Tonight I did not feel like cooking and really wanted something that was tasty and grilled for my dinner.
I had been the the new Cedar and Company grocery store earlier this week and noticed they have a prepared foods counter where you can get a meal and sit at some tables to enjoy your food.
It is not too obvious from the outside of the grocery store what foods the counter serves except Shawarma.
At the food counter there is a hand written board with the foods that you can order and that seems to change often.
A few days ago the special of the day was some Tilapia in a sauce (did not try it,but it looked good).
You can also order chicken or beef shawarma,falafel and a tasty poutine.
I tried the poutine earlier this week and the fries are fresh and made in store, cooked while I was waiting.
The french fries also came unsalted,which is nice for a change as you can always add your own salt if you wish.
One thing you should know (and that I was told a few days ago before ordering is to call ahead if you are getting a brochette-they take up to twenty minutes to cook).
I did not call ahead today,so did have to wait around twenty minutes for my brochettes to be cooked on the grill. It was not a huge problem to wait as I saw my food being cooked on the grill and I know it was very fresh.
You get 2 fairly large brochettes with your platter and that also comes with humus,eggplant dip,roasted potatoes,rice,salad and a piece of pita bread.
It was quite surprising the amount of food that there was in my container. I'd say there was enough food for two people or else one very hungry person.
The brochettes when they are stored in the fridge and being cooked they are on some metal skewers that look very similar to small swords.
On my brochette there was around 5 decent sized pieces of chicken and some red and yellow peppers.
The chicken was nicely seasoned and very well grilled. The peppers had a bit of charring that added to the taste.
The quality of the chicken was very good and was made up of chicken breast that was tender and not tough,the meat was also not greasy like in some other places I've eaten at.
One thing I really dislike in eating out is when certain places use chicken that is just too fatty.
I found the chicken here was great,very fresh and tender.
The roasted potatoes were good and had some garlic flavor to them. The rice was a bit seasoned and good.
My salad had some lettuce,tomato,green pepper,red onion and a homemade dressing-the vegetables were very fresh. There was also some garlic sauce included in my platter.
I took my brochette platter to go as I did not think I would be able to finish it all and that was a good idea for me as I only managed to eat half the platter.
You can also eat in the grocery store and there is a very nice seating area with tables and chairs and the store actually has some real plates and cutlery if you do happen to be eating in.
That is actually a nice touch as most places who have shawarma usually just have take out cartons and not real plates.
There is also baklava and pastries for sale at the food counter and in the Cedars and Co grocery store.
If after stuffing yourself with brochette or shawarma you want a healthier dessert,there are also fruit cups topped with Ashta-a type of custard that can be bought.
The fruit cups are $4 and are filled with many kinds of tropical fruits like strawberry,pineapple,mango,banana,blueberry and I'm sure I am forgetting some of the other tropical fruits.
The fruit cups are also quite large and the size on the bottom of my cup said 24oz, so it seems to be a good value.
I would definitely recommend this new grocery store and food counter for a fresh meal.
I'm sure I will be going there quite often as the food is fresh and tasty.
My brochette platter was $14.63 including tax.
Cedar and Company grocery store and food counter is open until 10pm every day and located at:
1255 Bank Street.
There is also a free parking lot beside the grocery store.
If anyone remembers the area,this is where the old Fresh Fruit Company store used to be.
