To change up our usual day off activities, J and I decided to play tourist and cross over to Niagara Falls, Canada for the evening. He was in charge of finding us a place to eat, and The Syndicate Restaurant and Brewery caught his attention, purely because of the name. Honestly, it is a pretty cool name. While we were driving I also asked my parents for the name of the brewery they had gone to and enjoyed, and what do you know, it was The Syndicate! There was no question where we were going to go now.

Located a bit beyond the normal “touristy” areas of Niagara Falls, on Lundy’s Lane, it’s a small restaurant with the brew tanks in back and a small patio up front (if you like to watch traffic go by). They had an interesting lunch menu, with a few sandwich type options for dinner, and a price fixed dinner menu that included salad, fancier main dish, and dessert. A beer and cocktail menu had some good options, including a sriracha Caesar….

I can’t say I enjoy seafood. I have an occasional shrimp when it’s in another dish, like Singapore noodles, but I’d never order it as a main dish. I don’t eat fish or shell fish. So the prospect of getting a cocktail with clam juice was horrifying. I debated it for a while, but in the end, I went for it.

Garnished with a lemon and lime, and a spiced rim that was probably Old Bay seasoning, I was hesitant to take the first sip. I couldn’t wait forever though…and…it was good!! It was spicy and garlicky and pretty tasty. There was just the hint of something else from the clam, umami or whatnot. I was scared of there being a very strong fishy taste, but there really wasn’t. None of the flavors were overwhelming, but it wasn’t boring.

I’m still not sure I understand Clamato juice, and I don’t think I’ll be drinking it with a beer any time soon, but I don’t need to be scared of Caesars anymore!