Mama Mia

Visiting family meant that home-cooked meals were bigger than my own portions in Toronto. I have also begun eating breakfast again, after a relative told me a factoid (which has mild evidence) that skipping meals may result in gallstones. In any case, I have kept up my exercise by running in the early morning through vacant land between the Ottawa river and Montreal Rd. This area once housed military personnel. Mattamy Homes are now building townhouses, but large chunks of land closer to the river lie fallow. So it was criss-crossed with small, overgrown roads, dotted here and there with remnants of driveways.

One such run led me all the way to St. Laurent Blvd and Hemlock where I found a small cluster of shops. On Wednesday, I returned with my mother for lunch. I wasn't sure if she would be able to walk all the way here through these old roads. But with mild weather and a downhill trajectory, we made good time.

We first stopped at Bread and Roses. This small bakery offered a large selection of baked goods and desserts, and was also stocked at various stores and coffee shops in Ottawa. We got a banana loaf ($9.95), whole-wheat oat bread ($5.25), and some croissants ($2.25). Over the week, I tried these items. Like the tacos from last week, pretty good for Ottawa but would be forgettable in Toronto.

The patio view at Mia's Indian Cuisine didn't offer much: either a strip mall parking lot (that until last year had a Dairy Queen from 1976) or Beechwood Cemetery. From the lunch menu we chose a chicken curry ($12.95), saag panner ($14.95), and a naan ($3.50). I was expecting a family-style spread but it came out as "thali"-esque. Which is to say a Western-style plate with rice, salad, vegetables, and the main. It wasn't surprising in retrospect since the other customers were elderly white folks.

My mom and I did end up sharing our dishes. This was a good lunch if a bit on the bland side, especially for South Asian food. This seems to be a recurring complaint about this city, whether it was food or any other aspect.