Work Progress Kitchen, or just WORK as it is affectionately called, has recently reopened with a few more frills and perks.
It’s gotten a whole décor facelift, the addition of café hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for breakfast and brunch, plus more of the same amazing food and beer for lunch, dinner and night time snacking.
Don’t worry they still have all of the tasty gems from their old evening menu (and the avocado fries)!
Kristin: It was full circle for Seema and I to visit the newly revamped spot together, since it’s a local favourite of ours, and we first blogged about the restaurant together four years ago. (Ah, memories! Look at that selfie!)
What’s exciting about the revamp is that it’s a new collaboration with another one of our local favourites, Cannon Coffee Co. The east end coffee shop has also been around for about the same five year period. Cannon co-owner Cindy Schnaithmann has come aboard as co-owner of WORK, hence the addition of fantastic coffee and breakfast items! Seeing WORK and Cannon come together is a dream team – I always cite the two among my favourite food spots in Hamilton.
There’s no shortage of coffee shops in the city but excellent coffee is always welcomed. It’s awesome to have another option to sit and grab coffee along James North. In fact, after our visit I scheduled my next lunch meeting for there.
Breakfast/brunch is available until 3 p.m. daily, with an ever-changing menu. It sounds like these breakfast sandwiches will be a staple. I went with the Smoked Salmon with cream cheese and cucumber, and of course had to get a latte. I need to go back for the Huevos Rancheros!
Seema: When people ask me where my absolute favourite place to eat in Hamilton is, I say without hesitation WORK.
In my opinion it has hands down some of the best food in the city. You can rant and rave all you want about pasta, steak, and, burgers, but in my opinion all that is just more of the same old and I often find it BORING.
Work is nothing fancy (which is totally my style), and man, Joel Elliott who is the co-owner and chef just gets it (him and Salar Madadi of Meat Ventures) are my food heroes. They do all the flavours and textures I love: spicy, sweet, savoury, ginger, pickled, fatty, crispy, mmmm, everything.
My favs and regular go to’s are the Bahn Mi Fries with pork belly, Kimchi Nachos, and Okonomiyaki. Being half Japanese and having lived in Japan for several years, I was super (pleasantly) surprised to see that Joel’s take on the Japanese pancake okonomiyaki did not disappoint; it had all the right flavours and textures that hit the spot and satisfied my craving for this rare snack. So perfect with beer (which they have a great selection of, in the fridge and on tap).
Seema: Potential new favourite to add to the list were the chicken balls! Super delicious. Anyone that can incorporate (a typical at-home-only) Japanese rice topping like furikake onto something like chicken balls, and do it well, is a genius.
Seema: The best part about a lot of the food at WORK is that it is perfect for sharing. I usually come for casual late lunches, or night time snacking for a date or with friends. We typically order up lots to split for a totally satisfying taste experience.
Kristin: When I heard rumours that WORK may be up for sale or that some changes were afoot, I was bummed at the thought of us losing Joel’s killer menu and this laid back hang out. I’m so glad this is not the case. All the classics remain on the menu. In addition to the aforementioned Bahn Mi Fries, Avocado Fries, Nachos… don’t forget the tacos, ramen, poutine, wings… we almost ordered it all.
Work Progress Kitchen
337 James Street North | Website
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