Mar. 17, 2010 - Issue #752: Enomatic system
Revue
High hopes
Café Mosaics doesn't live up to expectations
The tiny, quaintly decorated hangout has become an institution in Edmonton over the years, well known for playing a loud, eclectic mix of music and for its proudly proclaimed motto, "Tofu Rulez." I've never quite been able to put my finger on it, but there's something nostalgic about Café Mosaics—regardless of the era in which one happens to have been born.
Perhaps this is why my friend—recently back in town from studies in Australia—immediately replied "Yes!" when I asked her if she wanted to catch up over lunch at the Whyte Ave landmark. "Oh, I remember that place," she reminisced fondly.
As we walked through the doorway I looked around the small restaurant—as is usual with Mosaics, most of the tables were already taken. We managed, however, to find an empty two-person table in the corner and we sat down. As soon as we were settled in, our server came over and dropped off some menus.
The young man asked us if he could get us something to drink. My fingers still frozen, I asked for a cup of hot, rooibos tea. "We're out of rooibos," he matter-of-factly replied. A bit disappointed, but still chipper, I opted for some green tea ($2.50) instead. My friend quickly asked for the same.
A few minutes later, our server came back empty-handed: he'd already forgotten what kinds of teas we wanted, he unapologetically explained. We cheerfully reminded him, and he came back a couple of minutes later—teas in hand—and asked if we were ready to order.
Craving something warm, my friend and I ordered a plate of vegan spring rolls ($8.50) to start. For my main course, I ordered the vegan loaf ($13.95). My friend, meanwhile, opted for the falafel with a side of vegan tomato garlic soup ($11.95). This, after finding out that the only soups available that day were the "tomato soup" and the "vegan garlic tomato soup."
Before I finished chuckling over the not-so-diverse soup choices though, our server came back out with the spring rolls, still piping hot. I quickly snatched one of the steamy rolls off the plate, and dipped it in the thick, sweet, plum sauce. A grin spread from one eye to the next as I happily crunched the perfect little morsel in my mouth.
My friend and I devoured the spring rolls in record time, but before we were even done polishing them off, our server plopped down our entrées, refilled our teas, and quickly dashed off.
I looked around the restaurant to see if perhaps he was in a hurry to check on the other tables, and was surprised to see that there were actually only two other groups still in the restaurant, and that, no, he was actually just in a hurry to text message someone on his phone.
I looked down at my vegan loaf and frowned. The huge, thickly-sliced, dill potatoes that came with it were burnt around the edges. Popping one of them in my mouth though, I was pleasantly surprised as it melted away on my tongue. The flavour had not suffered one bit. My friend, noting that she doesn't usually like dill, tried one as well. "That's actually pretty good!" she beamed.
My vegan loaf came with a salad as well, so I gave it a try. The salad's viscous, raspberry vinaigrette definitely hit the spot, but I had no idea what to do with the two enormous rings of purple onion placed atop the salad, nor was I too pleased with its lack of any real vegetables. Save for a thin slice of cucumber and a lonely little piece of tomato, the "salad" was just cabbage and lettuce.
Brimming with anticipation, I moved onto the vegan loaf itself and was less than impressed. A bland mix of breadcrumbs, tofu and random bits of vegetables, the loaf was much too dry, and the small amount of mushroom gravy that topped the loaf did little to add much-needed moisture and flavour to dish.
My friend reported much of the same of her falafel: the giant chickpea "meatballs" inside the pita bread were on the bland and dry side, and the chef had been way, way too skimpy on the tzatziki sauce. Her soup was a dull-tasting paste, close in consistency and taste to garlic-flavoured ketchup. She was not impressed, and it showed, as she didn't even finish half her dish.
After what must have been a 40-minute disappearing act, our server finally came back to the table to ask if we were all done. At this point, my friend was a bit morose, and I was a bit stuffed, but we decided to try and end things on a sweet note and ordered Café Mosaics' famous vegan chocolate cake ($5.95) for dessert.
Quick as ever, our server brought an enormous slice of the cake back to the table. Opinions on the cake—moist, fluffy, drizzled with chocolate sauce, and topped with strawberries—were divided. My friend loved it, but after a few bites insisted she was much too stuffed to have another forkful. Meanwhile, I was impressed with the texture of the cake, but not so much with the flavour, which I found went from being overly sweet to bland and homogenous after just a few bites.
Flakes of actual chocolate inside the dough would have done well to break up the homogenous monotony of the cake, I thought to myself. Adding some raspberries or some other tangy fruit to the topping would have brought a wonderful bit of bite to the overly sweet cake as well.
Pushing my wishful thinking aside, I half-heartedly finished the cake off and paid the bill. As my friend and I walked back out into the cold though, I quietly wondered to myself if nostalgia is sometimes better left as nostalgia. Perhaps, I thought, this is one memory worth leaving in the past. V
Mon – Fri (11 am – 7 pm); Sat (10 am – 8 pm); Sunday Brunch (11 am – 2:30 pm)
Café Mosaics
10844 - 82 Ave, 780.433.9702
More info about Café Mosaics →
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