#PopUpWars 416 vs 905 – Gallivanting.

Pop-Up-Wars, the brainchild of Sid Friedman @Sidman and Suresh Doss @spotlightcity saw celebrated chefs (and restaurants) from Toronto (416) square off against the talent from Hamilton (905), in what was an culinary extravaganza unlike anything we’ve seen in #hamont. Known in the past as being the “steel” city, Hamilton is emerging as what could only be described as the culinary epicenter of Ontario and Canada by extension.  Don’t believe me? Come out and test drive what we have to offer… you’ll be want to change area code after though.

Pop Up Wars Spring 2016

Collective Arts Brewing | Art + Brewing 207 Burlington St E, Hamilton, ON L8L 4H2, Canada

With names such as @LakeRoadResto, @pokehbar, @MezcalTNT, @IndianSFco, @CollectiveBrew, @saltlicksmoke, @KayaCook and @barquebbq it was only natural that this was a SOLD OUT event. Arriving early gave me the opportunity to not only check out the ‘space’ at Collective Arts Brewing, (a spot I had only been to when it was illegal to sell beer on a Sunday in Ontario and the original brewery which was housed here was the exception) but also see the chefs and their crew prep for the onslaught of hungry enthusiasts (aka foodies) which would be descending on the battle field shortly.

Here are some of my observations, below you find the typical #Gallivanting video clip we normally do…

• lovely location, with lots of space and with the stainless steel brewing tanks as the backdrop it added a bit of personality to the event
• never felt crowded though it was a sold out event
• the size of the space meant that the background music was drowned and sounded like ‘noise’
• with all the space, it would have been nice to be entertained by some form of live music or a DJ
• great variety of food
• even after a couple hrs, the food being served/sold maintined their freshness
• large portions/samples
• chefs/restaurants in attendance really got involved with the public – made for great conversations or at least have the ability to know the inspiration behind each dish
• little pricey (food samples), since one had to pay and entry fee. HOWEVER  this was my first time attending such an event so it could well be this is the standard rate for such?
• seems everyone was having a great time, enjoying the food, vibes and good conversations as I looked around
• enjoyed watching (some of) the chefs do live demos on their respective dishes
• the fried chicken seems to have been the star of the event, with relatively long lines
• free parking and the location was easy to find (easy access off the QEW if you were coming in from Niagara or Toronto)
• Signage at the front would have been helpful

Much respect to Suresh and Sid for hosting such an incredible event. I pray that Pop Up Wars becomes a permanent fixture on the  area’s culinary calendar, as it gave us the opportunity to enjoy great food plus meet, mingle and  have conversations fellow foodies.