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I will preface this review by saying I come from a Caribbean family and therefore walked into Caribbean Flavah with higher than normal expectations for a take-out restaurant.
Most students who have lived in Westdale-Ainsliewood for the last few years are already very well-acquainted with the restaurant, as the signage for the store went up roughly two years ago. While its presence has been looming, the restaurant itself only opened two months ago, towards the end of November.
I went to the restaurant in time for their take-out lunch specials. From 11-4 p.m. they offer five dollar lunch specials that include your choice of meat (jerk chicken, curry chicken, fried chicken, stewed chicken or jerk pork), served with rice and beans and coleslaw.
I ordered the jerk and curry chicken, and they both had good flavour. The jerk was definitely the better of the two, but both seemed to have a lot of pieces of broken bone floating in the rice, a sign of poorly cut and prepared meat. It is understandable that the meat didn’t have the best cut because of the low price, but a more sustainable business practice could be to offer fewer options of better quality food for a slightly higher price. Encountering pointy bits of cartilage in my meal was off-putting and deters me from returning again, even if it is a great deal. The rice on the other hand had great flavour and consistency and made up for the sketchy bone cutting.
The lunch deals also came with a canned pop or bottled water. I really wanted to upgrade my canned pop to bottles of Ting (a Jamaican grapefruit drink), but they unfortunately had no way to pay for an upgrade, and the one person working there forced me to take the pop either way. I really wanted that Ting.
Caribbean Flavah has had a long start-up, and they seem to still have some planning to go. They do offer a wide range of dishes though, and are a unique addition to Westdale’s restaurant scene.
Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor
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Hamilton is no stranger to high-quality bakers. Locally-sourced ingredients, vegan options and small batch from scratch preparation has become the standard for any new small business looking to start up in the local food industry. Yet, there is still something incredibly novel about taking these standards, adding a bit of creativity and applying it to the beloved donut. Donut Monster is one of the most creative and delicious new offerings in the city. You haven’t had a donut until you’ve tried one.
Donut Monster made its debut in July of this year, and since then has offered its expanding line of goods through a variety of local retailers. New flavours are announced every week via Instagram, often incorporating unorthodox pairings or drawing inspiration from other popular sweets. Notable favourites have included double chocolate brownie, mango cacao, blueberry basil, fig and brandy, honey mustard and rosemary, watermelon lavender, roasted plum and cranberry.
The dynamic menu and unique pairings of different ingredients are thanks to the innovative and culinary mind of Reuban Vanderkwaak. Vanderkwaak took inspiration from some of the many quality donut shops he encountered in his American travels, and began developing his own recipes. Despite the donut service being his first venture into professional baking and small business, Vanderkwaak was able to make experimentation and collaboration a fundamental part of his work.
The difficulties associated with finding affordable and sufficient space brought Vanderkwaak together with the owners of Willard’s Ice Cream, Hero Coffee Roasters, Sweet & Simple Candies and Real Food Kitchens to start the Kitchen Collective.
The Kitchen Collective is a co-op, non-profit, and state of the art commercial kitchen that offers members and the public access to a significantly more affordable means to start a small business. The kitchen was funded via Kickstarter last year, and is home to a total of 34 permanent, professional members.
The extra set of taste buds naturally lends itself to some great collaboration. Espresso Chocolate donuts made with Relay Coffee roasts, an Oatmeal Stout donut using Brimstone Brewery’s own Midnight Mass, as well as several other ingredients from fellow Kitchen Collective members have been used to create some fantastic collaborative flavours. “Part of what I love about Hamilton is the community aspect and the collaboration behind small businesses. It happens in other communities but it feels really strong in Hamilton,” says Vanderkwaak.
“A lot of people, they have an idea, and they wanna try it out . . . it’s a space to experiment. It’s a space to really see if you can take your dream to the next level and you can do that in a safe way and not have to invest a lot of money into it.”
While Vanderkwaak and other small businesses involved in the local food industry are excited by its rapid growth, the barrier of entry and competition has also predictably grown.
“It starts to price people out of the game and that’s what the Kitchen Collective is trying to combat as well,” says Vanderkwaak. “Let’s keep an opening for people that are not necessarily millionaires or have access to a large amount of funds or have such a history in the industry that they can easily find access to those funds. Keeping it experimental, keeping on a smaller level, keeping it fun. That’s what we’re doing.”
