato Fries

I loved the soup! I would go back for it again. The sweet potato fries were also good but I wasn’t a fan of their sweet, honey sauce. I much prefer a spicy mayo with sweet potatoes. But it was a delicious meal on a cold night!

Heather – At this visit to One Duke, I tried their Meatloaf with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Though I’m not by any means a meatloaf expert, I think it’s pretty safe to say this is one of the best in the city. Wow. The garlic mashed potatoes were made to order, and I’m pretty sure the gravy was red wine based – which brought a gourmet flair to the home style meal. I loved it.

Atmosphere

Great customer service. We were even spoiled with some free Corona t-shirts! One Duke is comfortable and dimly lit. It has a warm feel just like the style of the fare.

Brand 

Their brand is largely based around their location, which in our opinion is a wonderful area,  (James Street South and Duke Street) and was a great choice as a base for their brand.

Social Media Campaign

A strong social media presence is in place for One Duke! We love all the food pics they share and would love to see more pictures like this on their website.

Website – www.oneduke.ca

Facebook – www.facebook.com/onedukehamilton

Twitter – www.twitter.com/onedukeresto

Instagram – www.instagram.com/onedukeresto

Suggestions

We’d love to see a new font on the portion of their logo “Restaurant and Oyster Lounge”, as well as more high-quality food pictures on their website. People love #FoodPorn! Plus, they’ve got the pictures – might as well use them to the best of their benefit.

All in all, we love One Duke and will be back very soon…we might even take a trip back this week!

Been to One Duke Restaurant? Review it with us! 

Munge-Cake? Munge-Panino!

Paninoteca

1660 Upper James,

Hamilton, Ontario

Though we may not come from tight-knit Italian families, visiting Paninoteca made us feel as if we did. We were welcomed by the owner, whose whole family was a part of the restaurant. The girls in the “Paninoteca family” were playing board games in the front and there was no uncomfortable hoighty-toighty-ness about it. (…Is that a word?) Paninoteca is full of Italian comfort.

Logo

The logo on the sign doesn’t have a lot to it. It’s a strong bold font that seems a bit futuristic in our opinion. Not really what we think of when we think about their brand as a whole – but it’s not a bad logo by any means and it gets the attention of travellers heading down Upper James.

Food and Reviews

Paninoteca is famous for it’s veal sandwiches (which we found out are apparently often called ‘the Facebook sandwich’ as they’re talked about so often online). We didn’t realize this until after we had ordered, but the food we did taste was delicious and home-made. Just like a Nonna would make.

Between us we tried a garden salad, tortellini with marinara sauce, spaghetti with meatballs and a prosciutto sandwich. Everything was fresh – even the salad dressing was homemade which we loved. The pasta had the perfect amount of homemade marinara sauce. Our mouths are watering just thinking about it. The proscuitto sandwich was okay. Fresh ingredients again, but it needed some sort of sauce. (Should have opted in for those $1 extra toppings.)

Atmosphere

Though Paninoteca is in a strip mall, it doesn’t diminish from the atmosphere. It’s just like being at Nonna’s house. Your “restaurant-family” is all around, and the decor is a mix of vintage-dowdy decor meets family-run modern sandwich shop.

Brand

Their brand is entirely focused around the food. Good, homemade food. Though the brand may not be as modern and visually-appealing as we usually go for, their food is famous (especially the veal sandwiches) and that’s enough to bring people in by the droves. On their sign out front they even advertise their famous veal sandwich in two separate places. We call that good advertising!

Social Media Campaign

Website: None that we could find.

Facebook: Paninoteca Upper James

Twitter: None that we could find.

Instagram: None that we could find.

Suggestions

A website is a MUST in business! We would love to see more work on their social media and a more well-defined brand. We suggest they start with the brand, figure out how to play up on the “Nonna’s Kitchen” and “Family Restaurant” aspect. Amp up the social media with the use of Twitter and Instagram. Afterall – the veal sandwich doesn’t have to just be the “Facebook sandwich” it could be the “Twitter sandwich” and the “Instagram sandwich” as well.

