I have been reviewing restaurants for some time now. I thought to myself it’s time to reveal the best of the best places that I feel are Butcher Block worthy. What do I mean by that? Restaurants & Eateries in Burlington Ontario that have left an impression on me. After all I live in Burlington, I love to promote great Restaurants, & I love meeting amazing people who share the same quest I do, creating memorable dishes. So I decided to take the best five places, I have reviewed & share my thoughts with other people, not only through my website/blog dabutchersdaughter.ca but by having all these five restaurants & eatery’s come together for one event. So I created Da Butchers Daughter Sip, Sketch & Savor Event 2016.
I contacted Cocktails & Creations located in Hamilton Ontario. I asked if we could get a professional nude male model to come out and help us bring over the sketch side. Teresa Parente owner of Cocktails & Creations took the idea and went right work.
We transformed my event into a wonderful evening of laughs, amazing eats, & a lesson in sketching. Cocktails & Creations brought in a professional nude male model for us to sketch. Alloro Restaurant, The Ruby Restaurant, Indian Grocers, Becky’s Colombian Cuisines, Carrigan Arms Pub, & Sweetness Bakery new to Toronto Ont. which was DA Wild Card of the evening. All came out to support this unique event. PELLER Estates Wine was chilling in oversized ice buckets, as well as some other great wine picks from the Niagara Region. These five wonderful restaurants provided us with some great cuisine for us to savour.
We had some talented women come out and join us, and just like that the evening was off to a great start. As the ladies enjoyed sipping, sketching, & savouring this event was a big success with lots of fun. There were prizes for the best sketch, and who was most improved sketch artist. Our Sketch teacher showed us how each line was supposed to be, and it was just an evening full of enjoyment. I know I was a little nervous having a naked male model around, but after a few glasses of Chardonnay. I was relaxed and ready to sketch the night away. I like to think the evening went like the great Da Vinci once said “Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is not art. So with charcoal in hand and sketch pads in use. I was quite impressed by the amount of artistry in some of these ladies.
THE INDIAN GROCERS
7-1450 Headon Rd. Burlington Ontario
905-331-5135
The Indian Grocers is a great little Indian grocers store, with traditional Indian groceries and tasty little treats. The star of this quaint little grocers is the Samosas. It’s a great place to get some international Indian ingredients, as well as Samosas 10 of them starting at .50 each where else can you get these fried Indian snacks 10 for $5.00 bucks. These little fried pockets are filled with authentic Indian spices, peas, and tender potatoes. You can also purchase these with meat, Chicken, Beef or Vegetarian. A great find & bang for your buck and right here in Burlington Ont.
BECKY’S COLOMBIAN CUISINE & TREATS
2152 Mountain Grove Rd. Burlington Ontario
289-288-1631
Becky’s Colombian Cuisine was a great find for me. Colombian eats from authentic Colombian recipes. Arepas, Patacones & Empanadas which I love. These homemade savory Colombian turnovers are filled with shredded savory chicken,beef,or cheese, and Becky’s Colombian cuisine are as authentic as you can get. These crunchy corn meal crusted treats are packed with beef, potatoes and Colombian spices. Becky’s Colombian cuisine even make an in-house sauce to serve with there Empanadas, which was so amazing, one of my guests took the whole bowl to dip Becky’s Empanadas in. Rude… nah! when you know what you like, you just have to go for it. This Colombian eatery doesn’t stop there. If you’re looking for that special Latin product, Becky’s has it with her imported products. If you want to experience Colombian cuisine, go see Becky’s.
CARRIGAN ARMS BAR & PUB
2025 Upper Middle Rd. Burlington Ontario
905-332-6131
Carrigan Arms Bar & Pub was a find my friend brought me to, and I am so glad she did. Fantastic Upscale Pub Grub with items such as Peameal Brie & Avacado Sandwich, Thai Chicken Wrap, Carrigan “Ass-Kicking” Burger and so much more. My memorable moment at Carrigan Arms was not only meeting Deb the owner of this Burlington Landmark, but the homemade deserts this Pub makes. I’m going to say it, like I did the first time I visited Carrigan Arms. This Lemon Square is like a piece of sunshine in my mouth. I even had one guest say ” What the F is this lemon thing, it’s so F good, where is this place” need I say more. This is why I love what I do. This mouth-watering lemon square is sweet, tart, & the shortbread butter cookie bottom is so delectable. It’s a must after any meal served at this Pub.
