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By Owen Williams
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"Comfortable and unpretentious"
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You can find this small tucked-away restaurant just two blocks west
of the Common Ground offices on Broadway. Upon entering the restaurant
I was handed a tiny cup of hot chai and was also greeted by two friends
who had just eaten and were leaving. Elliot recommended the ‘Ghandhara
Blues’, a roti roll filled with "fantastic" baked eggplant, tomatoes
and fresh herbs which also comes with spicy house sauce and a lentil
based soup called dahl.
Ross liked the ‘Lion of the Desert’; peas, paneer cheese and potato.
To my surprise Barbara and her daughter, Harmony came by for dinner
and asked if they could join my table as all the other seats were
full. The speed of service and availability of tables varies as it
is a small establishment. There are plans to have patio seating in
the summer.
Barbara ordered ‘Gandhi’s Breakfast’, a spinach, mushroom, and green onion roti. Harmony had the ‘Lion of the Desert’ and a ‘Rangoon Rain’ lassi, an exotic blended cold yoghurt drink comprised of yoghurt, peach, lychee, pineapple, banana, and coconut.
To drink I had a tall, freshly squeezed carrot, celery, beet juice
and a large chai. The chai is served in Persian glass held in a metal
base and holder. The chai is totally homemade, no pre-mix powders.
"We use fresh ginger, cinnamon bark, organic black tea, organic milk,
and a special spice that only the chef knows, it’s our secret ingredient.
Oh, and one other ingredient, love," says Rafeeq, the general manager
and a highschool friend of the owners from back in Edmonton, Alberta.
It’s my choice as the top Chai in town, seconded by Barbara and Harmony.
For main course, I ordered the ‘Tibetan Mantu. These are vegetarian
dumplings stuffed with chives, spinach and mushrooms, served with
lentils and garlic yoghurt. It was topped with eggplant sauce. Then
came the East is East Thalli. A thalli is a traditional dish found
over all of India. This thalli comes with dhal soup, roti, yoghurt
and either basmati rice or Afghan pilau and either organic lamb kebab,
grilled organic chicken or wild salmon, all done in various herbs
and spices, to complete the meal. There are plenty of options for
vegetarians, whether you are lacto or vegan. The food is all organic.
The restaurant is owned by Mustapha’s two sisters from Afghanistan who previously spent ten years in India giving the food its unique blend of cultures. Mustapha is the resident world music expert and did all the renovations on what was previously a grocery store. The dÄcor is creative-casual. There are homemade benches, strewn with pillows, some tree stump stools and beautiful rugs hanging on the wall.
"I like the atmosphere, it’s very alive. It brings in that element
of culture, it just envelopes you," said my neighbour Josette, a woman
from Trinidad via Ontario. East is East is a place where you are encouraged
to talk to your neighbours. This is definitely not the Ritz, but it
certainly is Kits. From plumbers to publishers, hippies to generation
"whatever", this place has special appeal. Comfortable and unpretentious,
great tasting authentic food.
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