Last Updated on: 27th April 2015, 04:58 pm
Yesterday was my birthday. Ok so it’s actually not for a few more weeks, but we pretended it was and Carin took me out to the brand new Baker Street Station. It’s been open for about a week and change and we’d been looking for an excuse to pop in and try it, so hey, if it’s my birthday it’s my birthday, right?
I’m not sure how many ways there are to say what a great place, but if you were to ask my opinion of our experience there I think I’d need just about every one of them.
The staff were great. From the moment we walked in, they were super helpful. This is one of the most important parts of a restaurant experience for me, especially in a new place like this. Blind guys in a gigantic unfamiliar area are going to need a bit of a hand, and everyone we ran into did a fine job of helping us with whatever we needed. If the blind guy part tripped them up at all, they didn’t show it. It was even their idea to read the menu to us! Usually we have to ask for that and then watch as the person processes the concept that old dark eyes over here isn’t going to be reading the printed menu on his own. A definite 2 thumbs up for all of you.
And what can I say about the food? Everything we had was awesome. I can’t remember the last time I saw somebody rave as much about an appetizer as Carin did about the Short Rib Poutine she had. It was to the point that I almost ordered one of those instead of a main course after my 5 spice wings. Those were neat, by the way. When you think wings, you don’t usually think cinnamon and ginger, but it totally worked. Every bite tasted a little bit different, which made it fun.
As for the main courses, Carin had fish and chips which she crushed in what seemed like no time, and I had what I think might have been the best restaurant burger I’ve had in this town. I may need to go to the Wooly to do a little comparative research since I haven’t burgered there in forever, but I think I’d put the Baker St. Burger up against anybody else’s and it would give them a serious run for their money. I don’t think I’ve ever had a burger so tender. It felt like it was going to melt in my mouth, and there was a lot of flavour unlike some of the bland burgers you tend to find in restaurants. The Ketchup and Aioli were nice touches as well, very tasty. The fries remind me of someplace, but I’m not sure where. I keep thinking it was somewhere I went when I was little, but hell if I can remember what the place was called. Let’s call it This Place Has Fabulous Freakin Fries Land. Yeah, that works.
Neither of us had room for dessert, but it’s on the list for next time. Yes, there will be a next time. But as for this time, the pints of Tankhouse Ale and MacLean’s Pale Ale did a fine job of filling whatever stomach space was left over. Oh, and I think Carin has a new favourite drink. It’s called a Razzmatazz. Two words: chocolate vodka. Oh, and lots and lots of raspberry. You should have seen the little guy happy giggle. If she does that, you know you’ve struck alcohol gold.
If you’re in Guelph and looking for a nice place to eat and have a couple, definitely give the Station your time. We liked it so much we ended up walking out with a gift certificate for a friend’s Christmas. The atmosphere is really cool and kind of hard to describe, so here are some pictures of it. The place is huge and you know that, but it somehow also feels a bit cozy and like it would be the perfect place to come and warm up when winter hits. Even though it’s big, it was completely packed when we got there. the downstairs was full, but luckily there were a couple of stools at the upstairs bar until a table for two opened up up there.
And that’s another cool thing. The separate levels would be great for having some kind of live music and food on one and just food on the other. Not sure if that’s in the plans, but feel free to take that idea if it wasn’t, guys.
You can find them at 76 Baker Street (now you know where the name came from), and there’s a map on the website if you need one. And if you’re blind like us and the map won’t really help you, give them a call or send them a tweet and they’ll probably help you out pretty quickly. They’re pretty good at the Twitter thing.
Oh, and speaking of the Twitter thing, one last question. carin and I were both curious about the mind the brooms tweet that linked to this photo. The person we asked had no idea what we were talking about, so hopefully somebody reading this can solve the mystery.
Thanks for a fun night and a great meal, Carin and restaurant people. Oh, and to answer your question Twitter manning person, our night out was good enough for a Vomit Comet post.
>I enjoyed the live Tweeting of your night last night. That place sounds fantastic! Hope it stays that way and isn't just awesome because it's shiny and new.