| Advertisement |
|
Local Guides
|
|
|
Simplicity Meal Solutions
|
by Denise De La Franier
May 26 – June 1, 2005 |
|
Simplicity Meal Solutions
The Fast Food Alternative
400 Speedvale Ave. W, Guelph
823–0257
Mon–Fri:10am–8pm, Saturday:10am–6pm
9 out of 10
It’s 6pm, you’ve had a long day at work, and you’re absolutely
famished. The fridge is empty, you ate your last can of soup for
lunch, and after two days of cold Little Caesar’s, your body is
begging for some real, honest–to–goodness food. Move over mac
and cheese, Michalina, and Mickey D — the solution is simple.
Simplicity Meal Solutions, which opened for business about
four months ago, is Guelph’s newest “Fast Food Alternative.”
Specializing in salads, soups, pastas, veggie and meat entrees,
Simplicity’s offerings will appeal to health–conscious people on
the go. The dishes are inventive and appetizing, like chilled
blueberry soup, chicken tarragon sandwiches, and blue cheese
macaroni with broccoli — take THAT, Kraft Dinner — and
everything is prepared with wholesome ingredients in the on–site,
open concept kitchen.
There are both fresh and frozen selections to check out, and
everything is clearly labelled with freezing dates, heating
instructions and ingredients. There’s a small warmer for hot
take–out, and a cold counter displaying rice, bean and pasta
salads, as well as sandwiches on bread made fresh at With The
Grain, one of Guelph’s well–loved bakeries. The small grocer also
carries fair–trade Planet Bean coffee, and various high–end jams
and spreads.
I know it might be a fruitless battle, but I’ve got a few
friends who are just a little too up–close– and–personal with Mr.
Ronald McDonald. I, the grub snob, regularly and half–jokingly
scold, “How can you eat that junk when there’s so much good
food out there?” and my arteries ache for them. My friend Nick is
a prime example because he rarely has the time or inclination to
do groceries for one person. He eats fast food a couple times a
day, and I thought he’d be the perfect companion for this visit,
and hoped that maybe he’d like the food enough to regard it as
an appealing alternative to his Supersize Me diet.
We checked out Simplicity for lunch one day, and since
everything looked awesome, we decided to get large portions for
two and I let Nick take his pick. We left with sausage, apple and
pasta soup ($2.99), sweet potato casserole with granola topping
($2.99) and maple mustard baked chicken ($10.99).
We headed for Nick’s digs, where the atmosphere is
laid–back and so is the service. (Heh, sorry. I’ve met my dumb
joke quota for this week, I promise.)
We started with the soup, a two–cup serving of a thin, mild
broth with subtle apple cider and nutmeg flavours, loaded with
meaty Greek sausage, onions, bright red peppers, rotini, and
sweetish chunks of apple. It wasn’t your typical soup, but it was a
mutual pleaser.
Enter the chicken. Four, skin–off, bone–in pieces with plenty
of sauce came in an aluminum dish; you’ll need to replace the
cardboard lid with foil if your take–out is oven bound, or throw
the whole thing on a microwave–safe plate instead. The chicken,
soaked in a maple Dijon sauce, was tender and delicious. The
sauce was so good that we wished it was a little thicker so that
more of it would stick to the meat.
Finally, we dug into the sweet potato casserole, and it was
smooth, savory and scrumptious — this may well be my new
comfort food. With brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and pecans, it
was almost like having apple crisp for dinner, but the sweet
potato filling made the dish heartier and less like dessert.
Nick and I were both really satisfied with the food, and
discussed the viability of choosing Simplicity over cheap and
greasy drive–thru. Nick, who was sold on the soup, said he’d
probably go back for more, especially if there were already–hot
items available because you don’t always have access to an oven
to heat up your meal. Understandably, he said he’d definitely stop
in if he was in the area, but probably wouldn’t go out of his way if
McDonald’s was closer.
We agreed that the chicken was a little overpriced; four
boneless breasts, however, would be a better deal for $10.99.
Overall, though, Simplicity offers amazing food at really decent
prices. It’s always good to have an alternative.
|
Share on
 |
No comments yet... be the first! |
|
