Cafe Aroma Latino

A couple weeks ago I had dinner at Cafe Aroma Latino for the first time. I had heard it was good, but was pleased to have an opportunity to find out for myself. First of all, I was impressed and more than a little thrilled to find pupusas on the menu. One of my favourite stops in Kensington Market was always the Central American grocery where you can get pupusas freshly made. And now I know where to find the same Salvadoran 'street' treats here in Halifax!

There are all sorts of delicious things on Cafe Aroma's menu from all over Central America. And it's relatively cheap (most menu items are $2-4 ea.). You pick and choose what you'd like to order and end up with a plate of tasty treats. I ordered a bean pupusa (bottom left), a tamale wrapped in a banana leaf (top) and a beef taco (bottom right). The tamale was new to me - I'd never had one. It was okay, but more mild than I was expecting. It would've been nice with something especially spicy. The pupusa was a little different from those I'm used to from Toronto. I don't remember bean pupusas being made of beans like these were (I remember them being filled with refried beans instead), but they tasted the same and were just as delicious. The taco was also delicious and maybe even my favourite of the three; the beef+sauce was especially tasty.

And if you're looking for any Mexican-type groceries, you should check out the little grocery next door that sells all sorts of things from that region of the world. You can find all sorts of things to make your next Mexican theme night more authentic.

So there's my little review of this place. Check it out for yourself. We want to keep this restaurant in business for a long time!

Mini Vacation: Days 4 & 5

Yesterday was Mini Vacation Day 4, and among many other things, I got some extra time in with the Little. Thanks to a cousin who happens to be playing in the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo's fanfare, I scored 2 free tickets to the dress rehearsal.

This was my first time seeing the show, and my goodness, I was pleasantly surprised! I was expecting marching bands and lots of great musical performances, but I wasn't expecting the other performances - gymnasts, daredevil stunts, comedic troupes and historical montages. As it turned out, I didn't get to stay for the whole show. Little and I had to leave early as she was falling asleep (even during the 50+ bagpipers performance!) and it was a bit much to expect her to stay up much past 9:30 anyway.

So, here are some highlights from the first half:

The pipers! The marching bands!And the French male gynmasts. :D

Fortunately for me, I'll get to see the whole show this weekend with the family.

Today was Day 5, my last vacation day until my longer vacation later this month where I will unplug and go to the cottage for a "do nothing" vacation. Yay!

Today was anything but "do nothing". I got to visit with a dear friend in the Valley who was game for going strawberry picking in the mist. Did I mention she's a dear friend? ;)

We did quite well! I have 9 quarts of strawberries in my fridge...waiting for me to do something with them. Any/all suggestions are welcome. I'm thinking there HAS to be strawberry shortcake (made with biscuits, NOT cake) in the very near future. And possibly jam, as that's what everyone keeps suggesting. I also have rhubarb, so there may be some strawberry rhubarb jam to be made! Yum!

After strawberry picking we went for lunch at The Port. You may recall I was there just a couple weeks ago with two lovely ladies. Well, this time, instead of the Shepherd's Pie, I tried the gourmet pizza (with pesto, portabello mushrooms, olives, and other delicious things). It was delicious and a bit of a shock when they came out with a 12" pizza. I was expecting something much smaller! There was a lot of value for money from this meal - I left with half the pizza as leftovers.

Then we went for ice cream for dessert here:

And when we got home we chatted for awhile while hulling our haul of strawberries. It was a really good visit!
Tomorrow is Thursday, only 2 days until the weekend....I can't complain.

Whoa! What's this I see:

Sunshine in our forecast! Is that possible?? My part of Nova Scotia has not seen sun in about 2 weeks! What a treat! My patio garden will be very happy.

Plan B

A forecast of rain showers put a damper on plans to camp this weekend (Plan A). And while the other 2 ladies may have been a titch disappointed, I wasn't. I was relieved. I've been spoiled by the luxuries of cottage life, and as a result I'm not much of a camper. I don't relish the thought of the close quarters of a tent, outdoor toilets, and creepy crawlies. I like to think I'm pretty down-to-earth, and many people are surprised to learn that I'm not a camper (nor have I been), but at the end of the day I'm very happy to be able to sleep in a bed and know that should I need it, the bathroom is just down the hall without having to go outdoors.

Okay, so instead of camping we came up with Plan B: dinner + a movie...Annapolis Valley-style.

Dinner was at The Port in Port Williams, NS. It's such a beautiful spot, overlooking the Cornwallis River where you can see the tides come in and go out, with this gorgeous panorama to enjoy on the patio with your meal.

Another panorama photo created using Canon Photostitch.
Click on the image to make it bigger.

