Some Niagara food for thought...

After taking the Labour Day weekend off from writing, I thought I would get back into the swing of things this weekend with a look at some of my favourite foodie things I have had the pleasure of discovering or rediscovering over the past several months.  Here in Niagara we are truly blessed with everything you could possibly need to set the perfect harvest table!

Over the past year or so I have been enjoying the best locally-made, Montreal-style bagels made by The Bagel Oven here in St. Catharines.  Owned and operated by Jess Bretzlaff and her husband Steve, they operate out of the commercial kitchen at the Congregation B'nai Israel and Jewish Community Centre on Church Street in downtown St. Catharines.

Jess is an optimistic and positive force of nature, and you can't help but feel good about dealing with someone who signs their emails with the line "Take good care, and remember to enjoy life's simple pleasures."  That's just the type of person she is and her optimism translates into superlative baking.

The bagels are available in several different varieties including vegan, and she also bakes amazing challah bread with or without raisins.  In fact, right now Jess is preparing for the Jewish New Year coming up on October 3rd, which will mark the first day of the year 5,777 on the Jewish calendar.

The High Holidays will mean a busy schedule for Jess and her team, but she always seems to find time to fill orders as they come in, so you can contact her through the website at www.thebageloven.weebly.com or directly by phone at 289-696-4518.

Jess offers delivery to your door and also provides her bagels and breads at several pick up locations throughout Niagara, including Mahtay Cafe downtown and Richard's Deli on Lakeshore Road.

What to put on your fresh local bagels?  How about fresh local honey?  I became reacquainted with the exceptional creamed honey offered by Rosewood Estates Winery in Beamsville recently, and it is just wonderful.  The winery specializes in artisanal meads, and that requires honey, of course.  They have their own apiary on site operated by 3rd-generation beekeepers and have made quite a name for themselves with their several varieties of mead available for purchase.

The side line of course is if you're producing honey for making mead, you might as well offer it for sale on its own as well, and they again have several varieties available at the winery located in a spectacular hilltop location overlooking the Beamsville Bench.

My favourite is the estate-produced creamed wildflower honey, which is great on toast or of course, bagels.  Liquid varieties are also available if that is your preference.

You can find out more about Rosewood Estates Winery by going to their website at www.rosewoodwine.com.

Speaking of honey, I became acquainted with another operation in Niagara-on-the-Lake recently when B-Y's Honey Farm held their open house at the farm in late July.  During the open house you could tour the grounds, sample their many varieties of honey produced on site, and learn more about the work that goes into producing honey of exceptional quality.

The family-owned and operated business also provides beekeeping supplies and classes, pollination services, bee removal and of course, honey products such as liquid honey, pollen, Royal Jelly, candles and wax.

I brought home a jar of the liquid clover honey, which is unpasteurized and free of additives, as are all their honey products.  The farm does not spray, keeping their operations totally organic.  In their brochure, they use the clever slogan, "Don't be a hater, save the Pollinator" and they mean what they say.

Local beekeeper Ed Unger started the business in 2009 after noticing the decrease in honey bees and knowing how important they are to our very existence.  As a result, they educate the public as well as provide premium-grade local honey at the farm gate.

You can find B-Y's Honey Farm at 996 Concession 6 Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and their website is www.byshoneyfarm.com.  You can also call them at 905-984-4408.

We are now blessed with a number of supper markets throughout the region throughout the summer months, and it was while visiting the Port Dalhousie Supper Market this summer I was introduced to the relatively new food truck business Ello Gov'na, owned and operated by chef Charlie Clowes.  They claim they provide "smashing good nosh" and hope to put to rest the eternal notion all British food is either uninteresting or unhealthy.

On the night I visited, I was able to sample their creative take on the traditional English banger, which of course is a form of sausage.  It was delicious!

Started earlier this year, the hope is to grow the business to the point they can open up their own stand-alone restaurant, but for now they travel the Niagara supper-market circuit to build their clientele.  That should be no problem if they maintain the quality I enjoyed this summer.

You can find out more about their food-truck business at www.ellogov.com.

Also this summer I visited Chocolates Etc. on Welland Avenue, just steps away from our home in St. Catharines for their Customer Appreciation Day back in July.  If you remember the venerable Yurchuck's Candies from years past, this is the business that replaced Yurchuck's at the corner of Clark and Welland Avenue.

Many weekends in the summer you can hear music on the patio as you enjoy the locally-made chocolate and gelato available year-round.  Espresso, cappuccino and other drinks are also available.

The gelato varieties include regular and vegan options, including a dark chocolate ice I sampled that will knock your socks off.  I still have to stop in to try the vegan shake made from the chocolate ice, and that will happen soon!

This is one of the happiest corners in the city, and a must-stop on these hot evenings even as September marches on.  You can find them at 100 Welland Avenue.

Finally, I want to offer a tip of the hat to all the organizers of the first-ever Facer European Festival held the Monday of the August holiday weekend.  The festival, running from noon to 9pm, ran almost the entire length of Facer Street in St. Catharines, one of my favourite food destinations for many years.

One of the main champions of the festival is Roberto Vergalito, who runs Roberto's Pizza Passion on Facer Street, who envisions this becoming an annual summertime tradition in the city.  Judging from the crowds on hand strolling Facer Street when I visited late in the afternoon, I think that's likely to happen.

Vergalito and his team baked a 50-foot calzone to set a world record, and from what I have heard they  achieved their goal.  How they plan to top that next year is anyone's guess!

Everyone seems to have a connection to this part of the city known affectionately as "Little Europe", and it is hoped the annual festival will act as a fundraiser to improve infrastructure on the street.  The volunteers were organized by the Facer District Merchants and Residents Association and they worked tirelessly throughout the day to make the event a huge success.

This year's festival is in the history books, but you can anticipate an even bigger and better festival next year on the August holiday weekend.  It is just the type of family-friendly event we need in the city at the mid-way point of summer.

So there you go - just a few of my favourite foodie things I discovered this summer.  Oh there are more, of course, but I'll save those for a later date.  For now, I'm getting rather hungry...

Have a great weekend!

September 11th, 2016.