J Dee’s Market Grill is like a cross between a cottage and a sports bar. The wooden benches and counter, the fish tank, and the random street signs hold a certain charm.
They boast the best burgers in town but at $12 a burger, they’d better be good. We settled on chicken fingers, poutine, salad, and a cod sandwich.
The chicken fingers were made from fresh chicken breast, and were tossed in a thin breaded coat with light seasoning. They were piping hot and absolutely delicious. Not oily or soggy in the least.
The poutine was made with what seemed to be beef gravy, on a bed of thick-cut fries. The fries were delicious, but the dish would have been even better if they hadn’t used cheddar cheese strands.
The side salad was your average garden salad, but the homemade sauce, in my case honey dill, was surprisingly good. The Guinness-battered cod was tender but bland, although the tartar sauce was one of the best I’ve had. The burger/sandwich was too large to eat together, so I had to eat each half separately.
For dessert, apple crisp was the featured special. The apple was heavily doused in syrup and cinnamon, with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream on top. Presentation was a bit shabby, but the taste made up for it.
Rocky road mud pie was nothing more than chocolate ice cream cake, with loads of almonds and a very yummy chocolate crust.
Service was attentive, and the food arrived quickly, although that may have been because the place was practically empty at noon.
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The weather was perfect when I met my friend on the patio of Veg Out, taking over Jambalaya’s spot on Richmond Row. After a bit of awkward standing around while the staff (or were they customers? It was hard to tell) shared anecdotes and hugged each other, a server finally acknowledged us and showed us to our seats.
I settled on the Thai Peanut Power Bowl while my friend chose the Pate Sandwich. The sauce in my Thai Peanut Power Bowl was more like a red curry sauce than a peanut sauce. In fact, I don’t think I tasted or saw any hint of peanuts in the bowl. The chickpeas and sweat potatoes gave a nice texture to the sloppy mess, which rested on a bed of quinoa. The dish certainly could have used more kick, the sauce was bland and most of the flavour was from the sweet potatoes. I was disappointed to realize that this restaurant perpetuated the vegan reputation: blandness. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I thought that perhaps they did not want to put in too much sodium – you know, being health-conscious and all.
On the side, I had ordered a sweet potato cornbread, which turned out to be dry and tough and tasted nothing like sweet potato. I took half of it home in a paper bag, and when I got home, the paper bag was soaked through with oil. So much for the health-conscious defense.
For dessert, we shared a velvet chocolate cake. It was slightly more dry and crumbly than I’d have preferred. It was not too sweet, like the cakes of the “good ol’ days.”
Service was hit and miss. Sometimes the server would check on us twice in ten minutes, other times she wouldn’t come by for a stretch of 30 to 40 minutes. The washroom was small and cramped, but not anymore cramped than the rest of the restaurant. It has a homey feel, and the staff are certainly very welcoming. Unfortunately, I suspect the chef of this restaurant is also a family cook.
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