This week I thought I would post something that I think most people are aware of. A place where anyone with virtually any craving can be satisfied for under $10. Whether you are craving thai, a burger or even a vegan cheap feed- the Java House on Queen more than likely has your fix.
The Java House, 537 Queen St. W, Toronto. Between Spadina and Bathurst
Located at Queen and Augusta, the exterior of the Java House looks run down and not exactly somewhere that you would expect to spend much money on food. But the East facing patio is a fair size, seating over 40 guests comfortably and the jungle themed wall is an added bonus.
The interior matches the exterior perfectly; quirky and run down. I suppose that along with being run down comes the question "is it clean or is it just character?" My response to this is "yes", the table I sat at had a worn down, but clean chair and a table that had been cleaned recently. The salt wasn't chunky and the top of the sugar jars was not caked from intense previous use. Looking at the cushions on some of the booths, the Java House did have me wondering...
The staff were very polite and extremely patient as I mulled over my massive amount of cheap food options. Toronto, consider this a total gem if you are looking to eat cheap as a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore.
I decided that I would go for a vegan option, as I have focused primarily on meat-related items and I do not want to feel like my vegetarian or vegan audience is being neglected. I decided upon the vegan pad thai, priced at $6.95. Totalling a mega cheap $7.85. Another cheap eat option well below $10, you could even get a soft drink with this one and still be under budget! Or a tip.
This pad thai came to me in an impressive stature. A very decent portion for the price paid! In this pad thai was cauliflower, broccoli, bean sprouts, rice noodles, carrots, red peppers, mushrooms and the sauce was very sweet and tasted like tomatoes had something to do with it. The half lime that came with it added some more flavour for those of you searching for an extremely small vitamin C boost or a massive flavour boost.
The flavour of this pad thai was okay, it lacked seasoning. Even with all of those mushrooms and lime juice, I still felt like it needed a bit more. I am not completely blown away by this dish, however I may be missing the saltiness usually gained from meat. Regardless, this a massive serving that left my stomach satisfied and a grin on my face. I didn't even mention the salad that prefaced this massive plate!
This salad was small, but not small enough to not matter or be mentioned. It was a simple romaine lettuce, carrot and an asian salad dressing. Now we are talking about value. A starter salad is something that you would normally have to order before your meal, they take care of that for you at the Java House. I love that.
Looking for a way to go out on a cheap date? The Java House came to under $15 for two meals without drinks. I prefer to drink water with most meals, unless there is a good beer on special of course. All in all, very pleased with this meal.
So lets get down to an at a glance view of how I felt about the cheap eats at the Java House.
All in all- the vegan pad thai at the Java House was okay. It was a great cheap eat and I didn't feel groggy afterwards. I loved the amount of food I got for the amount of money I spent. Maybe other items on the menu would be better. The stuffed french toast that sat across from me had me feeling some food envy!
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