It's still fresh

I've talked before about how vegetarian restaurants scare me (because of all the choice). Another problem that vegetarian restaurants can have is the "granola" factor (think "hemp-braised fair-trade tofu served with a side of self-righteousness). Fresh suffers from both of these issues: all items on the menu have multiple variants and they certainly bring the granolaness (you can order a power shake of organic acai & guarana mango). If you order the right stuff though, I've found you can have a good meal. There are three freshes (freshi?), we went to the one near Queen Street.

I decided that I would solve both problems with one stroke, by pre-committing to ordering the least granola item on the menu. Therefore, a quick glance showed that I should get the bbq burger with onion rings (the burger is served on a multigrain bun and the onion rings are quinoa-battered. I said "least" not "without")

The meal was quite tasty. I'm not a cole slaw fan, so I gave that away to those who were. The onion rings (two, the minimum possible number to qualify as onion rings, plural) were very nice, the quinoa lent an extra crunch. I honestly couldn't tell you what the burger tasted like, it was more of a canvas for which the vegetables, garlic mayo and bbq sauce were painted on. Although it seems like there might have been too much stuff, everything in the burger fit between the two buns. So many burgers do not pass this simple test. All in all, it was a good meal and I was quite content as I ate my meal and sipped my beer (organic, natch).
fresh on crawford
894 Queen Street West, Toronto