B.I.Eat (2/13): The Attic

As many of you know, The Hungry Gnome has teamed up with The Hamilton Economic Development Office to promote Hamilton’s thirteen BIAs – this month it’s Stoney Creek and a visit to The Attic.

I’ll be honest and say this was my first visit to The Attic – but it’s definitely not the first time I’ve heard of it. Its been a Stoney Creek staple for decades and I’ve driven by many of times. For lunch I was joined by my #BIEat partner in crime Michael Marini as well as Paul & Joe from the Stoney Creek BIA.

The Attic is well known for their pizza and I’m well known for my love of bacon – hence the large pizza and cheesy bacon fries ($7.99). Those two go together like Kim & Kanye. There was also a special on wings that day so …why not? C’est la vie right? Who says no to pizza & wings for lunch? Pshhh, not this girl.

The fries came with ranch dipping sauce and sour cream. This dish wasn’t rocket science – fries, cheese, bacon – it was a double D – dirty and delicious! There was absolutely no nutritional value to this and you probably shouldn’t be eating it everyday – but it was a fantastic combination of two of my guilty pleasure – cheese & bacon. You can’t really mess up such a classic duo – and it was a great portion for all four of us to share.

Also to share, we ordered the 16″ BBQ Chicken Pizza (one of their Signature Pizzas) – it came with bbq sauce, mozzarella cheese, and grilled chicken ($17.99). They have something called “The Attic Challenege” where they challenge anyone to finish a 16″ pizza in under 45 minutes. The winner receives the pizza complimentary, a hat, a beverage and their name on a plaque displayed in the dinning area. Twenty-two people have successfully completed the challenge with over a hundred attempting it.

I couldn’t quite talk anyone into accepting the challenge unfortunately.

We each devoured a few slices though. The pizza was well cooked – crispy on the bottom but not burnt and the crust was still chewy. They were very generous with the bbq sauce which added a nice sweet flavour to the mix. I would have enjoyed more chicken pieces but that’s just the gluttony in me. They were generous with the cheese and baked it well enough that it wasn’t oozing with grease – kudos!

I’d like to consider myself a wing aficionado and I can happily say these were’t too shabby. I like my wings to be the GMO variety and unfortunately (or fortunately) I think these were actual ‘real’ chicken wings. They were cooked well, pretty meaty and weren’t dry or grey with just the right amount of sauce. I like my wings more ‘plump’ and ‘juicy’ and a little more breaded than these but they were better than your average bar wings.

Is that Michael Marini eating his pizza with a knife and fork?! Why yes it is – and so did everyone else at the table. Can you believe that? I guess I was having lunch with a group of very dapper gentlemen.

I’m glad I finally made my way to The Attic. It definitely reminded me of one of those “Cheers” bars where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came. I bet you have that song in your head now sucka?

You can without a doubt consider The Attic your neighbourhood bar – the place just screams comfort & casual – from the banquets, the warm service, to the local sports memorabilia on the walls. It’s not one of those pretentious gastropubs that charge you an-arm-and-a-leg to throw a piece of frozen foie on your burger – but a local joint making simple, wholesome food. What a concept right?