oh Walter!

In 1969, at what is now the Westin Hotel in Calgary, Alberta, an ingenious restaurant manager named Walter Chell created a drink in honour of the opening of a new Italian restaurant.  The story varies slightly: was tomato/clam the soup of the day? or did Walter draw from his Italian background creating his own 'clam-ato' in the style of spaghetti alle vongole?  Either way the result of his efforts could arguably be called Canada's Official Cocktail!

So how does our little town do when it comes to the Caesar?

I've investigated and I have to say, though every bar in town does serve a Caesar, I'm more than a little disappointed at the distinct lack of ingenuity!

Is celery salt really so delicious that it need not be improved upon?

I think not.

Due to the fact that I refuse to pick a 'winner' from the average Caesars available, I'll skip straight to the honourable mentions...

Molly Blooms: kudos to your $3 Sunday Caesars, delicious and a steal (perhaps made tastier by the Jazz?).

The Pour House: you surprised me with a spicy bean and an inventive rim, a round of applause!

Foster's: best garnish - though I think you get it from a jar?

Bentley's: your choice of glassware is the most satisfying/appropriate, good thick glass that somehow suits the beverage.

I encourage all of our local restaurants - step up your game a little, there are some great cocktails in this city, why has the Caesar been left as a regular old clamato/vodka concoction?

Where's the tequila?

The gin?

Why not Jack friggin' Daniels?

Infusions?

Freshly grated horseradish perhaps?

Try making your own rim?

Use a local/interesting hotsauce?

C'mon Stratford, there are millions of possibilities, we can do better!

c'mon, play fair...

Wow, I'm having trouble deciding how I feel about the latest 'event' posted by Bentley's.  With a large colour spread in the Beacon Herald this is quite the move for an established business. I can in some ways appreciate the flashy marketing - offering deals at the expense of a newcomer to the Stratford bar scene who has in most respects been here before, but it's more than a little callous.  In fact given the history between Kim Brander and Bentley's it could be called down right petty and vengeful.

I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to any new place in hopes that it will be of good quality and it is important for me to support the community of Stratford's independent operators.  Even if this place has been around before under different names, locals have always had a love-hate relationship with the grungy upstairs bar, after all it's a great place to 'shake your booty'.

To be fair, I will give the 'new' place a try and promise to review it in the coming months and I will certainly be boycotting Bentley's for the 7 days.  But I can't help giving a slight nod to them for their cohones. Slight.