Ottawa Foodies

ChzPlz - I don't see why not, from what I've discovered it looks like they'll let you order ANY of the sides.

re: health check option - can you ask for two orders of salad?

SAVE MONEY & YOUR WAISTLINE - I've discovered a loop-hole at Swiss Chalet. If you would like a garden salad with your meal but aren't impressed by the added cost, then opt for the Health-Check Classic Quarter Chicken Dinner. At $ 9.49 it is a Quarter Chicken Dinner (Breast) and comes with two Sides and Dipping Sauce. The "suggested" sides in the menu include: Fresh Veggies, Kernal Corn, Baked Potato or Garden Salad (no dressing). All very healthy, BUT you can always choose the Garden Salad (and specify a dressing - at no added cost) and opt for french fries (ok, not very healthy).

The benefit to your waistline depends on what you choose as that second side, the benefit to your pocketbook, is more visible... All this for $ 9.49 vs. the more traditional route of $ 8.99 for the chicken dinner plus $ 0.99 for white meat plus $3-something for the garden salad. The downside... no bun with the Health-Check option.

And if you desire two slices of free pie with your order, there is also a "Family Happens" code - FHS08, also good til May 4. You might have to order two entrees for this to work. We were successful tonight - 2 quarter chicken dinners, one "free pie" slice of Lemon Pie and one "Family Happens" slice of Apple Pie :)

Free pie! Free pie! Free pie!

From now until May 4th, if you quote or enter promo code FPS8 when you order by phone or online (respectively), you'll get a free slice of pie with the purchase of any entrée. Oh yeah.

Oh! That reminds me: the other nifty thing about Swiss Chalet delivery is that you can do it all online. You can have multiple profiles, so if you're at home you can have it default to one address, and if you're at work you can have it to another.

But this is where the magic happens.

If you're at work, for example, you can place a "group order". Swiss Chalet will send e-mails out to all of the people you invite, and they place their order on-line. No more having to fiddle with who owes whom money!

(Disclaimer: I haven't used it yet, because I wasn't in charge of the last Swiss Chalet run we had here at work.)

DELIVERY

I should also mention that on occasion I've used the Swiss Chalet Delivery Service. Same great food except you don't have to go out in the cold to get it!

You basically call a 1-800 number (call centre probably somewheres in Toronto) and they take your order and ship it out to you from the nearest outlet. They do have a nice feature in that you can do a repeat order (same as your last) by just punching in that code on the phone. You can also order over the internet for either home delivery or store pick-up.

They take cash at the door, or credit over the phone / internet. And guarantee delivery in 50 minutes... if it's LATE its FREE.

Our order arrived hot and tastey in about 30 minutes.

We were running late, and needed to eat dinner quick... so it was a trip to Swiss Chalet. We both ordered the Quarter Chicken Dinners (breast / white meat) with Fries. The meals also came with dinner rolls and Chalet Dipping Sauce. "The Man" had a beer, Molson Canadian on tap; I had a glass of red wine, Niagara's Pellar Estates - Heritage Cabernet Sauvignon (a decent Canadian red and well priced). Dinner was fast, service was great, and it all came in under $ 40 including taxes and tip.

I actually like Swiss Chalet sometimes. The food in general is nothing special but it's really cheap and there is always a new special or promotion available every few months. Some of their better items are the chicken caesar salad, mango bellini, french fries, creamy chicken soup (seasonal) and perogies. It's a chain restaurant and not much of it is freshly made but it's decent when you want something quick and inexpensive.

Well, there aint nothing Swiss about it of course! According to Wikipedia, it was called Swiss Chalet because the original restaurant featured exposed wooden ceiling beams in the style of a Swiss chalet. The only Swiss thing about the food is the little chocolate they sometimes include with a meal deal. :)

They make a really tasty mango bellini.

The chicken here is fast and reliable. There is nothing wrong with it in my opinion, except it isn't St. Hubert (aah, those BBQ spices, and that dipping sauce).

When it comes to Rotisserie Chicken, St. Hubert rules the roost!

I have gone to Swiss Chalet four time in my life, and each time either very grudgingly or with a "Please get me out of here" look on my face. Personnaly, I strongly dislike the chicken from this place. Everytime I have gone, it is either too dry, too wet and one time, undercooked. However, as Fresh Foodie pointed out, the chocolates are a nice touch.