Primitive Cuisine
Trenton, Ontario
July 26th, 2012
Primitive Cuisine, opened in fall 2011, is located at 178 Dundas Street East, in Trenton, Ontario.
As soon as we walked through the door at Primitive Cuisine, I knew we were in for a fantastic food experience. What a funky, fun place to hang out. All of the names of the stocked beers and wines are written on a chalk board tableau – great idea! Simple wooden tables are dressed up with rolls of paper towel and an array of condiments – this is our kind of place!
The house scratch-made sauces, all very good, include a honey chipotle and a Memphis-style sauce (both voted to a tie as table favourites), along with a Kansas-style sauce, and a Carolina vinegar sauce.
The menu offered just enough options and twists to keep it interesting, while staying true to real Southern BBQ. Call it Southern BBQ with a Canadian twist.
Check the menu for yourself on their website, at www.primitivecuisine.ca.
Now, let’s get started.
I was excited to see they have sweet tea on their menu. Surprised? No. Happy? Yes. Mason jar? Of course. It was delicious.
At our table of five, we tried our best to get a good sample of what the menu had to offer, covering as many of the main items as we could.
To start, we opted to try the deep fried pickles, and deep fried cheese curds to start. Both are served with a honey mustard dipping sauce.
It was unanimous that the deep fried pickles were some of the best any of us had ever eaten. That says a lot coming from at least one non-pickle eater. That’s right, Primitive, you may just have started a deep fried pickle craze. The batter on the outside of these pickles is phenomenal. Crunchalistic. Crisptastic. Epic crunch factor.
The curds? The peoples’ faces tell the story, don’t they?
Look at the stretch on that curd!
Pulled pork poutine? Yes, please. Although not technically a starter, we weren’t leaving without trying it.
After such a great start, we were really looking forward to the main event. We opted to try beef brisket plates, and a pulled pork plate. If you’re curious to know the difference between a “meaty” portion, and a “meatier” portion – the “meaty” is a hefty 4 oz of meat, while the “meatier” weighs in at a whopping 8 oz! Fantastic value!
You can see that we got to try a wide array of sides they offer at Primitive: the potato chips (oh, my, goodness), slaw, beans, cornbread, and the macaroni and cheese. The cornbread was so moist, and some of the best I’ve ever had. We took the liberty of trying it slathered with each of the table sauces. The macaroni and cheese has a great tang to it – a tang we couldn’t quite identify, and which wouldn’t be revealed, no matter how much we guessed and begged. We all agreed that it was a macaroni and cheese that didn’t disappoint – it certainly wasn’t a bland mac and cheese.
Of course we couldn’t leave without trying the only dessert on the menu – a deep fried Mars bar. Crispy on the outside, and deliciously gooey on the inside. Served on vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. If you’re looking for a rich indulgence, this is a good one.
Last, but certainly not least, service was FAN-TASTIC! Friendly, helpful – we had a blast with our server. In my opinion, service makes a good dining experience a great dining experience. Our food arrived hot to our table, and in generous quantities.
Primitive Cuisine is a great example of a small restaurant doing things right – serving great food in a cozy, welcoming atmosphere, and supporting local farms and suppliers to boot. Best get there early enough to get what you want – when they sell out of an item for the day, you’re out of luck until the next day. I personally think that’s fantastic, since as a customer, that means I’m going to get the best quality BBQ I can get.
Further, look at these smiles.
Great, fun eating experience. Our first visit to this unique restaurant will not be our last.
You gotta eat here!
