Always So Gah For So Little

After the holidays, I always have gift cards to places I don't often go. This year it was to Swiss Chalet. Remembering that one was located in the new and fancy Dufferin Mall, I stopped by on Saturday for lunch. Despite its updated looks and nicer stores including H&M and Marshalls, this has always been a working class mall with its No Frills supermarket and Walmart. My guess: this was why Boston Pizza failed after less than a year despite the fanfare and renovations.

Swiss Chalet has taken over the space, located next to the south entrance. It does get a lot of foot traffic with primarily young families. But the restaurant is so big that it looks perpetually empty from the outside. Most dishes are priced less than $20 and even $15. Certainly has the trendy places beat on price, but not the ethnic restaurants in the neighbourhood. I ordered the chicken and shrimp ($13.49).

The taste of that Swiss Chalet dipping gravy was instantly familiar though it has been a long time. The chicken was good but not as tasty as the local churrasqueiras. For one, the skin was nowhere near as crisp. The shrimp on its bed of rice pilaf would have been serviceable, but like many restaurant dishes, much too salty. Perhaps I'm used to the lower sodium in my own cooking, but I can't believe people find these entrees palatable.