Donut Monster is carried by The Canon, Pinecone Coffee Company and the Relay Coffee stand at Hamilton Farmers’ Market from Thursday to Saturday. Butcher and the Vegan, The Mustard Seed Coop and Cafe Oranje provide donuts on Saturdays. Announcements and other news can be found via Donut Monster’s social media. For more information about the Kitchen Collective and its members, visit their website at www.kitchencollective.ca.
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The second year that I worked for The Silhouette, at least 50 percent of my job revolved around food. I ran the Lifestyle section, and I took restaurant reviews very seriously. I still love eating out now, so when the new MacEats app was released, I was quick to download it and give it a try.
The new app is the offspring of Hospitality Services and the Student Dining Committee, a group of students devoted to sampling and judging the foods on campus. The app allows students to search across the menu offerings at campus eateries and compare their options before swiping their meal card. With categories like Food Types, Open Late, Locations and more, with the tap of a screen, students can find out which campus restaurants are open and what they are selling.
While the app will surely be helpful for many students, there’s one category that seems to be missing — budget.
It checks all the boxes for showcasing food options and even highlights which locations cater to dietary restrictions, but it has no way for students to search meals based on price.
It’s no secret that food on campus is expensive. And for many students, it can be exceedingly difficult to find an affordable meal that isn’t going to take a huge chunk out of their weekly budget, especially if they didn’t factor in eating on campus.
The app is great for students who live on campus and have meal plan dollars to use up, but for those of us who do not have a large pool of funds attached to our student cards, budgeting is important. Especially now that most campus vendors accept credit and debit, the purchasing habits of the full student body should be considered.
If the app had a section where students could program in the amount they were willing to spend and view options based on that number, not only would it help those looking for a more reasonably priced meal, but it may even increase sales at campus vendors since students wouldn’t be so turned off by what appears to be exclusively high-priced cuisine.
Student finances should be a priority across campus, especially when it comes to making campus life something affordable or at least accessible for all financial backgrounds. Budgeting a student life shouldn’t be something hard to swallow.
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By: Sophie Hunt
On Oct. 7, the warm fall air was filled with the scent of fresh produce as McMaster students filled Mills Plaza for the first ever Local Food Fest.
The event was hosted by Mac Farmstand, an MSU service that sells locally-grown fruits and vegetables on campus from June to October. The Local Food Fest brought together McMaster food initiatives such as MACgreen, Mac Bread Bin, and Mac Veggie Club, as well as numerous local food producers and distributors.
“Farmstand’s goal is to encourage students to have more local eating habits,” said Jonathon Patterson, Mac Farmstand’s director. “A lot of people enter university after living with their parents and being used to having meals with family. University is when we start to develop our food habits, and local food is so important.”
This year, Mac Farmstand has served an averaged of 200 people per day, almost double the number of clients it has seen in previous years. The Local Food Fest was created as a result of the increased interest in local food that Farmstand has seen.
One of the local vendors represented at the event was The Mustard Seed, a cooperative grocery store that sells food grown and produced in the Hamilton area. The store is located at the intersection of Locke Street North and York Boulevard in downtown Hamilton.
“Anything that can be local is local at our grocery store,” said Meg Makins, a representative from The Mustard Seed. “This festival is all about local food, so it was a perfect fit . . . I think [the event] raises awareness about the importance of local food, and it helps students realize that they can access local food in a simple way.”
The Farmstand closes on Oct. 31, so the service is brainstorming ways to continue to promote local food sources for students that have come to rely on local produce. “We’re looking at continuing past Oct. 31,” said Patterson. “The stand would be closed, but we’d be having local farmers come in for an interactive panel discussion.”
“We’re partnering with the residences to offer smaller cooking classes within residence for students to learn how to cook things that they can cook when living on campus,” added Patterson. “We’re also working on partnering with the Student Health Education Centre for having a dietician who would be at Farmstand just for one day, so if people have questions they can have those questions answered.”
This is the first year that Mac Farmstand has hosted the event on campus, but the service hopes to make the Local Food Fest an annual event.
