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

We got in the cars, called ahead to make 10-minute-ahead reservations (none needed), and found the place which arguably has one of the worst street-fronts I’ve ever seen for casual dining, but some of the best Greek food in Kitchener.

Location Location Location?

Not to be a jerk, but this place has a hilarious location. It’s in the basement of an mid-century office “tower”, sharing its space with the YWCA Resource Centre. Inspiring.

Once we took the elevator to the back door (there’s a much more inviting front door actually, as we found out later) and got into the place, my mood and approach to the place changed entirely. It’s great. It’s big, loud, tall, friendly, and accommodates a group of ten or more comfortably. The menu is serious but  not overwhelming, the wine selection is reasonable, and there were many  lunch-sized things that came out in good time. It’s not cheap nor expensive, with many meals available for under $10.

Oh There It Is, Hurray! White Sign, Left.

Greek Coffee and Salad. Oh something else.

With no offense to the kitchen, I regret getting the vegetable moussaka. Everyone else’s meals looked more interesting and from the sound of it, were delicious.  The moussaka was … bland and tasted like they used powder potatoes. The Greek salad was very nice, simple, tasty, and fresh. Easily the toast of the whole meal was the drink. The Greek-style coffee, with very fine grounds still at the bottom and lightly chalky texture, was delicious and got me in the mood for more Greece.

Moussaka, meh, salad, nice, coffee, amazing.

Despite the outer shell, Three Kretans is very much worth a visit, especially with a large lunch group.  On a related note: next time you’re at a Greek place, ask for a glass of retsina to start your meal. It’s wine that tastes like tree sap. Seriously, don’t judge until you try it ;-)

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.

I come here for coffee and business meetings, so I decided to try it for lunch when my lawyer was in from out of town (no joke).   Their box lunch special is super flexible:  pick a sandwich, a salad, a drink, and some dessert.  The only thing I was disappointed with is that coffee isn’t an option on the drink choices menu for the lunch special!  Juice, milk, pop, water, basically anything but.

Options, Options

So I ordered the boxed lunch because it was 7.99+, no lie. A complete lunch for  under $10 is a blessing.   My choice was the turkey, with a mexican bean salad, and a brownie.  The standout was the bean salad, and I’d highly recommend it; cilantro with bean and light tomato, nice.

Boxed Lunch from Kava Bean

They apparently also have great chili, and the tuna wrap is solid.  I wish their cafe mocha used a slightly less sweet hot chocolate, but that’s a matter of preference, and probably more inline with the needs of the clientele.

One thing that I like about the Kava Bean (broad, sweeping generalisation) is that the people who eat there look like they work for a living.  The hurrying, the uniforms, the auto shop next door – the pace is human, and it makes lunch feel communal.