Before heading to Elmira, I was trying to figure out the perfect plan to avoid the crowd. Should I head over early in the morning, or late in the afternoon? However, I soon realized there was absolutely no way to avoid the crowd.

It was like that ALL DAY!

It is best to go with a small group of friends or family. In that way, you will be able to try out as many different food as possible but not lose each other in the crowd. Important tip – pace yourself! Never start with eating a gigantic gyro or you’ll be too stuffed to have any other delicious items on sale there.

A typical Maple eating style – dessert first.

Funnel Cake with whipped cream & berries - $10

After eating the deep fried dough,  there’s the legendary deep fried Mars Bars…

Deep Fried Mars Bars - $6

… not for the weak-hearted. Some crazy profit though, $6 to deep fry mars bars which typically cost around $1!

Why Mars Bars, I’ve been wondering. Deep fried KitKat? Deep fried Hersheys? Deep fried Snickers? Deep fried Kinder surprise!!? Just don’t think about the calories. What you don’t know won’t hurt you… right? ;)

German potato pancake - $3

We couldn’t decide which condiment would be the best so a bit of everything – ketchup, mustard, sour cream… and maple syrup. The syrup was in a huge container which labeled Apple Cider so I had to ask the vendor -

Potato pancakes goes with apple cider?!

That was a small pancake appetizer before our pancake entree. To the right of the main crowded street were pancake tents. Many volunteers helping to serve piping hot pancakes with generous portions of maple syrup. I spoke to a vendor at around noon and they’ve already sold more than 3000 pitas. Imagine the number of pancakes made that day!

Thank you for making pancakes!

$4 for one and $5 for two. Both options include a drink – milk, coffee or tea.

Eat your pancakes with Maple and Syrup

After an overdose of sweets, we decided it was time for some savoury.

Potato and Chedder perogies - $6

Pulled pork burger - $5

Maple Burger - $3.50

We were about to leave at this point, but did not want to go without having arguably most popular item there. The vendor ran out of them and had to re-order from St. Jacobs. However, the traffic was terrible so it took quite a while. After a grueling 1 hour wait…

Turkey Drumsticks - $8

The triumphant feeling

A Saturday well spent – 5 hours there! If you missed out this year, be sure to check it out next year!

I was pleasantly surprised by the interior deco of the restaurant. With expectations of a bar atmosphere, I was greeted with cozy booths and wooden seats. The brick wall on one side, in combination with the dark red wall on the other, gave the ambiance a deep, romantic and mysterious touch. Wooden pillars with flowers and round bulbs also contributed to a unique dining experience.

Cozy Interior

The service was prompt. Despite reading about Marbles being extremely busy on the weekends, it was unusually quiet at noon on Saturday. Perfect for a lazy afternoon. I ordered the Ratatouille ($14.99) and the Lamb Burger with Chevrai ($12.99), with spinach salad instead of fries for an addition of $2.

Similar to how Blackberry and Apple are no longer associated with fruits at first thought, Ratatouille triggers an image of the Pixar rat instead of a dish. It is actually a traditional French stewed vegetable dish. The one at Marbles has zucchini, sweet peppers, eggplant and tomatoes topped with cheddar and mozzarella. You can also substitute it with chevrai (goat cheese) for $2.

Served with whole wheat bun

My dining partner enjoyed the Ratatouille very much but I prefer the Lamb Burger. The lamb patty was very tender and flavourful. However, the burger was served with raspberry mint sauce on the side which I did not quite fancy. Unique but strange combination I should say.  The Ratatouille was simple, warm and nice but perhaps a little pricey.

Marbles is definitely a place worth visiting again. It has various specials everyday – 2 for 1 burgers on Monday, 2 for 1 wings on Tuesday, pasta Thursday, prime ribs Saturday etc. Hopefully the construction right in front of it will be completed fairly soon.

]]> http://loudlunch.com/2010/10/marbles-casual-fine-dining/feed/ 2 http://loudlunch.com/2010/09/yukikos-hometown-eatery/ http://loudlunch.com/2010/09/yukikos-hometown-eatery/#comments Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:46:41 +0000 Maple http://loudlunch.com/?p=162 I very much prefer its former name Yukiko’s Cafe over Hometown Eatery. Perhaps they changed it to not be confused with a Japanese cafe. This quiet little restaurant hides behind the hustle and bustle of King Street and has just been recently renovated. Superb patio and lovely interior. Strangely, the washrooms are the first thing you see when you step into the restaurant.

At least they have nice doors.

I’ve read many reviews about the terrific food and terrible service at Hometown Eatery and was very prepared for them. Perhaps a little toooo prepared, both my visits were met with the total opposite. Perfect service and mediocre food.

