Food Truck Travels: Otter Creek Farms and Three Dog Wines at Spearhead Brewery
By Bill Gowsell
Traditionally, food trucks are well known for burgers, hot dogs, and greasy French fries. Today, food trucks range from your standard easy to carry meals like burgers and fries, to upscale cuisine. Recently Spearhead Brewery was offering a wine and food pairing night with Three Dog Winery and Otter Creek Farms food truck. My wife, Laura, and I were intrigued because we love Three Dog Winery and their assortment of delicious libations. Tastings can be had if you venture downtown on Saturday to Springer Market Square where you will meet Sean, who mans the Three Dog tent.
Walking into Spearhead we found our reserved seats at the bar. It was oxymoronically a cozy industrial feel. This was our first visit to Spearhead, and Laura and I were impressed with the ambiance of the tap room, and the décor that permeates throughout the room. Long high tables, wrap around bar seating, and low tables looking out to the production floor give you many choices on where to sit and enjoy your time at Spearhead.
Otter Creek Farm had prepared several appetizers to be paired with our wines. Seeing the menu before us, imagining the taste of each appetizer with the paired wine made our stomachs rumble with delight. As the event was about to begin, we were all welcomed by Steph, manager of the Tap Room and Events. She explained how this was the first wine event at the brewery and how she hoped to have more in the coming months.
Eric from Otter Creek Farms food truck took the floor for a few moments to tell us what we were about to enjoy, with Sean describing why the wines paired so well with the food. Starting with a Pinot Grigio with cucumber tartare, the event began with tasty citrus and dry wine that had hints of apple.
Next, a Riesling and roasted artichoke, then the Dog House White paired with butter poached seafood, the first half of our parings were tasting well, both in food and liquid form. Sean talked about how the pinot noir that Three Dog had for the night was on the rebound after a frost a few years back, and then Eric explained that the pairing of the pinot noir with Wagyu carpaccio was perfect. The thinly sliced Japanese beef was perfect in texture and taste. Something I had never tried before and found to be delicious. All while I chewed, the idea that this was food truck fare made me appreciate that no matter the location, great food is made by the chef, not the building (or vehicle) it is in.
The true main course of the meals would be the Cabernet Franc pairing with the Wagyu meatball. This delicious combination of meat with wine offered an abundant of flavours and led to the dessert of the evening. Our sixth and final wine and food paring was the Dog House Rose paired with buttermilk goat cheese. The flavours of the whipped goat cheese and the fruitiness of the wine was the cherry on the sundae for this wonderful event out.
To add to the evening of great food and delicious wine was the atmosphere and the personalities of the staff at Spearhead Brewery. The service was exceptional. As we sat at the bar and enjoyed the last bits of our wine and food, it felt like we were in a welcoming place that cared what we thought and wanted to do their best for the customer. We even had time to sample some of the beer (I recommend the Summer Ale and Sam Roberts Band Ale). You can tell that customer service matters to Spearhead and everyone who worked this night should be commended for their fantastic work.
Special thanks to Steph, the manager of the Tap Room at Spearhead. As we were about to leave, she approached us and thanked us for coming, and then asked for our honest feedback about how the night went. What fearlessness on her part to ask for candor about an event she ran. Thank you, Steph, Spearhead, Otter Creek Farms, Sean, and Eric for a wonderful night.
Food trucks are everywhere in Kingston. From parks to parking lots, they dot the landscape offering customers a chance to try their tasty offerings. If you are interested in checking out Otter Creek Farms food truck, they can be found at City Park during the week from Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at Spearhead Brewery every Friday night from 5 to 8 p.m. Sample some Three Dog wines at the Springer Market Square every Saturday morning. Look for Sean and he will give you the backstory of the vineyard and talk in detail about the wines. As for me, I can’t wait to see what other fantastic events Spearhead Brewery has in store.
Bill Gowsell was born and raised in Kingston. With an interest in history, food, wine, and all things Disney, Bill has been writing for the last eight years on a variety of topics. During the summers he can be found at the family cottage north of Kingston, or at the bottom of Lake Ontario… scuba diving.