Merry Christmas and Happy New Year folks. Here’s hoping all y’all got as many puzzles as I did … the big man in red was good to this kid.
Pre-holidays (more on holidays later), Mom, Dad, Stella and I decided to venture east to the Beaches for lunch. We wanted to get outside our neighbourhood comfort zone, and after Dad did some browsing through various yelp reviews, we ended up at Green Eggplant. Smack dab in the middle of the busiest few blocks of the Beaches, it isn’t much to look at from the outside; we did some serious second guessing when we saw the drab green facade, but gave it a shot regardless. Let’s face it: it was cold outside, we were carrying Stella in her car seat, and Dad was carrying me … apparently I’m not quick enough on my feet yet to fly solo on a sidewalk.
For a Friday afternoon (noon-ish), the place was packed. Once we got inside, it was actually a very cozy spot, both space and decor-wise. I would advise against trying to get your stroller into this joint … although I can’t believe a Beaches spot wouldn’t cater to the stroller-set … maybe I missed something because I myself didn’t need to park? Hmmm. Regardless, we got a table right away and settled in with our menus (milestone #1: my very first Kids Menu!). My highchair took mere moments to arrive and it was wooden, clean, with all parts in working order.
Milestone #2: crayons. Would you believe I have never been offered the chance to colour in a restaurant before? Mom and I had dabbled in the crayon/colouring world at home a few times, but I had never really been able to get into it … I think we were using the wrong kind of crayons, because folks, this time I was smitten. In fact, I made Mom buy me some Crayolas over the holidays and I’ve been making masterpieces ever since.
Colouring!
But I digress. Service was prompt and somewhat succinct, and I got nary a second glance after the aforementioned crayons were plopped down in front of me. And now onto the food. Apparently I’m kid enough to get a Kids Menu, but not kid enough to be able to order from it … :( Mom and Dad insisted that I stick to what we brown-bagged from home, the bread basket and what they ordered … something about $7 being too pricey for something they couldn’t be certain I would actually eat. Hmph. I was digging the sounds of the Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets, but what’s a kid to do? I guess it’s time for me to up the ante on my speaking skills.
"This bread is good, but ... I would have preferred the nuggets guys"
Mom ordered the Chicken and Goat Cheese Focaccia Sandwich and said it was super tasty, and Dad tried the Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable and Chicken Salad … whew, what a mouthful! Quite literally as it turns out; when Dad was finished it barely looked like he’d touched his food. Dare I say that the portions seemed … American? We had a lengthy discussion about this on the drive home. Green Eggplant’s food quality was outstanding, but the portions were WAY too big. Mom even brought half her sandwich home to have for dinner later that night, although never actually got around to it as Cooper snatched it off the counter while she was reading me a bedtime story. But that’s a story for another time … dogs are silly.
All in all, a nice little jaunt to a neighbourhood we really don’t spend enough time in, but a bit pricey for lunch. My guess is we won’t be hurrying back anytime soon when there are such tasty (and affordable) spots closer to home.
- H
Love following your restaurant adventures Henry!