On January 8, GC and I went to The Ballroom Bowl – a bowling alley located in downtown Toronto at the corner Richmond and John St.

Now if you are wondering why we go to places that would clearly be more entertaining and lively in the evening it’s because GC works in the evenings on the weekends. The only time we have is weekend mornings/early afternoons. It’s hard but I think it encourages us to get out there and do things, rather then being complacent and boring at home.

Be warned – this place is hip and therefore, expensive. The cheapest you can get a half hour of bowling for is $17.50 and it only gets more expensive. Since you are paying for the lane and you go with a group of people (up to six per lane) at the peak hours it would be a little more than $10/person/hour which isn’t bad.

When you walk into The Ballroom it has a very dark feel, more like a lounge rather than a bowling alley. Dark hardwood floors, deep leather couches, long bars and big screens with all types of sports games projected on them. At each alley they have every size ball in the return which is great because I, like most people I am assuming, have no idea how to correctly pick out a bowling ball. I used a beautiful blue ball that was marked a six – is that the weight? Finger hole size? And my bowling shoes were brown and blue. I would legitimately wear them outside the bowling alley if I could. In the hour of time we bought, we played 3.5 games. There was two mechanical hiccups but they quickly moved us to an alternative lane.

Food. We ordered the Popcorn Chicken Poutine – crispy chicken bits, gravy and cheese curds. Delicious.We found out from the manager that everything is fried in canola oil and all the meat is butchered on site. This means they can guarantee the quality and freshness of the food but also, for those of us afflicted with allergies, that there is no cross contamination. Safe eating for the win! Back to the poutine. The chicken was nicely seasoned and crispy, the gravy wasn’t too fatty or greasy, just the perfect compliment to the crispy chicken and fries. And the cheese. Not squeaky cheese curds like you will find on true Quebecois poutine but stringy and cheesy so almost as good! The fries were really crispy which was great because they didn’t fall victim to the gravy. They have five different types of poutine, all around $10 and I would like to try them all. Now. Please.

The food is what would bring me back here. Although I enjoyed the hipster meets wall street feel of this place, I think I almost prefer the dirt of typical bowling alleys. It keeps the focus on the bowling rather than the drinking and eating which distracts from the bowling. When the bowling is by the hour it kind of makes me feel anxious and as if I am racing the clock to get a strike. The good thing is, there is a lounge on the second floor where you can order food, beer and watch the game. Next time I would like to try the signature Ballroom poutine or maybe the Nathan’s Famous mini corndogs.