Eat, Drink and BATTLE! – Battledish 2013 Hamilton

Yes, that’s right. @Dishcrawlyhm switched it up this month from a fantastic crawl to a heart-pounding battle.

About Battledish

Hamilton has been entered in an international Battledish: a competition between chefs around the world.

Eight chefs have been chosen to compete in Battledish: Hamilton this October in conjunction with the 60 other chefs competing in North America for King of Battledish.

Meet the Competitors:

NaROMA Pizza Bar – Mario Spina
Cheese Shoppe on Locke – Tor Krueger
West Town Bar & Grill – Walter Roper
Democracy – Erin McGuffin
The Courtyard – Zelco Grahovac
Earth to Table Bread Bar – Manny Ferreira
Ole Gourmet –  Mike Tofano
Cake & Loaf – Josie Rudderham and Nicole Miller

Kudos to Hamilton DishCrawl Ambassador Dave Hanley and Hamilton Magazine for coordinating this amazing event!

NaROMA Pizza Bar

Dish 1: Schiacciata con l’uva. Served with Abruzzo red wine

A sweet & savoury grape pizza topped with brie from the Cheese Shoppe on Locke. Despite not knowing how to pronounce the food (we keep trying with no luck), we loved it! Serious melt in your mouth good. And how could you not love red wine? It was Lindsay’s favourite dish of the day.

Cheese Shoppe on Locke

Dish 2: Zucchini Cream Soup with gorgonzola pear, a side of truffled cheese macaroni and chicken liver pate on a bread crisp. Served with a Sparkling Grape Beverage.

All we have to say is cheesy goodness. Their Zucchini Cream Soup was entered into the competition but it was the cheese macaroni that stole our hearts (and palates)! We left the Shoppe close to full, uttering a vow to return for the Mac n Cheese.

West Town Bar & Grill

Dish 3: Pork Tenderloin marinated in citrus, wrapped in puff pastry and peppercorn sauce. Served with Joe Coffee (or a Caesar if you preferred).

After watching Steel and the City/Dishcrawl’s videos introducing the chefs to the community, we were especially excited about West Town because Walter Roper was the only Red Seal Chef on the Battledish trail. Unfortunately, Lindsay didn’t try the dish at this location due to her veggie morals, but Heather was not disappointed by this carnivore’s dream.

Democracy

Dish 4: Democracy Trio of a Savoury Broccoli Cheddar Mini-Muffin, Lemon Loaf and a Hello Sailor. Served with Peppermint Mocha.

After West Town we headed to new-on-the-scene Democracy. This one was especially interesting for us as neither of us had been to Democracy yet and weren’t sure what we were in for. We were pleased! It was a nice sweet change for our palate.

The Courtyard

Dish 5: Rosemary Quail with pear cider, smoked paprika and sweet potato, stilton polenta with baby bok choy. Served with Courtyard Cocktail.

Lindsay tapped out of this dish but tried the Courtyard Cocktail which was described as a lychee lover’s heaven. Heather loved the Quail but passed on the polenta.

Earth to Table Bread Bar

Dish 6: Beer-battered Brie with maple-apple puree, bacon jam, spiced walnuts and fried bread. Served with Apple Rosemary Collins.

We both loved this dish (Lindsay opted out of the bacon jam) and enjoyed the sweet and savory flavours. We both described it as an adult grilled cheese.This was Heather’s favourite of the day!

The Apple Rosemary Collins hit the spot and was made with Dillion’s Unfiltered Gin 22. And you know how we feel about local! Huge plus.

Cake & Loaf Bakery

Dish 7: Apple Cinnamon Dumpling, Pumpkin Harvest Cheesecake and Salted Caramel Chocolate Macaron. Served with a Drunken Spiced Chai.

The perfect dessert for an afternoon that certainly filled our tummies! We also enjoyed the Drunken Spiced Chai – perfect warm cocktail for a cool day. We mean, you can never go wrong with Cake & Loaf.

Ole Gourmet

Dish 8: Taco Sample – Pulled Pork taco with sauteed onions, cilantro, mayo and lettuce. Lime Chicken Taco with pica de gallo and spicy salsa with local toppings. Served with Mexican cerveza – dos equis.

We are so sorry Ole Gourmet! Lindsay had to opt out because her no-meat pledge and Heather was just much too full by this point. We promise a future blog post!

The Awards

Lindsay’s Votes

Most Delicious – NaROMA
Most Creative – Earth to Table Bread Bar
Most Modern – Earth to Table Bread Bar
Most Authentic – NaROMA
Best Cocktail – Cake & Loaf Bakery

Special Shout-Out – Cheese Shoppe on Locke’s DELICIOUS Mac N Cheese

Heather’s Votes

Most Delicious – Earth to Table Bread Bar
Most Creative – Earth to Table Bread Bar
Most Modern – Cheese Shoppe on Locke
Most Authentic – NaROMA
Best Cocktail – Cake & Loaf Bakery

Special Shout-Out – Great pork tenderloin in the puff pastry at West Town! It was full-flavoured and you could definitely tell this one was created by a Red Seal chef.

Did you attend Battledish 2013 in #HamOnt? Review it with us!