Hamilton Farmers’ Market is a dining destination of its own
The downtown market offers a large and delicious array of homemade options inspired by delicacies from all around the world. This is part of an ongoing series looking at the local array of dining districts.
So far, our dining districts series has focused on streetscapes and dining-in. Apart from some stool seating, the Hamilton Farmers’ Market is more of a takeaway destination, but merits attention for its varied and delicious food experiences.
Established in 1837, its story is marked by periods indoors and outdoors, a fire and debates in the last century about whether it is a historical gem or a dated building best demolished.
Your age and years as a Hamiltonian will determine your market memories. My earliest is accompanying my grandmother to buy a live chicken that was kept at home under a bushel basket until its demise. Years later, the Eaton Centre, Jackson Square, the library and the market were part of my family’s routine – weekly!
I patronize several other markets, but none offer the array of food vendors heating up the attraction that is the Hamilton Farmers’ Market. More than 40 vendors are waiting for you – all listed on the market’s website. Come for the flowers, fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, bread and baked goods – it’s all there. The added attraction is chatting with the creative, dynamic people cooking terrific food. Need an ice-breaker? Mention to a food vendor that you read about them here and you’ll be rewarded with a great conversation and “dining” experience. You will return often. Here’s a sampling of the Hamilton Farmers’ Market’s good eats!
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Ami Meal Café
IG: ami_mealcafe
Enter the market from York Street and the first vendor you’ll see is Ami Meal Café. Ami Bae invites you to enjoy grab ’n’ go Korean treats and flavours. Her display of offerings is somewhat minimalist and that’s attributed to her making things fresh as the day progresses. The tofu pouches (rice with topping in a fried tofu pouch) come in various flavours such as bulgogi and K-BBQ chicken. The triangle gimbaps that are popular and new on the menu are the bap buckets (rice with fresh salmon, avocado and special Korean sauce). Bae kindly outlines all the choices. Coming soon are homemade kimchi and bibimbap. She says: "If you're a food lover, this is a must-visit. You won't regret it." I agree!
Apothecary Kitchen
Kristy van Beek’s star is on the rise with her success at the market, her win at 2024’s Soupfest with miso mushroom soup and soaring interest in her healthy eating programs. Apothecary Kitchen’s brand is: “More Taste. Less Waste. Plant Based.” Using social media handles such as Heal with Plants, the healing aspect is linked to van Beek’s own wellness journey. Her plant-based meals (soups, stews, salads and wraps) are vibrant, colourful, nutritious and delicious. Take for example the Cosmic Rainbow Hand Salad. It starts with a clever homemade spirulina wrap, which is like a fruit roll-up made of veggies. Topped with homemade hummus, romaine, cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, avocado and broccoli sprouts – it’s outstanding. I could eat it every day.
Watch for appearances at outdoor markets, pop-ups, possibly a future meal delivery service and more wellness workshops. In the spot previously occupied by Mystic Ramen, 15 seats await where, in van Beek’s words, you can stop and taste the rainbow.
Chaton Bakery
IG: chaton.hamont
How can one not like a food stall named Chaton – French for kitten? Note that the kitten logo has tiger stripes – a tribute to the Ticats, symbolic of how Anja Warunkiewicz has embraced Hamilton as her new home. Having studied pastry at George Brown College, her talent for working with laminated dough became her ticket to work as a fine-dining pastry chef in some of Toronto’s best-known restaurants, pastry shops and French cafés.
You’ll stop searching for the perfect French patisserie once you visit Chaton. Various croissants tempt in addition to pain au chocolat, macarons, madeleines, financiers, cinnamon cruffins, brioche, cookies and even occasional treats such as kouign amann. It’s all delicious and she’s not shy about sharing her secret: “traditional technique ... and butter. A lot of butter.” Opened in September 2023, Warunkiewicz is still developing her product line, incorporating seasonal touches. She recently added strawberry-rhubarb and blueberry jams and lemon curd. Her catering enables you to add a French flair to your next business meeting or family brunch.
