Taps Brewhouse
4680 Queen StreetIt’s road trip time!
If you’re one of those people that get mad that I write blog posts from our travels, you’re going to hate the next dozen or so blog posts.
I’ve been looking forward to this trip for over a year.
Last year, J and L decided at the last minute to drive to Lake Placid, NY for the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships. I wasn’t able to take the time off last year at the last minute so B and I stayed home.
We made plans to go back this year, all of us, so I planned my PTO around this trip.
The competition started Monday night but we got up bright an early Saturday morning to start the trip. The plan was to make a stop at Niagra Falls on the Canadian side then get as far as Syracuse before finishing the trip Sunday morning.
We left the house around 6 AM and made the trip through Ontario. We got to Niagara Falls around lunchtime and before heading to the main attraction, we decided we should probably get lunch first.
I had a couple of options for lunch because I really didn’t want to be in the touristy areas of the city on a Saturday in July. After a lot of Google searching, I found a really good looking brewery in downtown Niagara Falls or a kitchy diner. I gave the kids the choice of brewery or diner and to my surprise, they both chose brewery.
Taps Brewhouse is on the corner of Queen Street and Valley Way in downtown Niagara Falls, Ontario. The brewery is kind of in the back half of an old brick building whose main corner tenant is Sharleez Bridal. The brewery actually faces more of Valley Way. The building was some sort of giant liquidation warehouse back in the aughts and the space now occupied by the brewery was some kind of loading dock. The brewhouse/music venue actually kind of revitalized the Queen Street area in Niagara falls when it opened in 2009. In addition to the large inside of the brewhouse, there is a large patio outside in the parking lot and a stage for live music. It looked like there was something going on outside on this day but we couldn’t figure out what it was and we didn’t want to sit outside anyway.
We walked in to the restaurant to find a host station right inside the door. The first room is a really large bar area that opens up to the patio just outside that front door. The bar is a big u-shaped bar that sits on tile floors with the large brewing equipment looming in the background. The bar has a very industrial look with exposed ceilings and duct work. The majority of the light comes from the natural light let in by the large garage doors that were open on this beautiful summer day. There are lights hanging from the ceiling but they were having no effect with the amount of sunlight that was being let in.
The dining room is just past the bar and that’s where the hostess took us. The floors switch to wood but the black walls and exposed ceilings remain the same. There is a large stage at one end of the dining room and this became one of Niagara Falls hottest spots for live music in the early teens. Like the bar area, most of the lighting is natural light coming in through those front garage doors. The seating is all tables with heavy wood chairs but there is a padded bench that runs along the back of the space and is shared by a number of larger tables.
J and both grabbed the drink menu when we sat down. We weren’t going to drink a lot but figured we’d both have one with lunch before heading out in to the heat to look at falling water.
I chose the Lost Flip Flop. This is a double IPA made with centennial hops. It was a lot smoother than I think I was expecting. Like I said, my plan was to only drink one so I had to slow down to make sure I had something to drink with lunch.
J saw a cider on the menu from Niagara Cider Company and went for that. The one they have on tap is No. 1 Dry Apple Cider. There are a couple of options to mix the cider with a stout or a lager but J just went for it straight up.
The menu is what kind of drove us to Taps Brewing. I was really wanting something away from the craziness of the falls area so I was super happy to find this place that not only met that criteria but had a menu that seemed to have something for everyone.
I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe. This sandwich is a thick, juicy burger topped with peameal bacon, bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, a house made beer mayo, and pickles. This thing was thick. B looked over and asked how I panned to get it all in my mouth. It did take some squishing to make it manageable but I also took off the tomato and onion which seemed to have made up half of the thickness. The sandwich was juicy and delicious. The peameal bacon was something that was new to me. It’s pretty much an Ontario thing. It’s wet-cured and unsmoked bacon made from lean trimmed pork loin that is rolled in cornmeal. It’s interesting and it was fine but also kind of tough to chew through. It’s not what Americans usually think of when they use the term “Canadian Bacon.” This is different than what we get in a grocery store. It’s not really the focus of this sandwich but being a Michigander that has never had this before, it was the part that interested me the most. Well, that and the beer mayo…also something I’ve never had before..but honestly, I couldn’t really taste it. There was so much going on with this sandwich and a lot of flavor coming from so many places that it kinds of get lost. Just on the most basic parts of the sandwich, the beef, the cheese, and the regular bacon, it was really good. All of the other stuff just kind of upped the game here a bit and made the sandwich something truly unique.
The sandwich came with hand cut fries and they were so delicious. They could have used a little more salt but that could just be the fat American in me again. The plate was pretty full of fries and I didn’t want it to ever end. These are exactly the kind of fries that should come with every burger. None of that frozen crinkle cut crap.
L was super excited about this place when I showed her the menu. They had a Fried Goat Cheese salad on the menu and that is one of her favorite things ever. The salad is mixed greens with fresh strawberries, cucumbers, red onions, and a huge fried goat cheese patty on top. It’s dressed with a lemon Dijon vinaigrette. She was super excited for a salad because in Michigan, we’ve had to worry about cyclosporiasis for the last few weeks and Canada doesn’t have that problem. That aside, she was really into this salad. She broke up the goat cheese so she could get a little in each bite. She doesn’t like cucumbers, onions or tomatoes so she left them off but left the strawberries on. She almost literally licked her plate clean. If we weren’t in public, she may have actually done that. There was nothing left when she got done other than some left over dressing clinging to the side of the bowl.
J ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich but about ten minutes after ordering, the waitress came out and said the pork wasn’t ready yet. She needed to pick something else so she picked the same salad L had ordered but she left the cucumbers on. Like L, she really liked the salad. She also got a side of fries which she and L split. J was a little bummed she couldn’t get the pulled pork but I think she really ended up liking this far more than she would have the sandwich.
B tried to give us the line that he wasn’t hungry and he didn’t to waste our money. He begged us not to order him anything but this was going to (hopefully) be our only meal stop between Niagara Falls and our hotel just outside of Syracuse. We talked him in to ordering a cheese pizza off the kids menu and he ended up eating the whole dang thing. The pizza is really simple with more sauce than cheese. I think it was a 9″ pizza and it was just enough for a kid whole swore he wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to eat.
Our bill for lunch was right around $105 CAD but when converted to USD, it was closer to $85.
The food and drink from Taps Brewhouse was really delicious. The service was a little…..meh…at best though. Our server was really sweet but she really seemed stressed. It took a really long time to get our food. At one point, a runner came over with J’s salad and fries in her hand, looked at the empty table, and took it back. It was at least another ten minutes after that (after already waiting at least 20 minutes) to get our food. We weren’t in a super big hurry but waiting sucks….and it was kind of warm in there. They had the doors open and there was a slight breeze but it was hot so sitting for that long. Once we were finished, it took a really long time to get the check too. They weren’t super busy which makes it kind of frustrating. We had already been in the car for six hours and we just wanted to check out the Falls and continue on with our trip.
I try not to let the bad affect the good though. We did have a really great meal in a really cool spot. We will do the touristy things when we’re traveling (and you’ll see some of that once we move on to Lake Placid) but we’re also big believers in getting away from the tourist traps and seeing what else a city has to offer. Taps Brewhouse is a great representative for Niagara Falls away from the more touristy things. We got out lunch and eventually….after figuring out where to park, got to see Niagara Falls for the first time.
SW Michigan Dining 