The Port is a gastropub, which is a term that was new to me. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between a gastropub and a nice restaurant. The food is gourmet quality, using local ingredients (for the most part) and with live local entertainment. It's a lot like the Union Street Cafe in Berwick. The menu had a wide selection with some of the traditional 'pub' fare. I ordered the Valley Shepherd's Pie and enjoyed it very much! I guess one difference might be the prices. The price of my meal was very reasonable - only $12.95, which is fairly typical of most pub fare.

After we finished dinner, we were off to see a double feature at the Valley Drive-In. A lot of people outside of the Valley don't know about this gem, which is really too bad because going to the drive-in is a lot of fun....depending on the movies playing, of course. Unfortunately for us, the movies playing this weekend were so, so, sooooooo bad! The Land of the Lost and Fighting. Ugh. But we made the best of it - either by sleeping or by popcorn or by simply enjoying the experience of going to a drive-in (minus any canoodling, of course). The thing I really like about the drive-in is that it does feel like you're stepping back in time for some unexplainable reason, and you get to enjoy a movie out-of-doors! ...See, I can rough it afterall! ;)

For most of this week I've been laid low with the flu, and then an eye infection. Needless to say, I haven't been very ambitious when it comes to cooking. Instead, I've been sticking with the old standbys - tomato soup, toast and yogurt....and lots of water.

I was treated to very tasty homemade lentil soup in the middle of the week thanks to a very dear friend. This was a real treat not only because it was ready-made and served hot, but because it had flavour and because it was good to see a friendly face after being home sick for a couple days by myself! (Thanks R.!)

And today, to celebrate payday, a few of us from work ("the ladies who lunch") went out for a delicious Middle-Eastern meal at Mezza.
We all agreed that we have to come back... it was THAT delicious. We all ordered kebabs - I ordered the Kafte (lamb) kebab with basmati and a salad. And it tasted so good to eat something different from my usuals this week.

*****

On a different note, before I got sick last weekend, I made my first trip to Dollarama in awhile. I was more than a little surprised to see that the prices have changed - items were $1.25, $1.50 and even $2.00! Whoa! When did this happen?

Dining in the big city

I'm back from a trip to Toronto. It was so good to see friends again and, as always, not enough time to see everyone! I was actually there for business but had the good fortune to turn it into a little vacation. I spent my time visiting, shopping and dining.

I'm going to post photos of the latter today, and save my shopping purchases for another post, another day. So, is it okay to admit that one of the things I miss the most about living in Toronto is the food? I miss the variety and how cheap you can get a delicious meal! So here are the highlights:

An Ethiopian feast from Ethiopian HouseWe ordered the Vegetarian Bayaaynatu plus 2 meat Bayaaynatu....and cleaned the plate of nearly everything! So delicious!!And then we ordered the Coffee Ceremony - strong Ethiopian coffee served with buttered popcorn. It's a perfect way to end the meal...well worth the extra 12.00.
Then there was the Japanese feast - the Supreme Bento Box at Sushi On Bloor. This is super value for your money. It's a 4 course meal - miso soup, then sushi....
The main course of teriyaki beef, tempura vegetables and shrimp, salad with delicious citrus dressing, served with rice. All of that followed with a dish of ice cream (mango, red bean or green tea).
And, last but not least, a Thai feast at Green Mango. I was surprised to find Green Mango had changed back to the set-up they had years ago when I first arrived in TO. They closed their take-out restaurant on the East side of Yonge, and now have the take-out inside the main restaurant. And there's more selection! I was sad to see they no longer have glass noodles (my favourite), but the basil noodles were equally as delicious. I ordered the peanut chicken and the basil chicken with extra cabbage salad - yum! All for less than $9!

And there were other delicious meals too - some in restaurants, some made in the kitchens of dear friends! All were enjoyed especially because of the company they were shared with!

The best burger EVER!

This is not just a good burger... It's the BEST burger. It's thick and juicy, and topped with cheddar cheese and bacon, and served with homemade potato chips and just enough salad to make you feel good about ordering a bacon cheese burger. Now, you may think this is overly high praise for a Bacon Cheese Burger, but it's not! Since my first visit to the Coastal Cafe, everyone I've talked to who's had the burger agrees that its the best they've ever had. Even the people in the restaurant will agree and encourage indecisive customers (because there are so many delicious choices on their lunch menu!) to go with this choice. And if you think you're not in the mood for a heavy meal, let me tell you that this burger does not sit heavy in your gut when you're done. You don't get that gross "I've eaten too much greasy food" feeling. In fact, my co-worker today said, after she had finished her Coastal Bacon Cheese Burger that she could eat another!
With all this said, however, I went with the Curried Leg of Lamb Naan Sandwich, Tomato Ginger Chutney, Feta and Mint Raita to try something different. And let me tell you, it was delicious! Another winner from the Coastal Cafe! The chutney and the raita were so delicious together and a naan sandwich is such a fantastic idea, I may have to try it at home!

