Chicken Noodle Soup at Wild Earth

Chicken Noodle Soup, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Chicken noodle soup is an excellent comfort food after being outside on a chilly day. The version I had today at the Laurier location of Wild Earth was hearty and full of chunks of chicken, colourful rotini, vegetables, and seasonings. It was definitely not a traditional chicken noodle soup.

Breakfast for Lunch: De Dutch

Eggs with Smoked Salmon, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I finally made it to De Dutch for lunch today. The huge menu includes an entire pages of options for pannekoek, a large pancake with various toppings. However, I opted for one of the simpler two-egg breakfasts, in this case eggs over easy with smoked salmon, toast, hash browns, and fruit. The portion size was excellent, and the quality of the smoked salmon was especially good. My eggs were done to perfection, and the bread was also excellent. I found the hash browns a little small to collect easily with my fork, but this is a minor point. Paired with a mimosa, this was a lovely brunch.

A Naanolicious Marathon

Due to various circumstances, I found myself dining at Naanolicious numerous times in the last week or so. Here is a look at some of the dishes I tried.

I have had the butter chicken fries numerous times, so I wanted a different version of the restaurant's take on poutine. Dal, with its creamy lentil base, is one of my favourite Indian dishes, and it was wonderful on the fries. Frankly, I could just go for a bowl of dal with some naan bread, and I believe there is a dish along those lines on the menu.

The next day, I went for a serving of vegetable korma fries. The creamy curry sauce was the base for the vegetables and paneer cheese, which I adore. Very flavourful! And, it went well with the buttered naan I ordered on the side.

I tried one of these stuffed mushroom caps ("Mystical Mushrooms), which was a flavour burst. The crunchy coating was made from lentils, with a garlic and cream cheese filling surrounding the mushroom. More than one would have been a little too rich for me.

The Tandoori chicken was permeated with flavour - I just wish the pieces were a little bigger! I paired with it with the Aloo Tikki, fried potato cakes literally drowned in chutneys and yogurt. The flavour of the cakes themselves, while delicate, still came through, and they also remained crispy.

Craisin Paapri is a cold dish that makes an excellent snack. It is almost like a chickpea salad. The chickpeas are served amongst a flavourful combination of chutneys, yogurt, spices, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, crunchy samosa chips, and finished with a generous portion of craisins (dried cranberries) on top. This would have gone well with a naan, to scoop up all of the goodness.

Breakfast for Lunch: Blue Plate Breakfast at Blue Plate Diner

Big Breakfast, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

It has been a while since I had brunch at Blue Plate Diner, something which was rectified this weekend. I had the Blue Plate Breakfast which has always been my choice, with two eggs, potatoes, toast, and veggie sausage. The potatoes were different from the house made hash browns of the past, and while the eggs used to be advertised on the menu as Hutterite eggs, they were just simple states as eggs, so I am assuming that has changed as well. The veggie sausage has turned into a huge link of slightly sweet soy goodness, and was the star of the meal.

Breakfast for Lunch: Two Egg Breakfast at B's Diner

Two Egg Breakfast, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

While running errands on Whyte Avenue on a chilly Friday afternoon, we stopped in to B's Diner (10015 82 Ave.) for a late lunch.. I had the meatless two egg breakfast, which came with toast, potatoes, and tomato slices. The toast was thick, the potatoes were obviously home made, and the eggs were cooked to order. My only problem was that the food was a bit on the greasy side. In fact, although the person I was with had something completely different, we both suffered from stomach problems for the rest of the afternoon. I love the dive-yness of the place, and the menu has some good offerings, but I will have to make sure I can handle having my innards well-lubricated on future visits.

Vegan Goodness: Veggie Combo at Abyssinia

Veggie Combo, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I was at Abyssinia Restaurant this past week for a work-related meeting and had the Veggie Combo. Opting for rice instead of the traditional Ethiopian injera bread, I actually thought the rice worked very well with the dish, which included collard greens, two kinds of lentils, a salad, and a potato and carrot mix. It wasn't too spicy and was actually quite refreshing. And at only $13, it is also quite affordable.