The Green Door Restaurant is a vegetarian restaurant that has NEVER failed to deliver. It is extremely consistent, fresh, satisfying, healthy, organic and local. Oh, and f-in delicious!!! And I'm not saying it's delicious for a vegetarian restaurant or for healthy food. It's just plain, no matter what category you put it in... delicious!
I remember when I started going to the Green Door I would hear people say - "yeah, it's good but expensive". And it's not, really. It's a self serve / buffet type place where you choose what you want, put it on your plate, inevitably overload yourself like a vegetarian pig (I do it everytime) and then are shocked when the cashier weighs it and it's $16.00. But, honestly, even if it is $16.00, so what? You'd go to any corporate chain restaurant and pay $12.00 for a meal and it's processed, manufactured, not organic, not local and it often makes you feel bloated and tired afterward. What's 4 dollars more for wholesome, fresh, healthy, food?
Believe me, I am not a total health nut. I love me some nachos or french fries or wings at a pub now and then but that is what that is. This is what this is. Exceptional in its own way.
My favourite thing to eat at the Green Door is the stir fry. It's tofu, broccoli, carrot, peppers, green onions in a ginger, garlic, tamari sauce. The tofu is cooked perfectly and I've always wondered how they cook it because each cubed piece is cooked evenly all over. I think it must be completely immersed in oil. That's part of the reason it is so good. Fat is tasty!
The marinated mushrooms are my second favourite. My niece Jordan and I agree on that! And she has good taste. Especially for a kid. Again, don't know how they do it but they have these cute, tiny mushrooms that are marinated perfectly to a firm but tender texture with a mild but flavourful marinate.
They have really good beets too. They aren't pickled, they are still firm too and have delicate seasoning and marinate so that the beet is still a beet. I sound like such a health/hippie nerd right now. Don't worry, I am aware of it.
The avocado salad - same thing but it has more of a bold flavour to it - using umeboshi vinegar, which is quite salty but good salty! Don't know how they do it but 99% of the time they have perfectly ripened avocados. I only say 99% because one time out of 50 visits, I got a hard avocado.
Here is a picture of my plate which includes the beets, avo's, mushrooms, stir fry -
A lot of their food is gluten free, vegan, wheat free, nut free, sugar free... Including their dessert.
The Green Door has their own cookbook. I have it and have made the stir fry and the potato kale casserole. LOVE both. GOOD cookbook.
If you're ever in Ottawa, you have to go. I think even the biggest carnivore would enjoy it. You'd probably have to drag them in but once they're in you can stick a spanikopita or a fork full of the lasagna in their mouth. That way, their mouth will be too full to talk.
Check out their website -
http://www.thegreendoor.ca/
2 comments:
The Avocado Salad is also my favourite... let's make a DATE to go THERE when we meet again, oh AND let's find out the BEST place for wings too... xo
Let's do it! For sure!
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