SideNote: It's not on the menu, but you can also order homemade brewed iced tea that is sweetened with peach juice. It's delicious, and less than $2.

Eat & Fit

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, one of the things I liked about Toronto was knowing that I had the world's cuisine at my fingertips. I could easily find a restaurant of almost any ethnicity and often within walking distance of where I lived.

Here in Halifax, it's not quite the same. There's not as much cultural representation, and what is available is definitely more expensive. But I'll grab any chance I can get to try a new restaurant, and sample new cuisine. The latest restaurant was Eat & Fit, an Iranian restaurant that's just opened on Quinpool Road. Quinpool Road seems to have become a Middle Eastern hub - with about 4 Greek restaurants, an Iranian restaurant now, and a Middle Eastern restaurant, called Aleppo, in place of the now-closed Ethiopia Restaurant.

To celebrate another pay-day, a small group of us at work went out for lunch. We chose Eat & Fit because it had an online menu, and because reading said menu initiated cravings for delicious food that lasted most of the morning.

Though there were mixed reviews of the food, I quite enjoyed it. It was what I had expected it to be, and definitely very tasty! We started with an appetizer: Kashk-o-Badenjan with pita and then followed it with Friday's Special, Ghormeh Sabzi. Each of us ordered the same, which wasn't perhaps the greatest idea, but the dish sounded truly delicious and none of us could resist (I'm assuming). Our server, who I assume was an Iranian and was very familiar with the dishes, introduced us a little to the food. With the Ghormeh Sabzi, he instructed us to puncture the cooked lemon in the stew to give the dish a tangy flavour. He warned us that some people (who aren't used to Iranian food) find the dish unappealing, but to look beyond it's appearance. The dish was excellent - very tangy (thanks to the entire cooked lemon you can see it covered in stew in the photo above), hearty, and fairly healthy I would expect.

We ended our meal with a date roll and an aromatic Iranian tea spiced with cardamom. We were instructed to put a sweeten the tea by putting a sugar cube in our mouths and drinking the tea through it....but this was difficult to do when you were also trying to eat a date roll.

Anyway, I would definitely visit this place again and recommend it to friends and family. Unfortunately while we were there Friday 12:30-1:30ish we were the only people in the restaurant. I just hope it gets enough business to keep it open.

Ethiopia Restaurant

Hooray! There's an Ethiopian Restaurant in Halifax...and it serves delicious food! This was a welcome treat. I haven't had Ethiopian food since I left Toronto and I quite missed it.
Two colleagues and I sampled several dishes (Sorry! No pictures this time) and I can report back that they were basically the same dishes I used to have back in Toronto.

We started with appetizers: pastries called, very similar to samosas. Mine was lentil-filled and delicious, served with a spicy green chili sauce. For our meal we ordered a vegetarian platter (for 2) of 3 dishes: a chickpea curry, a vegetable and cabbage stew called Atakilt, and Shuro Wat made with spicy split green peas. For a meat dish we ordered Doro Tibs, a chicken stirfry-like dish. All served on (and with) injera bread. As always there was far too much food. I always over-order.

And the atmosphere was decent too. Not quite as cozy as Ethiopia House, but nicely decorated with the colours of the Ethiopian flag, wall art, and Ethiopian music playing in the background. It was good to see that we weren't the only ones there. In fact, they were quite busy. At least a couple take-out orders, several tables full of people. And when we were leaving several people who looked like they may have been Ethiopian came in and sat down. That's always a good sign.

The verdict: Highly recommended. Will definitely take visitors, family and friends, there for a meal!

Ethiopia Restaurant
Open: Mon. to Fri. 5pm - 9pm
Menu: No menu available online, by fax or by email, but take-out menus available in restaurant.
Contact: 902-444-3030
Address: 6239 Quinpool Rd., not far from Monastery Ln., Halifax (see map below)

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What's for dinner?

I think I've mentioned this before, but one of the things I miss the most about Toronto (aside from friends), is the food. The abundance of good food from all over the world.

So, of course, now I'm on the hunt for good ethnic eateries. Without a car, it was a bit difficult as these places are often spread out throughout the city. Now that I have the car, I can be more proactive about finding places.

Today I decided to try a Lebanese Restaurant I've had my eye on for awhile - Issa's Saj House. I've stopped by several times with other people intending to try it out, only to find it was closed. Today it was open.

If you're looking for it and you're in Halifax, look for the Middle Eastern Bakery on Alma & Titus.

