TAPAS, TAPS & TIDBITS

Food & Drink in Greater Hamilton

     In this month's Tapas, Taps and Tidbits, we do our first Beer With The Brown Notes and then I swing by the Cat and Fiddle for some delicious new salads.

BEER WITH THE BROWNNOTES

     As I wrote about in the last column, moving forward, I will be sampling beer, liquor and wine with my band the Brown Notes and for the first edition, we decided Clifford Brewing would be our destination.  So, we packed up a couple of guitars, a cajon and a small bass and headed to Clifford.  At the brewery, we sampled four different beers while playing four different original songs. The four beers we tried were PINBALL WIZARD, CHAIN LINK LAGER, CLIFFORD PORTER and lastly EAST HAMILTON LAGER.  Olaf was most surprised by the Porter.  He said many people are scared of porters, but the beer was easy drinking and delicious.  Koz agreed, that the Porter was a surprise but his favourite was the CHAIN LINK VIENNA LAGER. Shawn too liked the PORTER and as it's a little heavier, it's perfect to match with certain cuisines, like a good wine.  Myself, I like the porter, but the PINBALL WIZARD was my favourite.

     These four beers are all core beers at Clifford Brewing.   All four were good as were the four songs we played before each one we tried.  You can find the video online at the https://hammermonthly.ca (Brown Notes YouTube page) or click on the QR code below (print only).

     As I said above, Clifford Brewing is an excellent live music venue and also supports many local events and causes. Their beers can be found throughout the market.  Most recently at the Fool and Flagon and the Ottawa Street Local, The Come By Chance and The Cat and Fiddle.

      And speaking of the Cat and Fiddle, where we recently played, they have a new lunch menu for just 10 Bucks for a salad and sandwich, and they also have 2 new entree salads - the summer salad and the cobb salad.  So, after Clifford, I swung by the Cat and Fiddle.  I tried both salads - the summer salad with feta onions, cranberry, seeds and lettuce.  It was served with a peach vinaigrette dressing and it was quite delicious.   The cobb salad was much the same as other cobb salads, served with ham, chicken, cheese, eggs and a garden salad below with a balsamic vinegar dressing.  The salad was very good and gives a healthier and delicious option at lunch and during the shows at The Cat.

     The Brown Notes we'll be opening for Simply Saucer next month on June 19^th at Clifford Brewing.  Hope to see you there for some great music and beer!

 - IW