By: Sasha Dhesi
Many young people are nervous about stepping into the kitchen, and know very little what goes into the food that they eat. This was especially apparent to me last week when my friend had to explain to our acquaintances, that yes, you can use spices to cook chicken. It’s common to be nervous about cooking, but cooking at home is a must for the student on a budget. And ultimately, you really can’t enter adulthood without knowing how to make yourself lunch. Knowing some basic aspects of cooking will allow you to not only save money, but also save yourself a lot of embarrassment in the future.
My brother likens cooking to following procedure in his chemistry labs. In both scenarios you’re given your materials and the steps needed to achieve your desired outcome, but have the capacity to change it as you see fit to suit your needs. This perspective allowed me to relieve some of the stress I had about entering the kitchen. To become a good cook, you have to master the rules before you can start bending them.
Another reason why people avoid cooking at home is the short-term cost, which is much less than that of those who buy all their food for the week in one go. But in the long run, eating out will cost you much more money, and will likely cause a myriad of health problems that you will have to pay for later. And if you’re savvy, you can easily offset the cost of buying groceries.
Take fruits and vegetables. Most people will throw out their now droopy carrots and celery after they wilt, but you can easily revitalize your old kale and spinach by letting it sit in ice-cold water and watch as they perk right back up. Now you won’t have to go back to Metro in order to fulfill your rabbit-esque cravings.
Another way to get more out of your aging vegetables would be to sautée them. This is a technique especially useful with bitter greens that tend to be forgotten once your cravings for a green smoothie have died down. This is especially helpful for those who cannot bear eating vegetables on their own.
Speaking of smoothies, a great way to save on the cost of off-season fruits would be to either buy them frozen, or chop them up and freeze them yourself. I always keep some frozen pineapple in my freezer so that I can quickly whip up some pineapple purée, a delicious and healthy alternative to ice cream.
Knowing some simple recipes is also something I would recommend. You will get sick of eating beans and rice everyday, and diversifying your diet is particularly important in maintaining your physical health. One of my personal favourites is the chickpea salad. It takes about half an hour to prepare and the ingredients can easily be switched out to fit your preferences. You really could add whatever vegetables to this salad and would still be left with something nutritious that did not require you to touch a stove.
Two years ago, I began having health problems at the ripe age of 21. One potential cause was that I ate the last-day-on-earth diet of an overworked student, so on the advice of a nutritionist, I looked to Canada’s food pyramid for help with balancing my diet.
When religiously following the guide my health declined further, leaving me flummoxed. I was following conventional nutritional wisdom! My diet looked almost exactly like the rainbow chart in my nutritionist’s office.
Unfortunately, our understanding of nutrition had led me astray. Moreover, with a country plagued by a host of chronic diet-related health issues, the food pyramid doesn’t seem to have the impact it should. So where are we going wrong?
The answer may lie in Brazil’s 2014 food guide. Unlike its Canadian counterpart, Brazil’s nutritional advice focuses on reducing the amount of processed food in the diet instead of acquiring individual nutrients in food such as protein, fiber or omega-3s. The guide urges Brazilians to make whole, unprocessed food the basis of their diet and limit the consumption of lightly processed foods, such as pickles, cheeses and breads. It goes so far as to urge the complete avoidance of “ultra-processed foods,” such as sweetened breakfast cereals and yogurts, or instant noodles—foods that Canada’s guide does not scrutinize nearly as closely.
Ultra-processed foods are items that generally include five ingredients or more, including things that are not easily recognizable or part of traditional diets, such as high fructose corn syrup or colorants. Generally found in the center aisles of the grocery store, these products include excessive amounts of unhealthy salt, sugar, and fat, along with additives that distort colour, taste, and shelf life. These foods are at best benign, and at worst nutritional landmines. They deprive our bodies of the nutritional complexity of unprocessed food, making them the antithesis of the varied and nutritious diet that Brazil’s guide is attempting to cultivate.
So how is it that our food guide can claim that Gogurt, Shredded Wheat, and fruit cocktail—all ultra processed foods—can be part of a healthy diet? The answer comes down to money. It is, simply put, more profitable to sell you highly processed foods. A company can manipulate their product to make cheap, processed and unappealing ingredients taste great, thus justifying selling it to you for much more than the sum of its parts. The use of synthetic food additives can also enhance the flavor of less appealing ingredients, such as tasteless produce or low-grade meats, further widening profit margins and reducing nutritional content.
