Not Just a Plate of Carrots: What my neighbourhood has to offer...

It was our 4 year anniversary last week (time sure flies when you are having fun! he he), and I decided to take him out for dinner at The Grove. The Grove is located on the corner of Grosvenor and Stafford and offers a restaurant/ pub style experience and has apparently done well enough to expand to a second location in the old Papa George's spot. (Opening soon, I think)

Anyway...we started off with drinks (naturally).

I ordered a cucumber mint mojito and M. tried a Half Pints non-carbonated beer (can't remember the name...) and both drinks were delicious! I was really surprised on how much I enjoyed a non-carbonated beer. It's worth going back to The Grove just for that since you can only get it there apparently. Heck, I can't even find the info on the official Half Pints Brew Co website! It's that exclusive.

For dinner I ordered the Chevre & Pequillo Pepper Croquettes which is soft goat’s cheese, roasted peppers with béchamel in a crispy panko coating. I found the texture to be the same as polenta. The croquettes on their own were good but the red sauce that came with it elevated this dish on another level. It complemented the dish perfectly.

I also ordered the Grove salad which has blue cheese, sliced apple, candied walnuts sherry shallot vinaigrette with artisan lettuce. It was tangy and the blue cheese was nice and creamy.

M. opted for the vegetarian burger and hand cut fries. The burger had a nice kick to it because of the spicy mayo and the black bean patty was also very delicious. M. liked it more than Market Burger's black bean patty.

Overall, a lovely and filling dinner.

To see what else they offer visit http://www.the-grove.ca/

It also happened to be my mothers birthday last weekend and so M. and I had brunch with her at Mise last Saturday which is located on the corner of Corydon and Lilac. I didn't even know Mise offered brunch but my mother has suggested it and since it was her birthday... I guess I can't argue. Either way, I love how these restaurants are walking distance from me.

My mother ordered...

The Mise special breakfast!

It had sauteed mushrooms, bacon, cheddar cheese, shirred egg yolks and savoury meringue baked in flaky pastry, served with wild rice has and fresh fruit. This picture really doesn't do the breakfast justice of how beautiful it was. I was really impressed and unfortunately there was not a veggie option but I want to learn how to make a meringue like that!

Look how tall it is!

M. ordered...

Poached eggs with baguette, fruit and hash browns.

I ordered...

Veggie eggs benedict topped with a spinach puree and there were even grilled red peppers, zucchini and eggplant on top of a home made english muffin. It was incredible. I was not expecting to receive grilled vegetable like that. It was all very tasty, especially the hash browns. The potatoes seem to have been dipped in a waffle badder and then fried so not only were you eating fried potatoes but also chunks of waffle batter. What more could you ask for?

All of us thoroughly enjoyed our savoury breakfasts and despite the higher than normal prices such as $12.95 for my eggs benedict (the meat option was $15.95) or $15.95 for the special breakfast, I would go back in a heartbeat. The only odd thing about our breakfast was that we were the only customers at 11am on a Saturday. I really hope that this is not a sign that brunch will be off the table in the future at Mise. Highly recommend this if you're near the Corydon area.

Here are some interior shots: