Ever since the fun Latte Art 101 class in June, I desperately wanted to return to Detour Cafe for their full dining experience. Detour Cafe started out as Detour Coffee, with their roastery located in Burlington. They then branched out into a cafe located in Hamilton. Detour’s crew members have impressive resumes, especially with two of their baristas – Geoff Woodley and Momiji Kishi (my latte art Sensei), earning the title of Central Canada Barista Champion for 2011 & 2012 and 2010 & 2013 respectively.
First Impression:
We visited Detour Cafe three times before this blog entry. Despite a spacious outdoor backyard patio, it is packed on every single one of our visits.
We were promptly seated despite the crowded cafe.
I appreciate when restaurants provide a jar of water at the table. Some might argue that this is a lazy shortcut to cut down on the need for servers to refill glasses, but Y and I drink a lot of water at meal times so it can get annoying to have to constantly wait for refills.
On the Table for Maple: (over 3 visits)
- The Smoked Meat Sandwich ($11.50)
- Reuben Sandwich ($12.50)
- Pulled Chicken Sandwich ($12)
- Mac & Cheese – half-size ($7.50)
- Organic Quinoa Salad – half-size ($6.50)
- Savoury Scone ($2.75)
- Brownie ($3.50)
- Cappuccino ($3.14)
- Latte ($3.48)
The cappuccino
The latte
Though it was always a different barista preparing our drinks, the quality remained excellent.
Mac & Cheese – Shallot-thyme infused cream sauce with three cheese and spinach, topped with breadcrumbs
I decided on the half portion (full portion priced at $12) as I assumed that a full bowl of Mac & Cheese will be too heavy, especially for the meal before a hike. Detour’s Mac & Cheese was surprisingly light, with some greens balancing out the richness of cheesy macaroni.
Quinoa Salad – Black turtle beans, radish, avocado, poblano pepper, roaster cherry tomato, sheep’s milk feta, cumin lime vinagrette.
I love quinoa (full portion priced at $11) but I do not make a good quinoa dish so whenever they are offered on a menu, I am always tempted to get it. The refreshing zing of the cumin lime dressing, topped with a little saltiness of the feta, resulted in a very… calm salad. Strange description but the quinoa salad made me feel calm and zen. I absolutely adore how they offer half sizes, which allowed me to try different menu items.
All sandwiches are made using locally baked De La Terre bread and served with a Bubbies’ pickle and your choice of mixed greens or soup.
The Smoked Meat – Traditional thick cut, all natural Detour smoked brisket on whole wheat rye with our own pickled mustard seeds
Reuben – The ultimate Detour smoked meat plus Bubbie’s sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and house made Russian dressing
The smoked meat was unbelievably delicious. The bread was toasty and soft. The meat was perfectly tender with a fantastic fat-to-meat ratio. It resulted in a divine sandwich out of a seemingly classic and simple combination. I highly recommend this menu item if you visit Detour Cafe.
Y & I have gone through several bags of Detour Coffee now. If you are ever in the Hamilton/Burlington area, I sincerely recommend this cafe. I have read comments about Detour’s food being on the pricey side and I agree – it does add up to quite a bit for a casual meal. Typically, with two cups of specialty coffee and two dishes, it totals to almost $40. However, I absolutely love Detour Cafe and do not mind paying for the good quality food and coffee served. We have many superb coffee houses and restaurants in the KW area, but few actually succeeds at both aspects like Detour Cafe does.
