Taste of Burlington 2013

Last updated on November 20th, 2020 at 05:07 pm

Last Updated: November 20, 2020

An hour away from big, bad Toronto is a little place called Burlington. The last time I remember coming out this way was in my early 20s to check the club scene (and girls) outside of Toronto at Big Buck’s Mountain Lodge. But nearly a decade and several nights out later, Christine teamed up with Tourism Burlington to get myself, Justin and Chris back out there for the Taste of Burlington festival!

You Fancy, Huh?

After making surprising time on the QEW/403 (yet again), with 45 minutes to kill, Christine and I figured that coming to The Martini House without trying the martinis was criminal in some social circle, so there we were getting all fancy and stuff.

Round one of the booziness!

Ingredients: SKYY vodka, X-Rated fusion liqueur, gin, sour lime, white cranberry Tastes like: Taking a delicious drink of grapefruit juice

Round Two of getting our martinis on!

Christine had this made specially, with Ovation chocolate as a garnish

Ingredients: Limoncello, Sour Puss Lemon, lemonade Wasn’t a huge fan of this. Apparently they used to make it with Europa Meringue Liqueur and it tasted way better, but the LCBO discontinued it and now it tastes way different. Thanks, guys 🙁

Let the Games Begin

The boys joined us by our second round at the bar (which is good, because we’d reached the point where Christine was calling her drink fancier than mine and calling the bartender a mixologist…), and we cozily made our way into a space by a wonderful couple (who I hope didn’t mind how noisy a night they had ahead of them!)

Lobster Cappuccino

Remembering the awesome food I’d had when I’d visited Boston, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a good lobster bisque. In a mug. With a croissant. (I love croissants!) It was a big serving, delicious, and any soup I can drink with a handle is a drink that’s great in my books!

Fusilli Carbonara

Had I known that I could replace cream corn with mashed potatoes (or “smashed potatoes” as the menu says), I would’ve definitely ordered the Smokey Beef Short Rib, but c’est la vie.

The carbonara was pretty good, but I would’ve liked it with some spice. (What can I say—my parents are Jamaican!) It was a good portion; hard to finish—I think martinis fill you up? Who knew.

Vanilla Creme Brûlée

Without the capacity for cake, I was in the mood for something light—and the vanilla crème brûlée hit the spot. No complaints on this one!

If you want to check out some of the other options that The Martini House has to offer during the Taste of Burlington festival, check out the Martini House’s Taste of Burlington menu 0r some shots of other food options below!

So much food, so little stomach!

Ontario supreme of chicken finished with Amarula drizzle, smashed potato, vegetables

Slow braised Ontario short rib with Dr. Pepper glaze, homemade cream corn Looked SO delicious when it came out. Had me thinking twice about my fusilli 🙁

The Martini House proudly communicates its vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options, and that it uses locally-sourced Ontario ingredients.

Justin felt he had to be different and was the only one at the table who ordered this. Hater.

Wonton stuffed with Ontario grain fed beef, dill pickle spear. Smoked ketchup and con queso dipping sauce

Crispy calamari, jalapeno slivers, chipotle aioli

Three Cheers for the Taste of Burlington!

The Taste of Burlington festival runs from February 27th through March 10^th and features 23 of Burlington’s eateries with $20 lunch and $35 dinner menus. If you’re looking for a little adventure outside of your Torontonian stomping grounds, try Burlington this week! Your taste buds just might be surprised!

–case p.

[disclaimer: The Martini House comped us some delicious food and drink on the premise that we were bloggers and would cover the drinks and hijinks of the night — which caught us completely off-guard as we thought we were just getting our dinners covered—but they’re just that amazing!]