The Clever Rabbit Vegetarian Café

The Clever Rabbit opened its doors way back in March, and sadly, I just couldn't make my schedule align to check out their brunch and lunch offerings. Last week though, with just a half shift making up my Wednesday, I made my way to the vegetarian café for some post work lunch.

At 1:30 in the afternoon I was the only table in the bright space save a couple finishing lunch towards the back of the restaurant. I ended up choosing a spot next to the window to observe the blustery day outside whilst enjoying a glass of unpasteurized apple juice. I have to say I was there for the lentil loaf, a veggie dish that is one of my favourites at Blue Plate Diner. But with the last slice sold earlier during the lunch rush, I opted instead for the Walnut Chickpea Burger along with a side of cream of tomato soup ($12).

Everything arrived about 15 minutes later. The burger was piled high with toppings and I could see a slathering of nut butter beneath the walnut-chickpea patty; the soup arrived hidden inside an adorable rabbit-topped cocotte. Along with the nut butter and groceries, the burger was fantastic, with a lovely nutty flavour and a creaminess that was amplified by the toppings. My only complaint was that the bun was cold, however that's something easily remedied.

The soup didn't fare quite as well. While I appreciated its brightness, the creaminess didn't come through and I never came around to enjoying the texture. Thankfully though, the soup changes daily.

Since this visit I've also stopped in for a smoothie - a super thick mixture of tofu and yogurt that I enjoyed in its peach incarnation - on my break, as well as a vegan cinnamon bun. And I will definitely be returning for some of those donuts.

The Clever Rabbit's tidy selection of vegetarian brunch and lunch items are just what 124th Street needed. I'm looking forward to my next visit... and a piece of lentil loaf.

The Clever Rabbit Vegetarian Café
10724 124 Street
780.455.4550
Hours: Tues-Sun (9am - 4:30pm)

You can also check out reviews from Sharon and Liv.

Cask Night at Next Act

The Next Act has been doing Cask Nights with Alley Kat, similar to Sugarbowl's, for several months now. Finally a first Tuesday of the month aligned with my schedule and Brenna and I met after work for a cask aged brew.

I've been shut out of several of Sugarbowl's Cask Nights - stuck at the door without a pint - so was happy to find Next Act fairly full with a couple tables to spare about 30 minutes before the cask would be tapped, with a small lineup forming once 6pm arrived.

After enjoying a pint of Brewberry Blueberry Wheat Ale along with a fish sandwich for me ($14) and a veggie burger (aka. The Drama Queen; $13) for Brenna, the cask was announced. We were looking forward to a pint of the Neopolean Neapolitan Stout but unfortunately found that the cask would be sans the strawberry and vanilla.

In the end the chocolate stout was a little too hoppy for our liking and wasn't as enjoyable as the creamy, slightly sweet Neapolitan Stout released last summer (it has also been re-released this summer and is available at Sherbrooke).

 

This cask certainly wasn't our favourite, but as we left we realized what we love about cask nights or new bottles of beer is that you never know quite what you're in for. Sometimes it's amazing, and once in awhile not so much. So I'm still hoping many more of my first Tuesdays of the month will include a trip to The Next Act for more cask sampling.

P.S. A couple (semi-sunny) weeks ago we finally got around to opening a lone bottle of the now retired Single Star - Alley Kat's Three Bears Oatmeal Stout aged in a Jack Daniel's barrel - that had been in the fridge since April. I really loved this one - rich with all the caramels from the whisky, and very enjoyable with Sunterra's bison, salsa and cheddar burgers.

A veggie burger craving satisfied: Blue Plate Diner

Meeting up with a friend downtown a couple weeks ago, we found ourselves off to Blue Plate Diner for lunch a little before noon.

Since moving to Garneau a couple years ago, we barely ever make it to Blue Plate anymore. Actually, neither Charles or I could remember having been there in the past six months or so. With the lunch menu seemingly unchanged, there were a few decor updates to keep us on our toes - new paint and a divider between the seating area and the 'bar'.

With the place filling up quickly, we decided on burgers all around - the friend with a Pemmican burger, Charles with the beef burger, and me with the veggie burger. All of us also went for the soup - a curried vegetable and almond.

I also went for a chai latte, and Charles for coffee

After a quick perusal of Avenue's Top 40 Under 40, our burgers came sailing to our table. The Pemmican (bison) burger, full of dried blueberries, was reported to be very well flavoured by our friend, although maybe a little overcooked. From the looks of it, I also thought there might be a little too much ciabatta in the burger-bread ratio, but he didn't seem to mind. Charles beef burger was enjoyed as in previous visits, and he said it was both well flavoured and well cooked.

Pemmican Burger

Beef Burger

As for the veggie burger, I should first say that our friend gave me a pretty hard time when ordering it - "What, are you becoming a vegetarian again?" Firstly - no, I'm not. And secondly, Blue Plate's veggie burger is simply amazing, and although I've been tempted in the past by Pozole Chicken Enchiladas, tuna melts and meaty weekend dinner specials (that, don't get me wrong, were all good), it always comes back to the veggie burger here. Beets, turnip, zucchini, sunflower seeds, and carrots all make for a wonderfully flavoured patty that doesn't suffer from fillers like TVP, tofu or frozen peas, carrots and corn. This is a veggie burger that is proud to display its fresh vegetables (particularly the beets, which I think is the key here), and I will continue to enjoy it, vegetarian or not. (Okay... rant done!)

A very cheesy veggie burger

The soup went over well, with Charles and our friend both appreciating the texture of the ground almonds throughout. I enjoyed the slight spiciness as well as the flavour, but the gritty texture was too much for me. But there's always another soup of the day around the corner.

Content with our burgers, and with a good veggie burger rant under my belt, we parted ways. Sampling a few other veggie burgers around the City (namely High Level Diner's, Urban Diner's and more recently, Next Act's), it's still only the High Level version that offers anything comparable to Blue Plate's for me.

So hopefully we can start heading back to Blue Plate a bit more often, as now that those veggie burger thoughts are refreshed, I know I won't be able to resist cravings for long.

Blue Plate Diner
10145 104 Street
780.429.0740