Out & About #115 | NàRoma and Cheese Shoppe on Locke

Locke Street has long been known as the place to eat in Hamilton, containing various hidden gems in the otherwise rundown manufacturing city.

As we happened to be in the area, and were in luck of experiencing some great weather too, it was the golden opportunity to take a stroll down Locke St. and try out NàRoma. Fairly popular among students and locals alike, NàRoma was a small pizza bar with an outdoor patio capable of seating up to ten small tables, a dimly-lit interior that snugly fit around ten more tables, and an upstairs bar/kitchen area with another two long tables.
We arrived a little after noon, witnessing the entire restaurant buzz about to serve the packed patio guests and lunch rush hour diners seated inside. Lucky enough to get "bar seats" directly facing the window, it almost seemed as if we were eating outside - if only it wasn't as stuffy.

We were handed menus immediately, and then left to ponder the menu choices for a good few minutes before our seemingly absent-minded wide-eyed server reappeared to explain the options available. Given that individual pizza slices ranged between four to five dollars, the $11 slice + salad/quinoa bowl/soup combo appeared to be a good choice. We were informed that they had ran out of the lentil soup, and consequently ordered the quinoa and salad sides instead. The sticky, somewhat crumby menus were then whisked away and replaced with two glasses of water accompanied by a few citrus slices.

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As the daily variations of pizza available for ordering had already been set into the display case, it took almost no time at all for them to be delivered to our table. Though placed on nifty wooden serving boards, presentation was lacking. The grease from the bottom of the pizzas had not been wiped off; in addition, the pizzas had been shoved onto the boards completely unaligned. Talk about a lack of attention to detail.

(While it may not seem like much, presentation is usually a significant determining factor between restaurant classes. An elegantly arranged dish invokes a sense of beauty, and clearly indicates that time and effort was exerted in its preparation. That being said, not all gracefully presented dishes will come with an equally exquisite taste; the best example would be Oru.)

At this point, I decided to give their bathroom a visit. This excursion required me to take a stroll down two small flights of rickety stairs with chipping off-white paint. My destination was, again, dimly lit: there was only one incandescent lamp illuminating the small stall. To make matters worse, it was home to at least ten very minute flies. I don't believe I ever stopped swatting for the entire five minute duration I resided for.
On the way back, I noticed that the "kitchen" was essentially a counter top with a few cupboards arranged overhead. The greens used to make the salads had already been prepared and stored in the mini fridge below the countertop. This made me wonder how on earth compiling them in a decent-looking manner could require over twenty minutes.

Even after a thorough pizza photoshoot session, the side salad and quinoa bowl had still not yet made their appearances. They were still nowhere in sight after both slices of dry, ultra-crusty pizza had been gobbled down. (Believe it or not, I had utmost difficulty trying to cut into the cardboard-hard slab of cooked dough.) When I raised my hand to inquire about their whereabouts, the waitress rudely spat out the excuse every member of waitstaff decides to use when they're slow and lazy: "We're really busy. They'll be out soon.". She then proceeded to walk away, leaving us in shock at her scornful attitude.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I walked up to the cashier to order two slices for takeout, to request for my salad to be placed in a takeout box instead of being plated, and to ask for a box to store the remaining slice I could not finish. The waitress, unsmiling, told me to sit back down. Another few minutes passed before she approached us after another few minutes to toss a small aluminium bag on the table and walk away, showing complete indifference for my request for a box.
By this point, I honestly didn't want to take any more of her ignominious attitude, and just decided to get up and pay (sans tip, of course).

Given the severe lack of efficiency of the waitress team, incredulously rude attitude from one particular waitress, and dryer-than-stale-sourdough pizza, I can conclude that NàRoma did not deserve a spot on "Hamilton's Top 5 Eats". It does not deserve the hype it receives, nor a second taste run on my list.


We then headed over to the Cheese Shoppe on Locke, where ice cream is served during the summer months.

The shoppe permitted up to three flavours to be sampled, so I gave Tiger Tail, Green Tea, and Mint Chocolate Chip a try. Tiger Tail was admittedly bland, while the chocolate swirl was oddly hard and sticky. Half of the sample scoop of Green Tea tasted of flavourless cream; the other half was disgusting crustiness that I immediately spat out discreetly as I headed toward the garbage bin. The only decent flavour was Mint Chocolate Chip, so I ordered specifically that. A scoop of Turtle Swirl was also purchased.

I can't guarantee the freshness of the flavours we ultimately selected, but at least they didn't exhibit any signs of crustiness. Despite the cool breeze, I was disappointed that the scoop melted fairly quickly - a sufficient chunk had began to metamorphose into a disintegrated mess by the time we reached the car some five minutes of walking later.
All in all, neither of the places visited are worth re-exploring. Having heard so many good things about Earth to Table, I think I might just stop by there instead next time.

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