The local food scene has been expanding lately, which is incredibly exciting. While I can't wait to share more about some of these new spots - it's time we celebrated a fifteen-year downtown St. Thomas restaurant. Lotus Thai is one of the early editions to the rapidly evolving offerings in our community for authentic cultural food experiences.

​Everyone has their own idea of what pizza should be. Toppings are hotly debated. Thin crust. Thick crust. Woodfired. Stonebaked. A food where regional specialties emerge and battle for top slice status - Chicago Deep Dish or a giant fold of NY pie? It's all part of the pizza tradition.
 
Chef Bondi's has been a tradition in St. Thomas since 1964, a tradition that's honoured by owner Dylan Taylor, who purchased the business early in 2020 after working at the pizzeria for nearly four years. The dough and the sauce are homemade in a traditional Italian style - fresh veggies and toppings piled on, making sure there's a little of everything in each bite. Taylor wants customers' food to taste like someone cared about the product and did their very best to put it together exactly how every customer likes it. That's a tradition I can get behind.

Some items go together without much thought. Almost as if these things have always existed together in the same space. For me, fish and chips fall easily into this category. Even calling it fish and fries sounds less relatable and appetizing.
 
But the truth is, that fish and chips haven't always coexisted - they had to come together and come together they did in mid 19th century England. The chips introduced from Belgium or France and the fried fish introduced by Jewish immigrants from Portugal and Spain** often in small, family-run fish and chip shops. It's still a dish that is quintessentially British and a staple on many pub menus. Across the pond, there are around 8500 fish and chip shops across the UK* and it's a dish that was exempt from rationing by Churchill during WWII.

It's no secret that the restaurant business isn't for the faint of heart. More often than not, the folks who tough it out year after year to save for their own spot do it for passion. They are passionate about food and passionate about bringing people together over food.

Sam and Dan at the St. Thomas Roadhouse are such people. They both spent years in the industry before the opportunity came up to purchase a restaurant. This opportunity also brought them home to St. Thomas; it brought them a community. They love seeing so many familiar faces at the tables and names on take-out orders. 

Even while many things have been challenging this last year, the way folks have poured out in the #supportlocal spirit has been heartwarming for Sam and Dan, their families, and staff. It has helped throughout the hurdles the last year has put up, from navigating protocol changes and PPE implementation to boosting mental health. Restaurant staff are family to Sam and Dan, and they recognize and value their team and those who have come out to support them this year. 
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As the tour of downtown food stops continues, we are hopping into one of the most widely debated foods - so much so that I may have to put together a city-wide pizza tour and channel my inner Charles Boyle. I'm not even mad about it.

Pizza is just one of those foods that everyone has a strong feeling about - whether it's who invented it or what the best crust style is or getting passionate about toppings. Just ask a room full of people how they feel about pineapple on their pizza - you'll see what I mean!
And while you won't need it to read this review, you might need to stop at home for your pizza bib before diving into the pies at Old School Pizza.

Old School Pizza is the youngest child of Paul & Krista Minnich and is truly a family business with their older children helping out around the restaurant. They have been making wood-fired pizzas for years and love the added layer it adds to such a universally-loved food. It shows. My impression before knowing their story was that this was a family-run business. They have built family into their foundation and carry it through operations.

While it may seem like this spot popped up out of nowhere in December of 2020, it's evident that a lot of time and thought went into bringing St. Thomas such a unique menu and all the incredible "old-school" details throughout the space.

​Humans' taste for food, sampling the available produce, goes back to the dawn of time. A combination of survival and curiosity made way for culturally, and geographically unique ways to increase the enjoyment of consuming food and culture shifted from mere survival into ecstasy.

The addition of wine into our diets has had a similarly long and nuanced journey to its current state; advancing from ceremonial uses in Ancient Armenia in 4100BC to miraculous wedding feasts and medical applications to an industry with a projected worldwide value of 429 billion USD by 2023.
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with Sarah from the  Elgin/St. Thomas Small Business Enterprise Centre 
On Instagram @SBECinnovation #TasteofStThomas
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I love small business, but I may love food-based enterprises most of all. Food has always been at the centre of everything for me. Whether it was afternoons in the kitchen with my mom, days spent entertaining at home, or menu selection for special events throughout my career: food has been woven into my life as I am sure it has been in yours. And in a time when we can't necessarily sit down together to share a meal, I am excited to have the opportunity to share a meal with you in this way - through words; another thing I love.