As the calendar is about to turn, we look back at our favourite food and drink moments of 2017. Happy new year, Windsor, Ontario!

Dinner on a Pier
Dinner on a Pier

Pop-up Dinners Still Have Magical Touch

Our Dinner on a Pier continued to grow, providing sensory overload with incredible sights, flavours and sounds. This year, 20 different Spanish inspired dishes we served by chef Johnny Oran on a pier jetting out into the Detroit River and underneath a setting sun. Anne Jarvis of The Windsor attended in 2017 and nailed the experience in her written piece.

In fact, Dinner on a Pier has been going to well we added to our Dinner On Series by launching Dinner on a Beach and plans for more in 2018.

If you missed out on Dinner on a Pier last year, don’t worry. Tickets are already available.

 

Say, "Whisky"!
Say, “Whisky”!

Tours Launched Inside North America’s Largest Distillery

While it was sad to see the Canadian Club Brand Centre close their doors in 2017, we worked hard to ensure the whisky experience here in Whiskytown, Canada was still top notch. WindsorEats came to an agreement with J.P. Wiser’s to operate the first tours in the Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. distillery in over 16 years.

Even though the distillery has been making world class whisky since 1858 when Hiram Walker first created Canadian Club here, maybe people don’t realize that this is in fact the largest distillery in North America. Eat your heart out, Kentucky!


If you’re looking to get a hands-on experience within the distillery, we high recommend taking our Drinks of Walkerville walking tour which was named an Ontario Signature Experience and run every weekend. You’ll get to tour the distillery, taste multiple whiskies, learn all about the rum running history of the area and how whisky built this town before finishing off sampling beers at Walkerville Brewery and cocktails at The Willistead. Heck, you’ll even get to take home a special engraved bottle of whisky!

 

The Deux Chevaux from Motor Burger has been pretty popular

Motor Burger Top 10 Burger Joint in Canada

Everyone loves a good burger and Windsorites are lucky enough to have one of the best burger joints in Canada to call their own. Yellow Pages named Motor Burger as one of their Top 10 Local Burger Joints in Canada for 2017, joining internationally known restaurants such as Au Pied De Cochon in Montreal and Bonavista Social Club in Newfoundland on the list.

 

Awards Galore

We’d like to thank the Academy…

WindsorEats were fortunate and honoured to have had numerous awards bestowed upon us in 2017, helping us in our mission of showcasing Windsor and the region as one of Canada and North America’s best culinary destinations.

It all started at the beginning of the year, winning the Tourism & Hospitality award presented by the Chamber of Commerce. The ball continued to roll later in the year as WindsorEats founder, Adriano Ciotoli, was named the Tourism Champion of the Year for all of Ontario.

However, as great as all of that all, we were absolutely shocked and blown away to have been named by Best Small-Medium Sized Tourism Business of the Year for all of Canada in November.

 

Anchor Coffee House Keeps Rockin’ It

First, the super popular and tasty Anchor Coffee House expanded with a second location in Walkerville that has been rockin’ since the doors first opened. Then, more proof in the pudding that Windsor is one of the best food and drink destinations in Canada: Anchor was mentioned in Forbes magazine as having the best cup of coffee in 2017. That’s pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

 

Licia Ruby Food Co. is making some great chocolate in Windsor, Ontario.
Licia Ruby Food Co. is making some great chocolate in Windsor, Ontario.

Licia Ruby in Chatelaine

What is that you say? More national accolades for a Windsor food and drink business? Yup!

Chatelaine, the popular Canadian lifestyle magazine, featured the irresistible and addictive toasted white chocolate bars by Licia Ruby in their November publication. Chefs Elise Keller and Johnny Oran, the wife and husband duo being the chocolates, saw an immediate bump in sales from across the country when the magazine was released.

 

The Windsor Craft Beer Festival rocked it in 2017.
The Windsor Craft Beer Festival rocked it in 2017.

Beer Fest Turned 5

2017 was a big year for the Windsor Craft Beer Festival in more ways than one.

This year was a celebration of 5 years since the festival began and helped Windsor become a true destination for craft beer aficionados. The continued growth and popularity of the festival led to both nights for the first time since its creation.

The moral of the story? Get your 2018 Windsor Craft Beer Festival tickets now!