Out & About #656 | Hamilton Farmer's Market + SYNONYM Revisited

​Two years - a period neither particularly short nor particularly long. A duration lengthy enough to witness some small changes here and there, yet not enough for making makeover-esque observations.

Hamilton is a city to which I hold a scopious collection of feelings towards, mainly positive with only a handful of unnerving recollections (usually involving homeless citizens roaming the grounds in an irrational manner, in broad daylight, much as we saw in the strip of tents outside FirstOntario Centre).

My last journey to the city (via a personal vehicle) had entailed various happenings at the Hamilton Convention Centre. This time around, I would be venturing further north in the downtown district.
Originally no longer than thirty-five minutes of a drive, a collision on the QEW doubled our travel time, resulting in a delayed arrival at the Hamilton Farmer's Market. I suppose the annoying coincidence worked in our favour, for we caught our primary focus of de la terre in the midst of a brief lunch break.

​In response to COVID-19 health protocols, one-way access and egress was being enforced. Upon securing parking at the York Blvd parkette, visitors could cross southbound towards the market's sole entrance. Exiting back onto York Blvd through a different door was permitted; the same applied to the connecting Jackson Square access.

Some vendor switchups were witnessed: a few had vacated, the curtain had been pulled at Cake & Loaf, Hotti Biscotti was instated on the upper level near the mall access, and Nam Nom operated with a flexible plastic sheet at the cashier counter. Relay's second-floor outpost remained closed, directing traffic to its brick-and-mortar cafe on King William St - which, may I add, isn't too far from Hambrgr.

​The lookout point never ceases to amaze the visitors that accompany my visits.

Beyond the stalls of local produce, cheese, meat, seafood, and European pastries, there were few retailers offering prepared items of interest to us.

I proposed heading to Nations, only to find the supermarket closed. Majority of Jackson Square remained consistent with the image in my memory: relatively peaceful and not extraordinarily entertaining. New to the scenery were measures promoting physical distancing:

• Directional arrows on the floor
• Closure of every other washroom stall, as well as three out of five sinks (X O X X O); no change to hand dryers
• Closure of select food court seating
• Denial of entry to the Farmer's Market from the mall; street access only
• Denial of entry to Hamilton Public Library from the mall; street access only

​We made our detoured re-entry for de la terre before preparing for departure. There, a Smoked Barley & Rye Sourdough Loaf and three Poppyseed Bagels were secured for a measly ten dollars. Both the high-coveted Herb & Cheese Croissant and Pain Au Chocolat had long vanished from the display case, or so we had been informed by the cheery member of staff. She proceeded to make us aware of the bakery's online preorder system, such that our bags could be filled with flakey, buttery deliciousness instead of disappointment.

Parking ticket validated, we returned to the car and buckled up for a late lunch.

I suggested venturing to a nearby cafe with street parking. Since being reminded of BLACKPINK's tour last spring, I had been eager to revisit SYNONYM. I shall declare, however, that the intention was out of sheer curiosity, rather than an obligation to fulfill an unrequited desire for quality offerings.

​The space was approximately seven minutes away. Upon our arrival, it was observed that street parking spaces were few. That said, we managed to secure a space just before the storefront. "Patio" tables had been extended onto the sidewalk, thus extra caution was exerted to ensure that we wouldn't be dooring patrons upon our vehicle egress.
In addition to the last of three parking spaces, we somehow managed to secure the last of five patio tables as well, nixing the need to purchase our items for consumption elsewhere.

​The cafe's assortment of alcohol and specialty cafe beverages has unmistakably expanded since my initial stopover, further maintaining consistency in terms of cost and  ̶p̶e̶c̶u̶l̶i̶a̶r̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶ niche-catering.

Beyond cheese boards, focaccia pizza, and appetizer-sized snacks, universally recognized lunch items spanned not beyond two sandwiches, both employing the use of house focaccia, for which we later discovered a lack of fondness.

The vegetarian Spiced Carrot Sandwich rang in at ten dollars before tax. Herbs in the forms of lemongrass and dill were a nice touch, though the quantity of the latter was a tad overpowering for my liking; burping up dill was not my preferred method of spending the remainder of the afternoon. Lemongrass leaves added an unexpected dose of freshness to the vegetarian, and possibly vegan, sandwich. The focaccia had been smothered in margarine (or not-very-butter-like butter) to an obnoxious degree; our fingers emerged outrageously shiny upon contact. Carrots had been spiralized and tossed in an oil-based mix prior to sandwiching, though not spiced as advertised. Several slices of (presumably) seitan constituted the sandwich's source of protein: the meat-free slices resembled neither tofu nor tempeh, yet was clearly plant-based. Sufficiently seasoned though assembled with the assistance of a stabilizer, it came off satiating amidst the already greasy mix.

​Unmistakably the lesser of two evils, the Mortadella mixed deli slices with a pickled medley by the name of giardiniera. Sour bits of finely diced radish contrasted nicely against the speckled Italian luncheon meat. It was, in contrast, far more appealing than its vegan companion in terms of ingredient list and lack of greasiness. That said, we did find both sandwiches to be too carb-heavy: the focaccia had done a swell job of holding seasonings, though its crunchy top and damp, rigid body made it impossible to slice with an already dull knife.

​The Tahini Brownie, which had been chosen in the absence of chocolate chip cookies, had been taken to go for later indulgence. The four-dollar sliver appeared quite promising, with a surface reminiscent of a gooey, dense chocolate cake decorated with several swirls of peanut butter. In consideration of its steep price price, the creation offered a strictly mediocre flavour profile that highlighted neither the nuttiness of tahini nor the glorious complexity of chocolate. To note the dessert as a disappointment would be an understatement; the dismal result further prompted me to contemplate construction of such a combination, with the hope of succeeding in conjuring up proper aromas.

The meal totalled roughly thirty dollars - inclusive of tip, exclusive of specialty beverages. Service was friendly and speedy, even in the face of our ravenous, indecisive mannerisms. A single stall bathroom was found at the bottom of the a flight of stairs. Similar to my last visit, illumination remained minimal and the bunch of dried lavender remained intact (though robbed of its soothing scent).

Hunger somewhat satisfied, it was time to resume the day's itinerary. Looping through Westdale prompted another stroll down memory lane. Once again, some were far fonder than others.

​I made my rounds through the backbone of a campus I know all too well, then proceeded westward along Main St.

​Along the route to Hazel was CoCo's newest location in west GTA, and the franchise's second location in Hamilton.

​The interior of my go-to study space was, more or less, the same as before. Gone was the picturesque decor, yet appended were the series of savoury bento boxes. My freebie of HK Coffee Milk Tea with Grass Jelly was quite the disappointment, though nothing that couldn't be resolved with an afternoon pick-me-up at Starbucks.

​Marking the second-last destination of the day was Square One. A BOGO duo of Iced Guava Green Tea Lemonade and Kiwi Starfruit Starbucks Refresher was obtained, followed by miscellaneous bulk barn fixings.

​From The Crane Express' weekend pop-up at The Food District, a $2.20 Ube White Chocolate Chip Cookie founds its way into my hands. The soft-baked, coaster-sized specimen harnessed an impressive ube aroma: an ambrosial, nutty scent that meandered its way from the plastic packaging to my olfactory senses. That said, it fell short in the flavour department with a scanty portion of white chocolate chips and one-dimensional profile.

Last on the list was T&T for groceries. And with that, we were homebound.