Been to Paninoteca? Review it with us!

WORK it!

WORK Restaurant

337 James Street North, 

Hamilton, ON

This talk of the town restaurant on James St. N. WORK wows Hamiltonians with its minimal decor but out-of-this-world food.

Logo

This is a tough one because they have different logos in different locations (ie. Facebook, Twitter, awning at the restaurant, website.) We think the one that best represents the “metal-head/punk-rock” brand that we believe they’re going for is featured on their website. It’s a white, scratchy impression of ‘WORK’ on a black background. Punk-rock, hardcore, we love it. We only wish their awning and Facebook had the same design!

Food Review

What can we say about the food. Well what we can say is that you are all lucky this blog is written and not spoken, or else you wouldn’t be able to understand us with all the delicious food we are devouring right now.

WORK’s menu is small but full of mouth-watering dishes that appease any palate. Its’  fresh, full-bodied flavours make you wish owner Joel Elliot was your mom and in charge of making your meals.

The both of us split Green Bean Tempura and Smoked Corn. The Green Bean Tempura had a light, fresh flavour. The breading was not overdone on the tempura, which we both liked. It also had a spice sauce (sriracha?) on top … just the right amount. The Smoked Corn tasted similar to the corn you would get in a good old-fashioned Southern BBQ restaurant. (You know – the kind that’s smoked over a charcoal grill with the husk still on?) Both dishes were total yum.

Lindsay – I ordered the Tagliatelle of Zucchini with Basil Cream Sauce. Oh. My. Goodness. I’m surprised I managed to stop myself half way in order to bring home leftovers. It was a delicious and fresh remix of pasta – and not as heavy. It came with two pieces of French Stick bread that I used to soak up the basil cream sauce. I cannot say enough about this dish.

Heather – Being the (almost) carnivore of the pair, I ordered Spaghetti and Meatballs. This was one of the best bowls of Spaghetti and Meatballs that I have ever ordered in a restaurant. Perfect, thick marinara sauce with large-sized herbed meatballs and a kick of spice. It’s definitely going to be one of my go-to dishes when I visit WORK Restaurant.

Atmosphere

On James St. N and Corso Racalmuto (yes this is a real street name) right beside This Ain’t Hollywood, is WORK. Standing outside of the building you are greeted with the strong colours of black, white and red. (Okay yes, we know black and white are shades and not colours.) But when you open the door, you walk into something completely different.

With few tables and minimal decor WORK does little to visually stimulate you. We hear the owner is pretty Punk Rock/Metal which would explain the local dark art he hangs at the back of the restaurant.

The atmosphere is minimal. But the food is fantastic. It won’t really matter about the wall colour or lack of decor because your eyes will be fixed on your plate.

Brand

Hmmm. Well with clear branding in sight we think the aim of WORK is the food. Delicious food is what they advertise and exactly what they deliver.

We weren’t sure what to expect as “WORK” leaves little to the imagination on branding, but when we went in we were underwhelmed with the decor and overall theme (if there really is one).

Now even though we are suckers for clear, concise branding and often visit restaurants based on this, we think WORK makes up for its lack of brand with its food.

Social Media Campaign

We’re loving their Facebook presence. It is all about the visual – food porn galore. That’s what people want to see when they’re looking for info about their next meal. Their Twitter presence could be amped up a bit. We see a lot of the “Metal-head/Local-Music-Buff” personality on their Twitter, which is great for their brand – but we need more tweets about the food! (The scrumptious, superb food! Especially because their decor lacks the punk rock feel.) Hopefully when their website is up and running (under construction still), they’ll go the same route as their Facebook currently does and fill it with some delicious, local food pics!

Twitter – @Work377

Facebook – Work Food

Instagram – None that we could find

Website – www.workrestaurant.ca (Under Construction)

Suggestions

Because we are branding enthusiasts we would love to see some brand development in their near future. If owner Joel Elliot is a metal head, we would love to see that black, white and red continue throughout with old school band posters on the wall. Pair that with good music and even better food, WORK will be the winning restaurant every time.

Been to WORK Restaurant? Review it with  us!