I ordered the chicken shawarma plate for 6.99 and it included the chicken shawarma, tabouli, hummus and a lentil/rice/onion dish, served with a freshly baked pita. All very tasty. I have to admit, I was a little concerned when I walked in and the place was empty. All I could see was a man in the kitchen cutting up dough (presumably for pita?). He promptly left the restaurant and came back with a young woman who took my order.

I was a little surprised when I watched them put together the take-out plate. First, she went into the kitchen and came back with chunks of chicken shawarma in a tupperware bowl and put that in the microwave; then she went to the fridge and spooned a large helping of the lentil side onto a glass plate, which was microwaved after the chicken. Lastly, the tabouli and hummus all came from small tupperware containers from the fridge and were spooned into the styrofoam take-out dish. I think part of the charm of ordering Lebanese in Toronto was the preparation of your order - slicing off the shawarma from the roasters behind the serving counter, seeing all the vegetable and dips/purees and colourful pickles (which I never really liked anyway) lined up neatly behind the glass serving counter. There's no ceremony at Issa Saj's, but the food is good. I really like the lentil dish, and prefer it over the bland rice I usually used to get at Red & Whites in Toronto.

I'm pleased to have found a Lebanese restaurant - especially one with such low prices - though my preference would be to order take-out. There wasn't much to the atmosphere, and didn't really strike me as the best place to go to eat out.

I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that there is a Persian restaurant in the city. Believe it or not, Chinatown Restaurant has a Persian menu. Apparently the chinese restaurant was bought by an Iranian who added Iranian food to the menu. If this sounds unbelievable to you, here's the menu.

Gingergrass and the quest for a green curry

I'm not going to write restaurant reviews, however I do want to write about my restaurant experiences in my new city.

I'll admit, I was a little concerned when I moved to Halifax that I would be moving to a more homogenous culture, with not as many opportunities to sample international cuisine. And I LOVE ethnic food of all kinds!

So now I'm on a quest to try ethnic restaurants in and around Halifax.

Tonight I tried Gingergrass Thai & Vietnamese. It was enroute to the public lecture I went to this evening and from the outside I thought it might be a casual place where I could grab a quick Thai dish (like Pho Hung or Green Mango). Once inside, it was cle ar I had made a mistake. I could tell they weren't going to be cheap. So I decided to make the most of it and have a nice dinner, even if it was by myself.

Since moving to Halifax I've been hoping to find a suitable replacement for Salad King. You see, I LOVED the green curry from Salad King. I'm hoping to find another good green curry. So, guess what I ordered? Green curry (mild), and a Perrier to drink. Not 2 minutes later my server returned to say that they didn't have any Perrier, would I like bottled water? I said no, a glass of water would be fine. Several minutes later, the cook came out and said the green curry was already made and she wouldn't be able to adjust the spices. She strongly recommended I try the yellow curry instead; the green curry will be too spicy for me. I reluctantly agreed - afterall, it's the green curry I wanted. When my dinner came, they also brought a small bowl of the green curry for me to sample. It was good - spicy, but not intolerably so. The yellow curry just didn't cut it for me. I agree, it was sweeter and less spicy, but the flavour of the curry was too Indian for me. It tasted like they combined an Indian curry with a Thai dish. Next time I would definitely go for the green curry instead.

So, after I finished I thought I would order the Thai custard for dessert. It was reasonably priced, and I still had another 45 mins to kill, so I figured having a leisurely dessert would be the way to go. Again, not 2 mins later, my server returned to tell me they didn't have any custard. What? I didn't get a single thing I ordered from the menu. Not the perrier, not the green curry, not the custard. The servers were friendly enough, but really!...why bother having a menu if you're not going to have the dishes it lists!? And to boot, I had to pay for the rice, after she told me she thought it was included.

Although the food I had there was decent, and I liked their sample of green curry, and the servers were nice enough, my experience at Gingergrass wasn't worthy of a repeat visit anytime soon. There are other Thai/Vietnamese restaurants to try. And I will.

This made me laugh

As I was walking along Bloor on my way to Future's Bakery to meet up with friends, I passed by the Hot Spot Cafe (formerly Shakespeare's Cafe) and noticed something strange. There was a yellow glow coming from it's windows. When I got closer, I noticed that the windows were covered on the inside with yellow tissue paper. My first thought was that the Hot Spot Cafe was closed due to a failed inspection. You see, Shakespeare's Cafe didn't have the best reputation for inspections (they had regular yellow "conditional" passes). I checked for the green PASS sign from Toronto DineSafe. What I found was this notice below. Read it carefully.
Made you look! This is obviously some kind of joke. I suppose the Hot Spot Cafe is closed for renovations or something. The notice made me laugh out loud on the street.

So on I went to Future's to meet up with my friends and to have a slice of their yummy cake.
I should also mention that we're still having unseasonably warm weather for January in Toronto. It's been 8-10 C these last few days, and raining just like it was Spring.