Foods from Café Espresso & Deli
Comments
2011 Jan 20
Had my third wonderful Lebanese Elimination Diet Lunch today at Espresso Café! This time two plates!
The lentil salad (pictured on top) is one of my favourite sides that come with the vegetarian platter (which is my regular order there when I'm not on this stupid elimination). Except, this one was made especially for me without the ingredients I'm not allowed to have. And it still tasted amazing!
The second plate (I had to take a doggie bag back to the office today!) had a spinach and fennel salad, fresh cucumbers and sweet potatoes. But the BEST PART was the olives; organic and fair trade - from the land his father owns in Lebanon. Best olives I've ever tasted!
The lentil salad (pictured on top) is one of my favourite sides that come with the vegetarian platter (which is my regular order there when I'm not on this stupid elimination). Except, this one was made especially for me without the ingredients I'm not allowed to have. And it still tasted amazing!
The second plate (I had to take a doggie bag back to the office today!) had a spinach and fennel salad, fresh cucumbers and sweet potatoes. But the BEST PART was the olives; organic and fair trade - from the land his father owns in Lebanon. Best olives I've ever tasted!
2011 Jan 19
Me again!
Had my second elimination-diet-friendly meal here today. SO DELICIOUS. Again, everything was bought fresh yesterday and organic.
Sautéed spinach with garlic; carrots, brocoli and kolorabi (I think) stir fried in traditional spices; and a 'dessert salad' with apples and spinach and some cooked raspberries as the dressing.
Such a treat for someone who's been eating brown rice cakes and dates for two and a half weeks.
I can't say enough good things about the care that the owner and his family put into the preparation of everything in the restaurant, so I'm going to stop now!
Had my second elimination-diet-friendly meal here today. SO DELICIOUS. Again, everything was bought fresh yesterday and organic.
Sautéed spinach with garlic; carrots, brocoli and kolorabi (I think) stir fried in traditional spices; and a 'dessert salad' with apples and spinach and some cooked raspberries as the dressing.
Such a treat for someone who's been eating brown rice cakes and dates for two and a half weeks.
I can't say enough good things about the care that the owner and his family put into the preparation of everything in the restaurant, so I'm going to stop now!
2011 Jan 14
I love this place.
I moved to Ottawa from Toronto in April of last year for work and Café Espresso is right across the street from my office. I walked in not knowing what I'd find - wrapped sandwiches maybe??? Was I ever in for a pleasant surprise.
I found a family-run, homemade, fresh Lebanese restaurant. The first thing I ordered was the vegetarian platter - again, not knowing what I'd find. My experiences with Lebanese vegetarian platters in the past had been greasy - though yummy! - but that's not what you want to be eating too often.
Firstly, the owners assured me that everything is guaranteed vegetarian on the platter as they make everything themselves fresh (on one occasion in the summer, he gave me a salad made from veggies from their garden!) The platter is amazing. It contains falafels, hummus, tablouleh, tahini, vine leaves, lentil salad (SO GOOD!), pickled turnips and pita. All that for about $8
But the really amazing thing is that I didn't go in for a few days and the owner asked my colleague where I was. He said I was on an elimination diet for allergies and could hardly eat anything so I'd been making my own lunches (and was miserable about it.) The owner said - "Tell her to bring me her list - I love a challenge!" So I did and he said come in tomorrow. I'll have something for you.
So I went in today and he said just a few minutes - we're just putting it together now. A few minutes later, I was brought a beautiful salad (pictured) with spinach, grapes, avocado, mango, onion, garlic, olive oil and a warm maple syrup dressing. He came over and told me that it was all organic and that he'd bought all the ingredients the night before.
AND he now has several traditional Lebanese dishes that he has adjusted to suit my diet planned for me for next week! I can't wait!
All of my colleagues eat here regularly. If you work in the area and want a healthy, homemade, reasonably-priced lunch from friendly people, you have got to try Espresso Café & Deli!
I moved to Ottawa from Toronto in April of last year for work and Café Espresso is right across the street from my office. I walked in not knowing what I'd find - wrapped sandwiches maybe??? Was I ever in for a pleasant surprise.
I found a family-run, homemade, fresh Lebanese restaurant. The first thing I ordered was the vegetarian platter - again, not knowing what I'd find. My experiences with Lebanese vegetarian platters in the past had been greasy - though yummy! - but that's not what you want to be eating too often.
Firstly, the owners assured me that everything is guaranteed vegetarian on the platter as they make everything themselves fresh (on one occasion in the summer, he gave me a salad made from veggies from their garden!) The platter is amazing. It contains falafels, hummus, tablouleh, tahini, vine leaves, lentil salad (SO GOOD!), pickled turnips and pita. All that for about $8
But the really amazing thing is that I didn't go in for a few days and the owner asked my colleague where I was. He said I was on an elimination diet for allergies and could hardly eat anything so I'd been making my own lunches (and was miserable about it.) The owner said - "Tell her to bring me her list - I love a challenge!" So I did and he said come in tomorrow. I'll have something for you.
So I went in today and he said just a few minutes - we're just putting it together now. A few minutes later, I was brought a beautiful salad (pictured) with spinach, grapes, avocado, mango, onion, garlic, olive oil and a warm maple syrup dressing. He came over and told me that it was all organic and that he'd bought all the ingredients the night before.
AND he now has several traditional Lebanese dishes that he has adjusted to suit my diet planned for me for next week! I can't wait!
All of my colleagues eat here regularly. If you work in the area and want a healthy, homemade, reasonably-priced lunch from friendly people, you have got to try Espresso Café & Deli!
ilikerealfood