Coati Fine Chocolate
If you love wonderful chocolate then head to Coati Fine Chocolate. With almost a decade of chocolate-making experience, Christopher Downey continues to add to his repertoire. His is a beans-to-bar shop with everything made from scratch using beans from all over the world. Currently, he has single-origin bars, bonbons, dressed bars (i.e. added fruit, nuts or caramel) and confections, including English toffee and bear claws. I was delighted to find that he made chocolate-dipped orange peels. Honouring the standards of an artisan, he doesn’t use soy, gluten, artificial flavours, palm oil, preservatives, colourants or other additives.
Wondering what coati means? Downey says it is an animal about the size of a raccoon found commonly in Central America. They like to eat the sweet tangy flesh surrounding the cocoa bean. And we can all be happy that Downey knows how to transform what’s left into delicious delicacies.
The Cookie DOH Factory
Everyone likes licking the cookie dough bowl, right? Knowing that, Tania and Jason Gloster made some to complement their ice cream business. What they had not predicted was the massive response that led to the launch of Cookie DOH Factory.
No longer located in Dundas, you can find their 10-plus flavours (such as Oreo, Nutella Skor, s’mores) not only at the market but at their website, Tim Hortons Field (Tiger Cat and Forge games) ice cream shops, retail stores and college/university campuses! DOH tubs can be purchased singly or made into assorted packs of various sizes. They also do custom orders for events such as parties, weddings and fundraising events. Their mantra? “Cookie DOH puts smiles on faces and makes days brighter.”
Elder Camp
IG: eldercamp.ca
Photo: Diane Galambos
Skillful Kathryn Dieroff left 20 years of goldsmithing to embrace hospitality and cooking. Her German heritage affects but does not dominate the menu. Everything is made from scratch, including sausages, fermented foods, sauces and – a main attraction – spaetzle (German noodles). Start your visit with a soft Bavarian pretzel made daily, then browse the clever spaetzle add-ons. Yes, there’s sausage, sauerkraut and goulash but also mac’ n cheese, Romesco sauce, wild mushroom sauce, kimchi, sriracha, and curry ketchup. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free preferences can be accommodated.
Dieroff's favourite dish (and now mine) is the beets bowl, but whatever she tops her fabulous spaetzle with works. Elder Camp’s homemade beverages should not be ignored. Savour the memory of (not red) cream soda. Dieroff continues to develop a pantry of appealing ingredients and is creating new dishes for the summer. She also caters.
Is it a camp? No, but it did begin as pickling and preserving workshops – an homage to elders’ traditions of storing foods for their families. The workshops and now the market stall endeavour to foster sustainability, family and community. Nostalgia, says Dieroff, is how you reach people and create feelings – cooking from the heart.
Hotti Biscotti
hottibiscotti.com
IG: hottibiscotti
Imagine your childhood dream coming true. Debby Stroud is living her dream. After decades working as an optician, the stars aligned and she opened a shop in Westdale focusing (at first) on the family biscotti recipe. After a period on James North, she’s now at the market with an array of treats.
Her tender and fresh biscotti come in 12 flavours as well as seasonal specials. I enjoyed the Skor biscotti and vanilla birthday cake biscotti – and a bag of assorted mini biscotti that made tea/coffee breaks perfect.
Hotti is much more than biscotti. Stroud also makes gorgeous dipped Oreos, shortbread cookies and caramel chocolate toffee pretzels. She is constantly crafting innovative new flavours and there are always items for special events such as Easter and Mother’s Day.
Everything comes in charming packaging and her favours are popular for showers and weddings – individually, in gift boxes or as platters. Her fans include Oprah and Steve Schirripa (Sopranos, Blue Bloods). How can you not visit?
