Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Speaking of Toronto...

If you should someday find yourself in search of good food and good beer in that glorious city, be sure to check out the Mill Street Brewpub in the Distillery District. This is where Mrs. Alewise and I celebrated Valentine's Day 2009 (it's a pretty special woman who considers pubfare and pints a romantic dinner) and we found the food, the brew, and the staff to be top notch. It's been too long, and I took no notes, so I won't be able to recall the finer details of what we drank, but I would heartily recommend picking up a six-pack (or ordering a pint) of any of the three we tried: the IPA and Betelgeuse (a Trippel) for me; a Fruit Beer (Raspberry Ale) for Elena.

Best part of the evening for me was my experience in the gift shop. When I visit brewpubs or microbreweries (and, of course, if I like their beer), I try to get a sticker for my brew bucket.
Mill Street did not carry any, but when I explained to the manager why I wanted one, she spent ten minutes rummaging in drawers and cabinets beneath the register, confident that she had one from years ago. Several times, I told her not to worry about it, that I appreciated her effort, that it would be okay. She continued undeterred, and finally found one. Then she refused to let me pay for it. I thought this was unacceptable, so I stuck five dollars in the tip jar on the counter, at which point she insisted that I also take a bottle opener. Needless to say, I was impressed. And grateful. And likely to give them a shout out months later in the blog I had no idea at the time that I'd be writing...

--Brewfus

No comments: