What a café should be
It’s a Monday in Stratford. The Festival’s stages are dark, tourists are few, and locals are going about their usual business. Across from City Hall, on the sidewalk outside Sirkel Foods, an A-frame sign lists the day’s specials — a combination of comforting and fresh, familiar and creative, much of them taking advantage of local ingredients.
I arrive just as the last breakfasts are cleared and the first lunches are ordered. Tables for two and four, and a few booths are filling up; the place is buzzing. It’s a small space, with Tuscan yellow walls and large canvases. Along the back, the pass-through allows a glimpse into the busy kitchen and marks where people congregate for takeout orders.
My companion pops in and out (she forgot to bring change for the parking meter) when another diner leans over and starts chatting. She’s a semiregular.
“Everything here is good,” she says as she takes her last sip of coffee, “And their bread is baked fresh every day.”
Her recommendations? The Dream-Wich ($7.95) and the Day’s Sandwich (tuna, $7.75). We continue chatting and watch servers flit around tables with towering sandwiches and vast pastures of salad.
My friend returns, Italian sodas arrive ($2.75 each), and we peruse the menu.
Sirkel Foods caters to the breakfast and lunch crowds with contemporary traditional and internationally-inspired meals. Some are old favourites, such as deli-sliced roast beef sandwich with horseradish. Others riff on the familiar, such as the day’s soup — butternut squash with maple drizzle and cinnamon sour cream. There are a good number of sandwiches (including a burger), several dinner salads, Asian-inspired noodle and stirfry dishes, and crêpes. Vegetarians and gluten-free eaters would likely be content, but those craving fries (or anything else deep fried) might need to go elsewhere.
The Red Pepper Hummus and Pita Chips snack ($5.75) featured
a flame-tinted mashed chickpea spread that was neither too thick nor too slack. The accompanying thin, toasted pita shards were dusted with an herby mixture that tasted of thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and a bit of garlic. Our Salad Rolls ($5.50) came with four plump rice paper bundles of fresh lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and rice vermicelli noodles, which we dunked in a runny peanut sauce. Each mouthful burst with sweet, savoury, cool, soft and crisp, as they should.
We both chose sandwiches for lunch. The generously portioned
fillings were held together by thick slices of fresh-baked whole wheat bread — thick enough to make a Texan blush.
My friend selected the HalfSandwich with Soup meal ($10.25). Her sandwich, the Dream-Wich (oven-roasted chicken breast, arugula, a thick spread of goat cheese, and a slather of red pepper jelly) balanced savoury, bitter, tangy, sweet, and had the spikyness of the red pepper jelly’s tangy heat. The butternut squash soup was sweet and smoky. My Toasted Brie and Apple Sandwich ($7.75) seemed to be their take on the grilled cheese (thin-sliced, cooked cinnamony apples, oozy brie, and lettuce). As I’m not a raw tomato person, I requested to substitute those slices with a smear of red pepper jelly. My change made the sandwich a little sweet, but it worked. Both meals came with a crisp, long spear of a garlic pickle.
We wandered to the cash register to review plates of homestyle cookies, scones, bars, and energy balls. My friend’s haystack-like Almond Joy ($1.77) — a coconutchocolate-almond treat — was better than the candy bar after which it was named. My Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie ($1.77) was thick and chewy and with enough chocolate to satisfy me.
Service was quick — perfect for those who have to return to the office or make the matinée performance. The staff worked as a team with various members tending to our table: all were friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable.
Sirkel Foods is pretty much what a café should be: A bright, vibrant, welcoming space. Friendly and attentive service. Contemporary and homestyle food that skilfully uses local ingredients. Just remember to bring change for the parking meter.
Assessing food, atmosphere, service and prices, Dining Out restaurant reviews are based on anonymous visits to the establishments. Restaurants do not pay for any portion of the reviewer’s meal. Jasmine Mangalaseril can be reached at https://twitter.com/cardamomaddict.