My server’s name is Becca and she’s definitely one of the best server I’ve had in Waterloo so far – friendly, prompt and very welcoming. In addition, a lot of thought has been put into the menu. There are interesting names for dishes such as The KISS (Keep It Simple Sandwiches), Purple Velvet (Beet soup; daily special) and Yummy/Snoppy/Flirty Burgers. I tried the grilled salmon sandwich ($14) and gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with brie ($10).

$10 for a grilled cheese?

The exotic brie grilled cheese was definitely better than the grilled salmon, contrary to what I expected. It was warm and simple whereas the grilled salmon was dry. Hometown’s Eatery is supposedly famous for its cakes so I tried a strawberry cheesecake. Being a huge cheesecake fan, I was a little disappointed. It was okay, but nothing too fantastic. Perhaps the wrong cake?

If I ever return for another meal, it’ll definitely be for the cosy atmosphere, awesome service and quirky menu items. For the food? Meh, maybe not.

Also, it might be a bad idea to visit on an extremely cold day because they charge $1 for just a cup of warm water.

I’ve heard mixed reviews about the service.  Well, they weren’t mixed, they are universally so-so.   To be quite frank, it’s a cafe that deals mostly in dessert and sandwiches, so I don’t expect much in terms of service.  I’ve had coffee at a cafe in France and wanted to knock the server out with a punch to his mouth. I’ve dined in the Southern US where I wanted to hug everyone that worked at the diner.  Symposium falls somewhere in the middle, and that’s about right.

All Day Breakfast and Burgers, Together at Last!

Our table ordered two breakfasts, and I had the Symposium burger.  Everything was good-to-go, nothing to write home about, but the burger was much bigger and tastier than I expected. The fries come with some garlic mayo, and it’s a great touch.  I should’ve asked for more.  Jeff ordered a side of sausage, and he got a really tasty treat.  It’s not the lame, pinky breakfast sausage you get at most places, it was some sort of large, tasty, spicy sausage that he had wrapped up to go.  Get the sausage, skip the bacon, if you’re ordering breakfast!

The cafe is, of course, popular for its fancy coffee.  The cafe mocha I ordered was not what I expected .. much sweeter and richer (more rich?) than I was ready for.  If I can make one suggestion to the barista: unsweetened chocolate would take it down a notch and make the drink less Tim Horton’sy.

Cafe Mocha, Half-eaten Burger, Jeff with Breakfast

But yeah, overall the experience was positive (it has been every time I’ve gone).  Decent food, decent prices, decent coffee, decent service … the whole being more enjoyable than the sum of its parts.

The Loss of a Close Friend

As some people in real life (irl)  know, I have this favourite mug that I stole from someone some time ago.  The mug has a picture of Spongebob Squarepants going to the office, all disheveled and unshaven, toting his little briefcase.  He’s all fucked up, obviously had a big weekend.  On the other side of the mug, it simply says: Mondays.  This mug is perfect.

Correction, was perfect.  Until I dropped him down the stairs at the office, trying to get my stair-ercise in for the day.

Obviously, it happened on a Monday.  Have a great week everybody!

Rest in Peace, Spongebob Monday Mug

Burger at Bobby’s

So as many downtown drinkers know, there used to be this really popular pub called The Still in downtown Kitchener. It got taken over by those London/Guelphites at Partytown, renamed Bobby O’Briens, and boasts some pretty great daily specials!  The special wings are tiny, but the burgers on Wednesdays are a huge hit.

Their cheeseburger is called the Shanahan Burger, and at $4.99+ with fries it’s the best lunch burger ever a refreshingly great deal. The salad-substitution is a reasonable $1.50. Order a Rickard’s White to accompany and you have yourself some lunchtime conversation.

Six Burger Specials, Please!

Nougat Bakery, One Day

The Nougat Bakery and Deli, for those that are lucky enough to live in the Victoria Park area of town, is the hidden treasure on Queen’s Blvd that is not only popular for lunch, but has a solidly stocked Polish deli, a great cafe, and a wicked sweets selection.

I stop in for Illy coffee for take-out every once in a while and highly recommend it for a stop-over on the way home.  This blog will feature something about their lunch special at some point, I’m sure.  The KW Record published a great review of the cafe last spring.

Cross Cultural Food Love

My friends at the Toronto Review published a really great photo essay on food in Palestine.

TorontoReview.ca: Mana'eesh in Palestine

The attention to aesthetics and the social nature of eating is a nice change from Canadian working lunch reality, and the pictures remind me of street food at its finest. We need inspiration for more street food, and street vending, in this country.