Butler's Bar and Grill

An imported Italian wood-fired oven and an in-house smoker do most of the heavy lifting at Butler's Bar and Grill — more serious cooking gear than a sports bar is expected to keep, and the reason the menu runs deeper than the game-day setting first suggests. The oven turns out Naples-leaning pizzas; the smoker handles ribs, half chickens and a line of smoked sandwiches. Around them sits a casual menu broad enough to carry a table from breakfast through a patio afternoon to a late dinner after the game. Butler's has held this corner of Old Town in Niagara-on-the-Lake since 1994.

The pizzas put the oven to its clearest use. The Tuscan layers prosciutto, capicola, sun-dried tomato, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and arugula over marinara; the Wild Mushroom runs assorted mushrooms with caramelized onion, roasted garlic, mozzarella and goat cheese. A Margarita keeps it simple with Fior di Latte and basil, the Arrabiatta brings sausage and chillies, and a folded calzone hides pepperoni and mozzarella. The smoker drives the heavier end of the board: braised and smoked pork back ribs glazed in Jack Daniels barbecue sauce, a smoked half chicken finished with Carolina sauce, and a smoked pork belly sandwich under Cajun honey barbecue. Wings come in eight- or sixteen-piece orders, hot through honey garlic and dry cajun, and the poutine arrives with Quebec cheese curds.