LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2024

On days when blue skies and warmth beckon, we want to be outside, eating and drinking al fresco. No wonder mobile bars are a hot trend. These expert tips and cocktails help inspire your own outdoor bar.

likely need to buy your own wine, beer and spirits from the LCBO for them to serve. If you want a cash bar at your event, ensure that you select a drinks caterer with the required licensing. When hunger strikes, Old Salt can wheel out its designer hot dog cart, dishing up toppings from Reuben-style dressing to Hawaiian-influenced Huli Huli flavours to heap onto Texas-toast buns holding beer-smoked pork or Beyond Italian vegetarian links. Since 2017, Old Salt has raised the bar at wed dings, street festivals, barn parties, birthdays and corporate events. “We even did a completely zero proof party,” David says. With quiet garden corners for gazing at grazing horses and cows, plus outdoor yard games for getting loud and silly, Old Salt’s homey farm space appeals to most everyone, from couples on dates to bachelorette parties to families on vacation. During the pandemic, it supported the community by providing outdoor beverage service, which has only become more popular since. Maggie says, “People walk up to the trailer and have such nostalgia: they talk about their parents’ Prowlers, their childhood and summer vacations. It’s like adult summer camp!”

Should you be headed down Closson Road in Prince Edward County while out visiting vineyards, refresh your palate at number 883. At Old Salt, a funky, con verted 1978 Prowler trailer might just lure you in for a mini cocktail tasting or a refreshing glass of house lemonade, along with a game of giant Jenga. This trailer-turned-mobile bar can also put the rubber to the road to cater the drinks at your next summer outdoor party. “You’ll be busy worrying about your guests; you don’t need to think about making cocktail cordials or ordering ice. Let that be our job,” says mixology pro David Banks, who brings a decade of hospitality experience to the party along with co-founder and partner Maggie Banks, who grew up in the area. Unlike self-serve punchbowls or dispensers at an event, having a pro behind the bar ensures a consistent amount of alcohol in each drink and the appropriate number of drinks served per person. Plus, it’s second nature to a pro to slow down service seam lessly or encourage water and non-alcoholic drink consumption as needed over the course of a party. If you do hire a mobile bar service for your event, ensure that your cocktail-caterer is AGCO-licensed or permitted to provide liquor; if they’re not, you will

After moving to Prince Edward County in 2016, David and Maggie Banks (right) bought a vintage Prowler trailer and rebuilt it for mobile mixology—ideal for drinks catering at the area’s outdoor event venues. Home base for Old Salt is now the Banks’ farm and event venue, but it makes tracks—and cool cocktails—across the region.

FOOD STYLING BY LINDSAY GUSCOTT; PROP STYLING BY ANDREA McCRINDLE

FOOD & DRINK SUMMER 2024 77