There's a definite theme to this month's eats: value for money! Ain't nothing I hate more than stingy portions. All of the below fall in the sufficient to generous range, getting our greedy guts seal of approval.
Lately there's been a wave of Vietnamese eateries popping up in town! This one is the closest to my office and it's not half bad. Huge banh mi (the mini size will probably do you fine) sandwiches bursting with freshness. My nitpicks: while I like the crisp baguettes, the bread to filling ratio is slightly off, and the cucumber is definitely on the soggy side. That said - I've yet to get over to Viet Sandwich, but for now these are probably my favourite in town.
Although it's known as the Belgian beer café, De Post also does casual seafood really well. Our simple salt and pepper squid was on the peppery side (which I like) and silky like rice noodles - we couldn't eat them fast enough. The portion was just right for 2 as an entrée: generous but not enough to overdo it. But mussels are the star of the show here, and we ordered the Thai coconut curry version (our usual, it's the best). This time it seemed like the mussel pot had been sitting a bit too long - it was a busy night - but still passed muster. Fun surprise: tiny little crabs hidden away inside a few of the mussels!
At our local Indian restaurant - which is on the fancy side - we went for the banquet option: entrees, mains (four curries) and dessert. Quantity edged out quality - the meats were on the dry side - but everything was still reasonably good and hit the spot. And although I basically always have a sore stomach the morning after Indian food, that was not the case here. Win!
Two words: Messy yet incredible. My burger with chorizo patty and slaw was perfection oozing from every bite, beautifully tender and with hints of sweet and spice. I practically inhaled it all. Take more napkins than you think you'll need.