The problem is that our food guide does not distinguish between highly processed “franken-foods” and more wholesome meals. This is in part because it was written by those who wish to sell you processed food. One quarter of the 12-member Food Advisory Committee who composed Canada’s food guide were working for corporations that produce and sell processed food. Instead of investigating a holistic concept of health, the authors of our guide focused on individual nutrients.
This means that Captain Crunch can tout its fiber content, while Kraft Singles can boast being a source of calcium. Both of those “foods” are ultra-processed, but suddenly they become part of food groups that we are supposed to consume every day. This vastly distorts what we can consider healthy.
Mark Schatzker, author of The Dorito Effect, compared this to cutting pharmaceutical-grade cocaine with tea. You could conceivably claim that it was healthier for you, less addictive, and “now with chai!”—but would you actually say that it was good for you? Probably not.
So what should your diet actually look like? The short answer is to avoid processed foods, but that is not always possible, especially for those with limited time, cooking skills or access to affordable quality ingredients. Instead, my answer is that you should be skeptical. Is a company trying to sell you highly processed food based on one or two nutrients? What exactly is “natural” or artificial flavouring, and how is it affecting your diet? Just how much sugar has gone into your yogurt? At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, do not trust Canada’s food pyramid, because Brazil’s ended up being the key to regaining my health.
By: Ashley Eom
Mediterranean
Reigning in the throne of the crowd favourite salad station is Mama Ghanoush. Their menu features a little bit of everything. The shawarmas are reminiscent of the Westdale gem Basilique. You can add a little bit of Lebanese cuisine to your sandwiches with pitas and baba ghanoush. Lastly, a section of the menu is dedicated to three Mediterranean salads in loving memory of its predecessor. Will it live up to the real deal? You be the judge.
Mexican
Gorditos works very much like Burrito Boyz, Burrito Bandits or any other burrito joints with catchy and alliterative names. You work your way down the line, choosing your base, protein, additional toppings and sauce. This is undoubtedly a delicious addition to Centro for a hot grab-and-go food for your next class. Yes, it is sad to see the roast beef sandwiches of A La Carte go, but the hot and fresh weekend waffles are still here as your hangover remedy.
American
Marauders no longer have to chase down Canada’s first grilled cheese food truck as it has rooted its wheels at the entrance of Centro. Proudly using local ingredients, Gorilla Cheese’s menu consists of six signature sandwiches with monthly features. While you can resort to the simple and classic grilled cheese, you might enjoy a sweet afternoon pick-me-up by trying “The Lumberjack,” which features melted cheddar cheese and bacon on a bed of sliced Granny Smith apples with a generous shower of maple syrup. Whatever you decide, you won’t be cheesed.
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Try: Get a haircut
The changing of seasons provides a prime opportunity to seek new bounds. One of the easiest and most dramatic personal changes you could make right now? Getting your hair cut – and I don’t mean just a trim.
Personally, I’ve always been a firm supporter of long hair. In fact, I’ve had long hair for as long as I can remember (minus the mushroom cut my mom gave me when I was seven, but who hasn’t suffered through this phase?). It has always been tough for me to justify paying copious amounts of money for a haircut, only to end up getting a trim. This time, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and cut my waist-length hair to my collarbone. Though my trip to the hairdresser was not without a little shortness of breath and a lot of fear, I’m now loving my shorter ‘do. Of course, you should get the cut that makes you feel most comfortable, but cutting your hair short can be a liberating, refreshing change. Plus, short hair looks great with turtlenecks.
Wear: Add some layers
Fall is great for many things, but its best quality is definitely layering. The cooler air brings along the opportunity for more textured, complex outfits. This season, don’t be afraid to experiment with different materials and lines. Switch up a traditionally shorter hemline with longer ones. Instead of a t-shirt that hits you at the waist, go for one that hits you mid-thigh, and pair it with light-washed denim and a simple sweater. Also, try out your closet staples with a twist: instead of normal jeans, try selvedge denim or straight-leg trousers. At the end of the day, you can never go wrong with a monochromatic colour palette and simple, clean lines. A good outfit doesn’t have to be—in fact, it rarely is—busy. Cut out busy pieces and add interest to your fit through the art of layering.
Taste: Pumpkin simplicity
Nothing feels more like fall than pumpkin. Although there are many options for using this wondrous vegetable, a warm slice of pumpkin pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is my personal favourite. Here’s a great, simple, four-step recipe to try out.
