Tag Archives: healthy

Heirloom Vegetarian Restaurant

Heirloom Vegetarian Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - ZomatoSo I had set up a friends get-together for lunch at Heirloom. It was with fellow classmates of the yoga teacher training program that I had taken last fall. During our short lunch break, we often went to get salads or smoothies at the Heirloom Juice Co. On our last day of classes, we went to Heirloom restaurant to celebrate. Unforutnately, without a reservation, the wait was going to be 45 minutes to an hour. So we left… idearabbit_heirloom_vegetarian1 idearabbit_heirloom_vegetarian2

This time, I thought I’d make reservations, but due to their popularity, they said it’s a first come first serve on Friday nights, Saturday all day, Sunday brunch, and holidays. I arrived 30 minutes earlier than our meeting time. The host was very friendly. When one of my friends arrived, we went outside to wait. The host told us that usually, they don’t allow groups to sit down unless all parties are there, but they made an exception, as thing were slowing down a bit at that time. He even came outside the restaurant to bring us back in.

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For an slightly higher-end restaurant, we were all surprised at the wide selections on the menu which made it harder for us to decide. I had already checked online, and knew that I was going to order the Eggs Benedict. Even then though, I took a long time to decide which kind… I finally decided to get the Mushroom $19.95 with arugula, caramelized onions, and leeks on top of English muffins and tooped with their house-made hollandaise . The dish also came with hash browns and house salad. Some items on the menu, such as the eggs benedict has the option for gluten-free.

idearabbit_heirloom_vegetarian3The atmosphere was lovely. Mostly white walls, with beautiful wooden tables. A lot of windows let natural light in, setting a calm, relaxing feel. I also love when restaurants place glass water bottles so you don’t have to pester the servers for more water.

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The presentation of the food was great. The vinegar dressing on the salad was delicious. Not sure if I can say the best dressing, but pretty close to it. The hash browns were crispy. The eggs were a bit over-cooked. It wasn’t runny like how I like them. More hollandaise sauce would have been nice.

Overall, I was impressed with the dining experience. Slightly pricey, but you dine in a nice setting, good service and they take into consideration of the ingredients by using fairly traded and healthy choices. Some minor adjustment could have made the dishes great, but I’d love to come back to try more!

Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

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Commodity Juicery

Commodity Juicery Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - ZomatoDisclaimer: *This was a complimentary private tasting. This post was not edited or written for monetary compensation, and are solely my opinions and observations.

I was kindly invited for a private tasting at Commodity Juicery through Zomato, and brought along two guests with me. One was into juices and healthy eating, so he was pretty excited. I have tried a few times with juices and smoothies, though I tend to only have them in the summer. Since I’m also for healthy foods, I was looking forward to it as well.

The place is more like a ‘buy and pick up’ place rather than a cafe where you’d sit down and read a book or something. There are 3 stools, but with one seat by the coolers with the juices that customers need access to, and the other one by the cashier, be ready to do some shifting.

idearabbit_commodityjuicery1idearabbit_commodityjuicery14 idearabbit_commodityjuicery15 idearabbit_commodityjuicery16 idearabbit_commodityjuicery19 idearabbit_commodityjuicery3The staff that was serving us was very knowledgeable with which ingredients were good for what, and which had what kind of nutrients. The healthy friend was really into kombucha, and he started asking all kinds of questions about it, and the staff was very knowledgeable about that too.

All juices are $10/bottle.idearabbit_commodityjuicery6We started off with their most popular drink, the #1 Sweet Greens. It was a tropical flavour, especially with the addition of pineapples It wasn’t ‘salady’ at all. It was light with a slight hint of cilantro that awoken your senses at the end. It was pretty to look at, but very good tastewise.

idearabbit_commodityjuicery7If you check out their website, it’ll will give you all the information you want to know in a very clean and slick but simple chart. The white clean shop is replicated on their very simple, but easy to navigate website.