THE RUBY TANSLEY WOODS RETIREMENT HOME
4100 Upper Middle Rd. 10th Floor Burlington Ontario
289-636-1400
The Ruby is a special place to me. I entered Tansley Woods Retirement Home with so many odd thoughts of this restaurant, but I had to see it for myself. It is one of my favourite places to have Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. Located on the tenth floor of the Tansley Woods Retirement Home. The Ruby is a classy, upscale, sophisticated restaurant with a downtown feel. The Ruby Restaurant served up some dips for my event. Chef Greg prepared a three cheese artichoke spinach dip & a three cheese crab & spinach dip. Our Three Cheese artichoke Spinach Dip was served warm, and it was full of large chucks of artichoke, melted gooey cheese, spinach, red peppers, & naan bread the combination was delightful. Our Three Cheese Spinach & Crab Dip was delicious as well, with large tender pieces of whole crab meat surrounded by creamy cheese & spinach, this dish we served with warm pumpernickel bread. These dips were a definite way to get our event started. For any occasion you may be having. The Ruby is spectacular and it’s true what they say, it’s Burlington hidden gem.
SWEETNESS MIDDLE EASTERN BAKERY & CAFE
3466 Dundas St. Street West. Toronto Ont.
416-766-8430
Sweetness Bakery was Da Wild Card of the evening. This Bakery is not in Burlington Ont. But I had met the owner of this bakery a few weeks ago at another event I was attending. I mentioned my Sip, Sketch & Savor event and before I knew it, Sweetness Bakery hooked me up with some Middle Eastern desserts. So I had to showcase these International sweets. The owners of this bakery are brand new to Canada, and the mini baklava ( I called them baklava nests) were scrumptious. These sticky but yummy sweets were doused in honey and dressed with pistachio. Almond Sponge cookies, Walnut filled cookies, and so much more. If you want to try these delicately made sweet treats, you will have to head to Toronto.
ALLORO RESTARAUNT & BAR/ HOLIDAY INN
3063 S. Service Rd. Burlington Ont.
905-639-4443
Alloro Restaurant is my favorite pick. Alloro Restaurant was the Top Winner for Taste of Burlington Summer edition. Chef Kalvin is one of the most modest Chefs I have met. When I asked Chef Kalvin if he wanted to participate, he jumped right on board. Alloro sent over Chef Matt to prepare bacon wrapped Scallops with a spicy aioli mayo. This was the People’s Choice winning dish for Taste of Burlington, so I was honored when he told me this is what he was going to prepare. It was a crowd pleaser, with plenty of smiles once these juicy tender giant scallops, crunchy bacon and spicy aioli hit the mouths of our guests. All the elements of this dish coming together was like a delicious firecracker in your mouth. They were devoured in a matter of minutes. That’s why Alloro Restaurant was Burlington’s Winner, and Champion with me. Chef Kalvin and his staff are also very crafty in the kitchen. Alloro Restaurant is always thinking out of the box and preparing the most unusual dishes, and I love that this Chef takes his creative cuisines and puts it into every dish that leaves Alloro’s kitchen. Alloro Restaurant is located inside the Holiday Inn. Another excellent place to enjoy an impressive meal in Burlington Ont.
It really was an amazing evening, I want to say Thank you to all the restaurants that participated in making my Sip, Sketch & Savour event a very successful one. Alloro Restaurant, Carrigan Arms, The Ruby, Becky’s Colombian Cuisines, Indian Grocers, & Sweetness Bakery. All the dishes prepared, were well savoured and enjoyed by all our guests. I hope you find time to visit my Burlington Butcher Block picks all these restaurants are fantastic. I look forward to visiting all of you again for another memorable meal. To Cocktails & Creations for the wonderful teaching on sketching, your instructor was very informative. To our wonderful male model. I would also like to thank my awesome girlfriends Connie DeBenedet, Lisa Kachuik, & Lisa Hunter for helping me bring this idea to life. Cheers to Fine Food & Long Life Friends. I look forward to our next intriguing gathering.
For more information on our next event & exciting places to dine visit dabutchersdaughter.ca