Student-friendly pumpkin pie
Ingredients:
Directions:
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While grocery shopping at Nations, a lactose intolerant friend of mine bought some cheese buns in the bakery section. Their odd behavior was explained when they gave the buns to a homeless person we’d seen outside of Jackson Square. This is an article about why it was wrong to buy that food.
Firstly, a disclaimer: I am not against giving to the homeless, nor am I against charity. I think we need more compassion in this world, not less, and generosity for strangers is a quality that should be fostered at every opportunity. However, some charity is better than others.
The philosopher Maimonides developed a hierarchy of giving, taking into account factors such as the willingness of the donor and the extent of their generosity. In his opinion, one of the most important factors is anonymity, with the more anonymous a transaction the better. This is not because Maimonides was an introvert, or because he thought that donors and recipients should not interact with one another (his highest form of charity is partnership), but instead the goal of charity ought to be the preservation of self-worth.
So where does buying bread for a homeless stranger belong on this list? Frankly, pretty low down. While Maimonides would award points for giving without being asked, the donor has not taken steps to preserve the recipient’s dignity. When you hand someone food that you bought specifically for the purpose of charity, you stumble across a problem: you infantilize them by implicitly saying that you do not trust them to spend money on things you approve of. Furthermore, often the things we choose to give are not the things that are actually needed. Cheap food, deodorant or a bar of soap can all be easily purchased at the dollar store, but money for prescription medication or a night at the YMCA are not things easily donated.
You may be worried that your money will be spent on alcohol, drugs or cigarettes, but if you want to help, you ought to give regardless. To do any less is to not acknowledge that homeless person as a human being with the autonomy to make their own financial decisions. If you are trying to judge whether someone is worthy of your charity, you should reconsider your definition of piety.
In addition, be wary of painting the homeless with one brush; living on the street is not necessarily due to addiction or alcoholism. The homeless community is more diverse than you can know. It includes women and children fleeing abuse, LGBT+ youth abandoned by their family and those who recently experienced cataclysmic life events. However, someone’s worth is not determined by their past choices, and you are not entitled to someone’s story simply because you gave them something. That’s not charity, that’s extortion.
In giving what you think is needed, as opposed to what an individual actually wants, you completely ignore the fact that the recipient of your donation is a human being with preferences, who may even be lactose intolerant themselves. We tend to lose sight of the fact that preferences and dislikes are a part of being human, and if you are going to give, it should be in a way that preserves humanity and dignity as best as you possibly can. Giving someone the autonomy to choose what they prefer is an important part of that. You want to make someone’s life better? Give them the financial power to decide what is most helpful for their unique situation instead of assuming you know best.
At this point you may be worried that if you open your pockets, someone will scam you. Maybe you’ve heard of a case of a beggar millionaire, someone so good at panhandling that they drive off in a Lexus at the end of the evening. I’m here to tell you that that is incredibly unlikely. If panhandling were that lucrative, everyone would be doing it. Instead of assuming the worst, show compassion to those around you that you can recognize may need help, treat them like human beings, not wayward children, and give money, not cheese buns.
Photo Credit: Chiot's Run Flickr Commons
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While the name only brings up images of a small goat licking a salted patch of ground, Hamilton’s Salt Lick Smokehouse has a much more pleasant aesthetic and environment. Located in the thriving foodie community of James Street North, the relatively new barbeque joint has been open since this January.
I visisted the restaurant at lunch time on a Friday, and there was a line out the door waiting for a table. Unfortunately, eventhough tables were clearing fast, their turnaround was pretty slow with only one person visibly waiting tables.
Their menu was written on chalkboards around the room and featured a variety of barbeque sandwiches including chicken, pulled pork and brisket, with a variety of flavouring options and sides. The restaurant posts their daily offerings on their Instagram everyday, cycling through different meats and sides.
A friend and I collectively ordered the pulled pork and brisket sandwiches with a cucmber salad and coleslaw. Both of the sandwiches were great, with the meat cooked well, with a big smoky flavour and just the right amount of sauce. The coleslaw was good and very generous considering how big the sandwiches already were. The cucumber salad was straight up an entire cucumber cut up into a bowl.
Overall, eventhough the service was slow (and appeared pretty pissed off), the food was good and worth the trip downtown.