Screen Shot 2016-02-18 at 2.08.26 PMNext naturally, was #2 All Greens. It had lemon and lime plus all veggies. It was zesty with the strong lemon taste. This was the only drink where the ‘ingredients’ settled at the bottom, so it’s a good idea to shake it before consuming. We were told that this drink was good for drinking at the end the day with which has magnesium to calm digestive system. idearabbit_commodityjuicery8#6 Purple Puppy. Along with the creative names for the drinks, they are also creative with the ingredients. They have put cucumber instead of grape to limit the sweetness. It feels like a balanced juice. Smells like beets – but in a good refreshing way.

idearabbit_commodityjuicery9 #8 Orange Roots. Very light and very pretty. It wasn’t overly sweet even though there were apples in it. They said the turmeric was organic. idearabbit_commodityjuicery10#10 Sunrise. This has fructose and electrolyte, so it’s good to drink at the beginning of the day to give you a boost. The flavour, which was zesty and tangy would also wake you up.

idearabbit_commodityjuicery11 #12 Matcha Mylk. I didn’t try this one as it has almonds and cashews. I’m allergic to nuts, so none for me.

Instead, I got to try the one of the Shots $4. I had the Relief Shot with lemon, ginger and some cayenne powder. I’m so glad they were just running out of the powder because holy moly! One sip and I felt my entire tongue and throat burrrrrrrrrn. It took couple gulps of water to calm it down. It is really strong, but I guess if you’re wanting something to really ‘zap’ you, this is the shot for you. Wow… it was incredible.

idearabbit_commodityjuicery12We also had a bit of the Masala bowl which had broccoli, cauliflower, bean sprouts, zucchini, red peppers, carrots, green cabbage, quinoa with ­ Masala dressing. It had a nice curry smell to it. Although I do love salads and often eat them, it was the first time I had a salad where all the ingredients were raw except for quinoa. It might take me a bit to get used to eating all of it raw. I think since I suffer from cold hands and feet, and even eating my regular salads can quickly drop my temperature (yes, I can start feeling cold and shivering after a salad!) I’ll save it for the summer time. idearabbit_commodityjuicery20Their straws are made from bamboo – which was really interesting. She mentioned that for the Greens, it’d be best to consume within 4 days and 6 days for carrots or beets.

To end it off, the dessert. Again, the Macaroons $4 had nuts, so only my guests had samples. They said it was really good, with coconut, cinnamon, sea salt, dates and almonds.idearabbit_commodityjuicery13idearabbit_commodityjuicery18The experience was very good. Clean place. Love their brand identity. Great tasting juices! Would return.

Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

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Buddha Full

Click to add a blog post for Buddha-Full on ZomatoI met up with my friend who is pretty health conscious, especially when it comes to food, so I thought this place would be the perfect place to grab a bite. I was curious about the place, but was happy to hear that she enjoys their smoothies. They serve organic and gluten free food/juices and opened in 2010. The place is a bit hidden, and can easily be missed – I walked by it (though on the other side of the road)

idearabbit-buddhafull1 idearabbit-buddhafull2 idearabbit-buddhafull3 idearabbit-buddhafull4I decided to get their Fried Samosa $3.95. If you wanted to go healthier and get the Baked Samosa $4.50. For drink, I got the One Love $6.50 (14oz) which was really dark burgundy.
It was a hot summer day, and the cafe inside was sweltering hot and humid. After we picked up our orders, we took it outside onto the patio. There were several ants crawling on our chairs, and flying ants…
The heated samosa was really, really good. The size was quite generous and the softer shell than most other samosas I’ve had made it easier to eat. I would definitely come back for these.
The drink was rich. It had strawberries, pineapple, orange, beets with rose water. It seemed like all the goodness was juiced into one cup. Super dark colour that could easily dye, so watch out light-coloured clothes!
Service was satisfactory. The interior has a a couple of tables with seats and with a shop that included things like soap, jewellery, candles, etc.

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
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