{"id":1299,"date":"2018-06-12T17:50:29","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T17:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/?p=1299"},"modified":"2018-06-12T17:50:29","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T17:50:29","slug":"the-mule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/2018\/06\/12\/the-mule\/","title":{"rendered":"THE MULE"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE MULE: A FANTASTIC MEASURE OF A GREAT CITY<\/em><\/h3>\n

BY CHRIS TIESSEN<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018You want to know the mark of a great city?,\u2019 I ask TOQUE Partner Cai Sepulis as we\u2019re led to our table. \u2018A fantastic taco place.\u2019 And while we haven\u2019t been seated yet \u2013 let alone perused a menu \u2013 I am already anticipating that this could very well be that place. The Mule. On King William. And Hamilton, by extension, must be that great city.<\/p>\n

As Cai and I are led to our table \u2013 a cozy four-seater at the far corner of the expansive two-roomed space \u2013 I take it all in. The exposed brick walls. The colossal bar. High-top two-seaters in the front room and more traditional four- and eight-seaters in the back. The curated artwork. Crystal and red chandeliers. And a small army of young and exuberant wait staff. Chatting. Teasing. Laughing. The whole place exudes a cozy vibe. I feel like I\u2019m being wrapped in a soft tortilla of comfort, colour, and familiarity.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019re early enough that the restaurant is still relatively empty. It\u2019s a weekday, after all, so folks remain stuck in front of screens until closer to noon. Just waiting to bust out, I imagine. Our waiter \u2013 a giant of a man (for the next hour or so, I keep trying to figure out whether he can actually be taller than me) \u2013 welcomes us and asks us what we\u2019d like to drink. The Mule is known for its cocktails. I know this. But it\u2019s early. And there\u2019s work to do. And other stops on this #hamont daytrip. \u2018Liquor must wait,\u2019 I pronounce \u2013 to myself more than anyone. We settle for beer. Pints of Blood Brothers\u2019 Dark \u2018n Sour Stout \u2013 a lip-puckering combination of sour cherries and dark chocolate. A perfect pairing for what\u2019s to come. <\/p>\n

Cai has been here before, so she leads me through the one-page menu sorted by clear and concise categories: \u2018Tacos\u2019 and \u2018Not Tacos.\u2019 We decide on a few items from each grouping \u2013 Fried Calamari and a Watermelon Salad to start, followed by a couple of Pork Belly Banh Mi tacos, two Halloumi tacos, and one L.A. Beef Cheek taco. Orders in, I cruise around the joint looking for photo ops. Of which there are plenty. And that\u2019s when I notice how packed The Mule has become. There\u2019s not an empty table in sight. Business folk. Friends. Families. Couples. And singles at the bar.<\/p>\n

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\u2018You should see the place on weekend nights,\u2019 the friendly bartender remarks when I ask him if the place is always this popular. \u2018Once the sun\u2019s gone down on Fridays and Saturdays,\u2019 he continues, \u2018the place is a sea of people.\u2019 Foodies. And folks who appreciate live DJs. And industry types, too. <\/p>\n

\u2018Our full menu is available until 2am every night,\u2019 the Mule\u2019s Executive Sous Chef, Kat Danylewich, tells me when we get a chance to chat. \u2018Which makes us the perfect hangout for cooks, bartenders and other restaurant staff to end the night with us \u2013 which we love,\u2019 she adds. Indeed, it\u2019s apparent that The Mule team thrives on making everyone feel comfortable \u2013 and at home. <\/p>\n

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The Mule\u2019s Executive Sous Chef, Kat Danylewich<\/p><\/div>\n

It is clear that Kat and her team are truly focused on creating an atmosphere of inclusion and community. \u2018It\u2019s important to us that everyone feels welcome here,\u2019 Kat remarks, \u2018from business professionals to families with children to groups of friends.\u2019 She continues: \u2018Since we opened three years ago [on Supercrawl Weekend] we\u2019ve been nurturing this culture of inclusion. Which, in my mind, is what restaurants should be all about. After all,\u2019 she adds, \u2018what\u2019s more communal than sharing a plate with people you love?\u2019<\/p>\n

As if on cue, Cai and I both go for the last piece of calamari. And, like the great friend she is, Cai cuts it in half with her fork and takes the smaller piece for herself. Chewing away, I am already anticipating my next visit here. After all, The Mule truly is a fantastic taco place. And Hamilton, by extension, must be that great city.<\/p>\n

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<\/span> themule.ca
\n<\/i><\/span> @themulemakestacos
\n<\/a><\/i><\/span> The Mule<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE MULE: A FANTASTIC MEASURE OF A GREAT CITY BY CHRIS TIESSEN \u2018You want to know the mark of a great city?,\u2019 I ask TOQUE Partner Cai Sepulis as we\u2019re led to our table. \u2018A fantastic taco place.\u2019 And while we haven\u2019t been seated yet \u2013 let alone perused a menu \u2013 I am already […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53,97,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-drink","category-hamilton","category-issue-4"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1DSC_4854sm2.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8KDF5-kX","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1299"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1312,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions\/1312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toquemagazine.com\/hello\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}