Saturday Brunch

Went out for brunch with a good (coincedentally, vegan) friend of mine. She suggested this place: Fresh. It was an amazing experience. I have never had vegan food verging on the gourmet level; normally I am not inclined to spend 20$+ per meal, but this was worth every penny. It was so relaxing for me to walk into a restaurant and know that pretty much anything on the menu I can eat. Their staff are also super helpful, polite, and accomodating. They seem more than willing to subtract and make substitutions to fit their customers more individual needs.

Even though we both went in ar

ound breakfast time, we were both quickly lured away from the tinier 'brunchfast' menu (although next time I have sworn to go back for their vegan pancakes with organic dark maple syrup) towards the fairly large, extremely appetizing, completely digestible regular menu. We both ended up getting veggie burgers, mine a mushroom and onion burger, hers a BBQ onion ring burger (I know, imagine! Still vegan!) That is one thing I really want to mention, because we both agreed they were probably the star of the brunch. I love onion rings, and until last Saturday I hadn't had an onion ring in over two years at least. These giant onion rings (coupled with the amazing garlicky vegan house mayonnaise) are

some of the best onion rings I have ever had. The inside onion is soft and sweet, and the outside crust of crushed quinoa managed to retain a remarkable amount of crispness during whatever healthier frying option they opted for. Crushed quinoa crust, what a revelation! I would never have im

agined the combination could work so well, or even

resemble an onion ring, let alone be incredible tasty. They are healthy and filling, and a good cheaper option for a quick vegan lunch. We also sampled an order of their sweet potato fries (with the same house mayo) which were an easy runner up. And I would be amiss if I didn't fondly mention my tiny expensive glass of fresh watermelon juice. Absolutely delicious.

As for my burger, and I won't speak for hers (although

I know it was a bit messy, she had a tough time wrestling it into her mouth), when I order a veggie burger what I really, really want is something that reminds me of the burgers I used to eat, a patty with the same flavors and texture of a beef patty (a good example, the Lick's Nature Burger patties) . Mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise. I am a traditionalist when it comes to my veggie burgers; I desperately want that food memory to live on, and when it's not delivered, no matter how good the dish is, I leave slightly disappointed. This was unfortunately one of the more disappointing ones. It was a more literal 'vegetable' 'patty', a patty made up of identifiable vegetables. First of all

I find their texture doesn't hold up as well in a burger setting; they tend to be drier and crumblier. Second of all, this time in particular, the Mediterranean style seasonings inside the patty overwhelmed what was su

pposed to be a more traditional mushroom and onion burger. Also, the veggie cheese? Do NOT get the veggie cheese. It's expensive and they promote it and say it is "comparable" BUT IT IS NOT. It is nothing like

cheese, chalky and bland, and it doesn't melt when confronted with the high temperatures within a burger.

Even though the main course was a bit of a let down, I would gladly try this restaurant again, and again! My lovely friend and I already have plans to go together once a month, determined to try something new every time. I have already made a promise, next time pancakes! Dark maple syrup! Heaven.

if you are local, this is where it is:

Apologies, this post is unedited.