Joshy’s Good Eats
IG: joshysgoodeats
Photo: Diane Galambos
Joshua Charbonneau’s life journey zig-zagged across the continent before settling in Hamilton to raise his family. Working in creative kitchens along the way, and motivated by tasting gravlax in Copenhagen, he applied his skills to experimenting with cured fish – lemon dill lox, pastrami lox, beet-cured trout, and Maryland spiced trout. Add his accoutrements (e.g. schmear and pickles) and enjoy his offerings as a bagel sandwich – the most popular with lemon dill lox, scallion cream cheese and dill cucumbers. He uses local products – including Gryfe’s bagels. (They began in Hamilton in 1915 before moving to Toronto.)
Charbonneau’s filets are also hand-sliced and vacuum-sealed ready for purchase or you can order a party platter or inquire about catering. Follow his social media to be the first to know about his specials such as the lox ’n’ bagel bundles – everything you need for an epic bagel and lox brunch at home.
Karlik Pastry
About 10 years ago, Luba Mudrak took over Karlik’s Pastry (established in the 1950s) producing the same products with the same recipes – plus additions from her Ukrainian/east European customs. Karlik’s baked goods are also available at her store at 762 Barton St. E. and at Denninger’s and Starsky Fine Foods. All the baked goods are freshly made with natural ingredients, using no chemicals or preservatives. Karlik Pastry makes special occasion platters and traditional sweets that people crave at Easter and Christmas.
For me, the Dobos torte is a family staple. Without debating the finer points of the traditional cake being round with a caramel topping, the Karlik version makes my family happy. Ricotta-filled bear claws are perfect at coffee time. The rum rolls are delicious and the Napoleons are a creamy treat. Luba says: “Everything we do is with passion and love.” No doubt about that.
Lina’s European Pastries and Coffee
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Possibly the most experienced market veteran, Lina’s Pastries was first opened in 1991 by Michelina Stravato – everyone called her Lina – working with her daughter Filomena Cunha. Stravato did much of the baking (at first, often at home) while her daughter handled sales. The extent of her baking skills was breathtaking. Stravato passed away four years ago, but Cunha and her husband Duarte continue to carry the torch.
Choose from dozens of cookies and baked goods from various cultures and Canadian classics, including Nanaimo bars, date squares, lemon squares, butter tarts – and more. On one visit I enjoyed a freshly made Portuguese tart that was beyond perfection!
Duarte hosts their coffee stand that offers an array of fair trade organic coffees. Over the years, their fan club has grown and Duarte explains that 75 per cent of their business comes from regulars who stop by for their daily cuppa. The couple says: “We are very proud to say that we have the best customers anywhere on the planet.” Consider it the Cheers of the market.
May’s Thai Kitchen
IG: maysthaikitchen
Mayura Phonthaphanh’s food story began in 2021 with a home-based enterprise aimed at sharing delicious street foods from her youth in southeastern Thailand. Locating to the downtown market in 2023, her stall is a one-stop adventure in eating, chatting and learning about Thai food. May’s pad Thai was among the best I’ve ever had, with the glass noodles (made from mung beans) that are popular in Thailand and lighter and low in calories. Return often to make your way through her menu. I came home with a jar of her pad Thai sauce, which seems to be good on everything – and comes with her pad Thai recipe. Her beverage menu includes a sparkling lemongrass drink with added pandan – an excellent source of nutrients.
May’s menu is an extension of her home kitchen, with recipes passed down through generations. She says her bestselling jeow bong (spicy Laos chili paste) “holds a special place in our hearts, journeying from Laos to the Thai refugee camps, and finally finding its home in Hamilton where it was passed down to me by my 96-year-old mother-in-law.”
The above are only a fraction of what the Hamilton Farmers’ Market offers. Check out the Indonesian, Latin and Mexican foods and drop by the Market Bakery and the Market General Store, which hosts pop-ups such as Moms Baked Again. Pedestrian traffic is about to increase with nearby condo openings and drivers should note that there is free parking. Open Wednesday to Saturday.
