Good evening!
I hope you have had a great weekend. Today we had a fun meet-up at Calico Cafe in Toronto.
I was really excited to enjoy ‘lupper’ with these fabulous ladies.
I love these ladies!!! We had a blast.
In attendance were: Kristin, Angela, Jess, Jenn, Therese, Callie, Susan, Laura, Jenn, and I.
Please don’t mind the dirt on my leg. I swear it wasn’t there when I left the house!
We started off with drinks and were disappointed to find out that none of their juices were fresh and you couldn’t customize anything. Not knowing this, I asked for a veggie juice and was told that would not be possible. Then, I asked for the lemonade without agave and was also told that wasn’t possible.
Lemon water it was!
They serve Brunch all day on Sunday until 4pm.
A bunch of us ordered this Seared Butternut Squash sandwich with sweet potato hummus, rutabaga, and Dijon.
…and none of us liked it.
It basically tasted like oodles of Dijon sandwiched between two pieces of curry flavoured bread. It was a very strange flavour combination.
You know how sometimes you throw together sandwiches and they seem so wrong, but are so right? This was just wrong. I also wasn’t thinking to ask them to hold the Dijon since I don’t eat honey. I tried scraping it off, but it still strongly over-powered the sandwich.
The pan fries also weren’t great…
Same with the salad.
Verdict: Boo.
Others had the crispy tempeh sandwich…
Verdict: It was quite salty and a bit too heavy on the tempeh and not enough veggies.
The Creamy Seitan Omelette:
Verdict: The omelette was pretty good with a weird texture. The potatoes weren’t great.
The tempeh scramble had a good review!
Verdict: It was excellent and tasted like stuffing! lol.
Overall impression:
- The food did not meet expectations
- The menu was very heavy on tofu and tempeh (which is a nightmare for someone who can’t eat much soy).
- The service wasn’t overly friendly and the cafe lacked atmosphere.
- I did love that they grow their own herbs out back…!
To date, nothing compares to Fresh restaurant. Not Fressen, Kindfood, or Calico cafe (click links for my reviews).
Calactus Cafe is a very close runner up to Fresh. The reason why we didn’t go to Fresh for this meet-up is because Fresh doesn’t take reservations and last time we ended up waiting 40 minutes for a table with such a large group.
The company was fabulous and we had a great time chatting away! :biggrin: What a fun group of ladies.
PS- Sketchie says: WHATZZZZ UPPPPP my peeps?
His mad face when I pick him up:
He loathes when I hold him and squirms and digs his claws into me until I put him down. A tear hits the ground and I admit defeat finally putting him back on the ground.
I’m off to finish up some laundry that I started earlier and then plant myself on the couch. I need to rest up for another crazy week ahead.
Have a good night!
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P.S. I have a fabulous rcipe for sweet potato hummus but would love tosee what you come up with.
You MUST try Live organic food bar on Dupont in TO. The focus is on raw, but they have lovely cooked options as well. The brunch is fabulous too, the crepes are such a hit. And the desserts and juices/shakes! I could go on…
I tried it once 2 years ago, but I would like to go back!
Aw I hate it when restaurants are a let down! I guess that’s one Toronto vegetarian restaurant I can cross off my list. There are literally hundreds of others I want to check out there!
Sorry you had a disappointing lunner (afternoon tea??) experience :( I guess not all restaurants are good at vegetarian fare. :(
Wei-Wei
That restaurant sounds bleh.
But, on a side note, you should give Fressen another shot for dinner.
Their fat fettucini was the best pasta dish I have ever had in a restaurant inn my entire life. It’s like handmade doughy flax noodles. delish.
Yes I would like to try Fressen for dinner! Ill keep the fettucini in mind.
Sorry the restaurant was such a disappointment! I love your red dress in those pictures, where did you get it from?
Target!
If you’re a Fresh-lover then you’re bound to LOVE Rawlicious. It blows Fresh out of the water.
Rawlicious: http://www.rawlicious.ca/Rawlicious/Home.html
And what about Live raw food bar? Have you been there? Also tasty with lots of raw options, obviously ;)
Live: http://www.livefoodbar.com/
Really? How could I not have heard it it??? lol Do they take reservations?
:O I don’t know!! But you must go immediately!
Rawlicious is fantastic. Hmm not 100% sure if they make reservations but last time I was there I didn’t have to wait. If you’re travelling with a large party I am sure they can accommodate something. Regardless, you’ll love it! The raw vegan pecan pie is a true delight.
Thank you….Will def. check it out. We should make a date!
You mentioned in this post that you don’t eat honey. Why is that? I don’t really eat honey either, I’m just not that into it. I’m curious though, are there other foods that you simply do not eat, and for what reason?
It looks like you all had a great time. It’s too bad about the restuarant but at least you now know to avoid it – you live and learn!!
What kind of cat is that?! He is beautiful!!!
Aw, that’s too bad that it wasn’t that great! That is cool that they grow their own herbs though…and oh, Sketchie…my cat makes the saaaame face. haha
You should check out Live Raw Food Bar in downtown TO. My sis and I love it there! My meat eating hubby even said he’d go back!!
Hi Angela,
I am a 45, soon to be 46 year old that has not really struggled much with weight for most of my life. Somehow, I ended up on your website after googling green monster drinks. I have been doing a lot of reading about “the green movement”. I would like to start eating alot healthier and exercising daily. Thanks for your input. I think I am going to start with the green monster drinks and try a couple of your recipes. Wish me luck!
Debi
That garden area is just beautiful! Hopefully the whole thing is non-smoking, because I’m really allergic and would have to leave immediately if anyone was smoking.. I’m happy to say that usually they are pretty okay when I throw a fit about smoking though. :) Kudos.
-Kenzie
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