Flavour, Fun, and History in Windsor Essex

The ovens were working at full blast and the aroma of melting cheese greeted me as I entered Antonino’s Original Pizza, Windsor’s highest-volume pizzeria and home of “The Angry Canadian.” I expected to meet a surly man with a big attitude. Wrong! Joe Ciaravino of Antonino’s Original Pizza is only pretending to be cross. When the 2nd generation pizza maker launched a Hawaiian pizza in 2014 with chunks of pineapple, he needed a catchy name. A friend suggested The Angry Hawaiian as a joke. It stuck. And that wasn’t his first – or last – innovation. Who would guess that you have to reserve “oven space” in advance for Valentine’s Day? Serving heart-shaped Nutella pizza makes the holiday of love his busiest day of the year. Joe uses no sugar, molasses, or browning agents in his dough. Just pure deliciousness.

Prepared on a peel strewn with corn meal, Antonino’s Pizza has a slight rim.

In 2025, responding to US tariffs, Ciaravino launched The Angry Canadian, a pie featuring Windsor’s Galati Cheese Co’s highest-fat whole milk and mozzarella cheese, and all-local ingredients: smoked bacon, shredded pepperoni, mushrooms, and hot peppers. No U.S. ingredients? No tariffs. A surge of national pride made Antonino’s newest menu item an instant hit.

Antonino’s has five locations across Essex County, but national pizza chains just don’t cut it in Windsor. Speaking of cutting, watch as your “small” 14-inch or large 16-inch pie is sliced in a few swift movements with a curved knife that covers the entire surface. It’s kitchen magic. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet Joe in person. A gregarious guy, he takes great pride in his work. And be sure to “take the cannoli!” The shells for this dessert are imported from Sicily, stuffed with Galati’s ricotta, and guaranteed to make any Italian Nonna smile.

For my two-day visit to Windsor Essex, the four-diamond Caesars Windsor complex was my base. It has something for everyone: over 750 large newly-renovated rooms, an indoor pool, hot-tub, sauna, and fitness center, concerts, comedy, and shows in the 5,000-seat Colosseum Theater, multiple drinking spots, and two fine dining restaurants: Neros and Spago. The casino boasts over 1,700 slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, and – on Friday nights and Sunday – poker tournaments. Young folks cluster around the newest electronic table games, like Golder Ball Roulette. And people over 19 can visit Sportsbook to place bets on professional hockey, football, and basketball. With a 360-degree view of the action delivered on twenty-two large screens, viewers feel as if they’re in the game. Whew!

Neros Steakhouse puts its sommelier, Renée Nantais, to good use. One of Windsor’s only “somm,” she knows everything about regional wines and will help you choose an accompaniment for your dinner. Starting with oysters? Try the crisp, not-too-sweet Riesling from Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards. For steak – one of the best I’ve ever had – she suggested “the grape varietal that Canada does best,” a Cabernet Franc.

Riesling CHV:

Start your next morning with a visit to the former company town known today as Olde Walkerville. This “planned city” was developed in the 1890s by Hiram Walker, providing a church, school, grocery store, and housing for factory workers who could walk to work at his distillery. Today, it’s an upscale area with tree-lined streets and heritage homes, including Willistead Manor. This 1904 heritage-protected property, designed by famed architect Albert Kahn, was the home of Hiram Walker’s son and daughter-in-law, Edward Chandler Walker and Mary Emma Griffin Walker. My tour-group was fascinated by the hidden doorways and secret entrances and enjoyed speculating who was being secreted into and out of the mansion. The library was my favorite room. Picture yourself climbing the ladder, taking a book off the top shelf, and sitting by the window reading. Just like an impressionist painting. Public tours are only given in summer and December. Book a December “Breakfast with Santa” or July interior visit at www.citywindsor.ca.

The library at Willistead Manor:

After your tour, you’ll likely be hungry. The Twisted Apron in Windsor is destination-worthy all by itself. Chef Charbel Boutros creates seasonally changing, not-seen-anywhere-else dishes like Dubai French Toast stuffed with baklava, pistachio cream, chocolate ganache, pistachio sauce, pistachio gelato, and strawberries. Was that pixie dust covering his take on Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes? To. Die. For.

