THE PUMP HOUSE GRILLE Co. ~ Port Credit ON

Back in May, before I left for Ottawa, I was actually at a work retreat out at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. Like last year, several of my co-workers got together, talked about working together, best practices etc and of course, had wings together. Ok I had wings, everybody else at pretty healthy.

Greg and Sean were our hosts at UTM and we relied on them to take us to a good location for lunch. They recommended the Pump House Grille Co.. It was actually down in Port Credit, which is an area I have not explored, did not have a chance to, but would love to in the future.

Here's the gang from left to right: Sean, Greg, Heather, Kristen, Dave, Leah and Candice. A great bunch to work with.

Inside this place was a mix of bar and restaurant. It was slightly more upscale from the average pub. On the bar side you had a mix of older locals and some suits on their lunch break. In the dining room, we had families with one kid who loved dinosaurs that made laser sounds.

The night before we had tex-mex food, so most were interested in clearing their palettes and eating healthy. Above are Lobster and Avacado Wraps ($15.99) or Thai Chicken Wrap ($13.99) - I can't remember which, with massive salads.

Above is a massive salad/meals. They are both Phoenix & Dragon salads (shrimp and chicken for $16.79) but the bottom had the shrimp replaced with fried cheese.

Then there was a Turkey Panini ($14.99) with massive salad and an Asian Salmon Salad ($16.79). I think everyone really enjoyed their salads, wraps, sandwiches and more salads.

I had no qualms about not having salads. I went with wings, of course.

Wings come in orders of singles or doubles. I went with a single order which was about 10 wings. There are no sides on this plate.

The size of these wings were a medium length. But what they lacked in length they made up in being very meaty wings. When the wings came out they were crispy, but they became soggy very quickly as the dusting absorbed all the sauce.

HOT

This was my base flavour and it was a standard hot you find at most pubs. Good. Not really hot in my opinion though, more a medium.

SUICIDE
I ordered suicide on the side and it came out cold, which I am not a fan. But this did have a bit of a kick. More hot than suicide, but still a good sauce.

FINAL SCORE:  This was a great little pub with very fresh food. The wings were meaty and saucy, but sauce on the side might be the way to go. You can also get your wings grilled after they are sauced, and that might be an interesting way to go. 5.5/10

Plus, great company made this also worth while. What a productive and fun retreat!

The Pump House Grille Co.
40 Lakeshore Road, Port Credit ON
pumphousegrilleco.com

THE PUMP HOUSE GRILLE Co. ~ Port Credit ON

My Residence Life Functional Group started a new tradition of a work retreat last year where we go to University of Toronto Mississauga campus, spend two days going over student issues, planning joint training and learning about our respective systems. Then we eat. This year was no different.

This time we were joined by UTM locals Sean and Greg who led us to a pub in Port Credit (the edge of Missassauga). This place looked like a great little hang out spot.

Inside the place was a mix of traditional pub and, well I don't know how to describe what you see in the picture above. The place was busy with a mostly 30 and up crowd at lunch. There was a family in our dining area and a kid was quite excited about dinosaurs and lasers (same sentence). Our server was Katti (but she also had help from another waitress I didn't catch the name of) but service was prompt and friendly.

Here's the gang: Sean, Greg, Heather, Kristen, Dave, Leah and Candice. I'm taking the picture.

I can eat crap for days on end, but after Mandarin Chinese buffet for lunch and Lone Star fajitas the night before for supper, most were looking to do some healthy cleansing. I didn't get a detailed report on everyone's meals, but I'm pretty sure they all enjoyed them, found them fresh, and very generous portions. Here's a visual recap:

Two Thai Chicken Wraps (I think) with salads.

Top: Phoenix & Dragon Salad (tiger shrimp and chicken in a sesame vinagrette)

Bottom: Same, but the shrimp subbed out for a puck of goat cheese.

Top: Turkey Panini (sliced turkey, bacon, ham lettuce, tomato and aged Canadian cheddar)

Bottom: Asian Salmon (tossed in a sesame mandarin vinaigrette)

Oh, I got the wings. Talk about your odd man out.

I ordered a Single order of wings, which is 10. It came on a long white plate and they looked great - nice and orange, a little crispy - but naked without veggies and dip, or even garnish.

THe wings themselves were a medium in length, but were pretty meaty. The wings are dusted, then deep fried. They also say you can get them grilled (it just takes a little longer). I went with standard fried, but if I was back, would go for grilled.  The chicken started crispy, but the sauce (which was absorbed into the skin) eventually became slightly soggy, or at least not crispy.

HOT

I went with the classic hot. It was classic hot - bottled cayenne sauce. Simple but good.

SUICIDE
I also got a side of suicide. It was 3rd Degree I think. Had a zing. It was cold though, which I don't like as it contrasts too much with the warm wings. But good.

FINAL SCORE:
These were good dusted deep fried wings. Simple sauce. Not bad, but nothing original either. Its a great little spot and I would go back again for sure. I think everyone enjoyed their meals and it was a great place to end out retreat at. 5.5/10

The Pump House Grille Co.

40 Lakeshore Rd East, Port Credit ON

pumphousegrilleco.com