Every January we head north to Canada to meet with some friends for the annual Ice Wine festival. This year we also happened to be traveling on the same day I had to take an important call for work.
As is usually the case we like to get up early and try to get on the road before rush hour traffic starts. We usually mess this up somehow but we did what we could.
Along the way we realized we weren’t going to make it across the border before I had to take my call so we got off the road in Buffalo. We were looking for an antique spot for Maura to check out while I had my call but only found a shady looking place that was more pawn shop than antiques. So instead we stopped in a supermarket lot and I took my call while Maura napped.
After the call we quickly made it across the border into Canada on a day when I honestly thought there’d be more trouble because of the Trump inauguration.
We made it to the hotel in pretty good time and were way ahead of our friends so we decided to try and take a nap. The unfortunate thing though was the floor beneath us was being renovated so there was terrible noise the whole time and what sleep we got just made us more tired.
Since Maura’s Buffalo antique shopping was a bust we decided to try our luck in Niagara on the lake. We found one place that was open that we had been to in the past and Maura bought a picture. We also discovered these old trucks by the side of the road.
By this point I was getting hungry and thirsty. The first order of business was food. We weren’t really in the mood for anything so we did a very rare thing for us and got McDonald’s. I had Big Mac with Bacon which is apparently a thing no one thought to have until now. I don’t remember what Maura had.
Still thirsty we went to a brewery we’ve never been to in Niagara, Silversmith brewery. It’s great to see craft beer creeping its way up north as the last time we were in Toronto it was pretty hard to locate but I think we’re spoiled in Pittsburgh.
We didn’t realize they had a kitchen there or we would have skipped the McDonald’s and tried their food as well.
I really liked this brewery and we’ll definitely be coming back. Maura liked their logo enough to get a growler but we didn’t take any beer with us since the point of the trip was really wine.
Unfortunately while we were there they didn’t have anything on their cask pull.
Back to our original plan to return to Oast House since we were there before so we wanted to check them out. We only stopped for a quick drink there because we wanted to go to the Irish pub for dinner and have a couple of drinks there. Oast House has a unique decor and looks like a remodeled barn.
From there it was time to head up to Niagara on the lake proper and see about the Irish pub that we usually have a great time at while we’re there.
We ended up parking a little further away and walking through the town a bit. They have an old apothecary that is never open when we’re there but we remain hopeful. I’m glad we walked though because we found another brewery that had opened the previous year that we somehow missed.
The Exchange Brewery is a very slick, clean looking brewery and they have some great double ipas amongst their line up.
While we sampled some beers we began a conversation with the couple next to us who also happened to be from Pittsburgh and in town for the Ice Wine festival. Small world.
It was time to eat so we headed to the Irish Harp Pub expecting some delicious clams and to see the band that usually plays. However, what we got was quite different. Our hostess was a bit rude and didn’t want to seat us. The band was a new one that made several derogatory remarks about the USA that got on our nerves. Instead of hanging around we got what we could takeout and went back to the hotel to eat.
We decided to call it a night and looked forward to wine and friends in the morning.