Spend the rest of your afternoon checking out the murals in Walkerville and downtown Windsor. For self-guided car, bike, or walking-route suggestions, click visitwindsoressex.com/art. And, if you’re able, attend a performance by the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, or screen indie movies at the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF). The giant Distillery Square mural includes portraits of people who figured prominently in Windsor’s history. Click here to identify them.

Distillery Square Mural, celebrating famous figures from Windsor’s past:

On your second day, head to the John R Park Homestead in Harrow, a living history museum, where volunteers dressed in period costumes interact with visitors to demonstrate how food was cooked, wool was spun, and metal was forged. The pumpkin bread was still warm when I entered the 183-year-old kitchen. Glasses of apple cider were arrayed on a tray, ready for distribution. Pointing to an unsliced loaf cooling in its pan, the “kitchen maid” urged me to pick it up. The cast-iron pan felt like ten pounds of dense metal. Maybe that’s the secret to the bread’s deliciously crisp crust. The recipe laid out on the table called for cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ground ginger, all luxury items in the 1850s.

Pumpkin Bread, fresh from the hearth:

John and Amelia Park, whose Classic Revival house and farm buildings have been lovingly restored, ran a mercantile and a Great Lakes shipping business. So, their circular, lidded, metal spice-box, resembling an Indian thali tray, would have contained exotic spices from all over the world. I imagined myself as a guest in their home overlooking Lake Erie as migrating monarch butterflies were carried on the wind from across the lake.

Antique Spice Box:

Outside, volunteers in period 1800s costumes dotted the property. Every interaction with them furthered the homestead’s goal – experiencing the crafts of the era in which it was built. Julius Langpeter demonstrated his skills in the blacksmith shop, where anthracite coal burned in the forge. Grabbing a piece of iron with tongs, he held it over the fire until it glowed crimson red. Then, on an anvil, he reshaped it, explaining the process as he worked. As a young boy, Langpeter apprenticed in a blacksmith shop in Esslingen am Neckar near Stuttgart, Germany. Now retired, he shares his rare expertise with us.

Julius Langpeter, Blacksmith:

Facing the lake on a cloudless fall day, Susan Toth sat under a shade tree, spinning wool. All the volunteers were eager to tell their stories. Over 20,000 visitors stop by the John R Park Homestead each year. No wonder – this is fun for the whole family.

Susan Toth spinning wool:

Oxley Estate Winery and Pelee Island Winery, considered the birthplace of winemaking in Canada, are both worth a visit. For a unique experience, step up on a wooden stool in the Kingsville tasting room of Pelee Island Winery, sit down in the enormous oak barrel, and sample a flight of wines.

Care for a photo op, anyone?

Try timing your visit to Oxley Estate Winery for arrival at lunchtime and sample their wine alongside Sticky Duck Wings with chili garlic honey, crushed peanuts, jalapenos and lime. This signature dish is finger licking good.

The grounds at Oxley Estate, with their manicured vineyards, are picture-perfect for outdoor weddings. And though some winemakers take themselves a little too seriously, the folks here have a sense of humor. Check out the Weather Rock, a large boulder suspended from a Japanese-style Torii. How does it work? “If it’s wet, it’s raining. If it’s dry, it’s not.”

Sitting on a 100-mile peninsula surrounded by the Detroit River, Lake Erie, and Lake St. Clair, the waters of Windsor Essex are home to recreational boating, cruise ships, and freight and cargo transport. You’ll drive past fields of corn, soybeans, and winter wheat. High-value vegetables and fruits including grapes and tomatoes are grown in hothouses and fields nearby. No wonder there are so many vineyards, breweries, and farm-to-table dining options. While exploring the region, I met volunteers at historical sites, staff and owners of cafés, bistros, wineries, and restaurants. Their passion for their work, optimism about their future, and warm welcomes made me eager to come back and discover more. See for yourself why Windsor Essex is the place for flavour, fun, and history!

Photos and text by Mindy Stern, an award-winning travel writer. Her column, Meanderings, appears regularly for Sound Publishing in Washington State. See her work at www.mindysternauthor.com