Avondale Restaurant Equipment

It is very important as a Chef to have excellent equipment and in Hamilton there are many Restaurant Equipment Stores. The one that I prefer to use and that stands out the most to me is Avondale Restaurant Equipment at 223 Avondale Street in Hamilton, Ontario, Phone 905-544-0577.

Avondale will not only deliver your new equipment but they will also install it for you and service it. They are affiliated with Barbers Restaurant Repair, which have been in the repair business for over 40 years in Hamilton and are well known.

The Director of Marketing, Kristy Barber-Feaver is the person I have dealt with when I go in there and I find the service very good and Kristy is very friendly and helpful. Just last week I was there purchasing small ware items, such as measuring cups, a pan and measuring spoons. Not mentioning the competitors name but I did price these items somewhere else before going there and the price at Avondale's was much better.

Ranko's Meats and Delicatessen

I put this under Restaurant Reviews and Shopping as you can order take-out prepared meats from this store.

As a Chef, I enjoy trying foods from around the world. In Hamilton one of these gems is Ranko's Meats and Delicatessen at 1111 Cannon St. E. , 905-544-6173 They are a family run business which has been around over 35 years and the owners Roy and Biljana Sobota prepare the meats on the premise.

They have delicious smoked meats. They also do a roast pork and lamb every Friday and Saturday which is sold by weight. They do such a wonderful job with this meat that it sells very quickly so if you want a large amount I would suggest calling in for a special order. You can order a whole lamb or pig in advance and Roy will roast it for you and cut it in serving size pieces. Some of my other favourite products there are Bacon Bits (they call them Cvarke), kranskje sausages and cevapi (which is a skinless mini sausage).

I have become addicted to the bacon bits, they are so good.

They also sell many other European Products, such as pickled vegetables, cookies, jams, phyllo pastry, cheeses and Belgium chocolates.

Worth the special trip out to this store.

Today's Excursion

This morning Trevor and I did a bit of exploring at the markets. We went to our usual B&T Asian Grocer and bought Ackee Fruit.

We then found a Greek store on King St E and Ashley. We bought some feta cheese, Orange Blossom Water and Grape Leaves. It was actually a bakery that sells several other items as well. They had some lovely baked goods, including the traditional baklava.


We also went to a Carribean Store on Robert St. close to James Ave N. This is more of a Jamaican take out place although they do have some grocery products for sale. There we purchased Irish Moss, Cinnamon leaves, Strongback, Mauby bark and coco. They also sell ackee here but were out today.


We are looking forward to experimenting with these ingredients and creating some nice dishes. Right now we have the Irish Moss soaking. It has to soak about 24 - 36 hours before its ready to use and the water has to be changed frequently. I included a picture of the Irish Moss and the Coco.

Asian Food Stores

Since so much of our cooking has an Asian flair to it I thought I would let you know where we like to shop. Our favourite store for vegetables and seafood is B & T Food at 103 Queen St. N. in Hamilton, Ontario. This morning we went there and purchased some beautiful Asparagus for $1.00 a bunch.

Another store that we frequent often is called Tan Thanh at 115 Park St. N. in Hamilton, Ontario.