Aroma Espresso Bar savour summer event!
When I received an invite to the Aroma Espresso Bar summer menu launch event, I was excited. I quickly glanced at the address on the attached pdf invite and I noticed that it was taking place at the Aroma on College Street. I hadn't visited this particular location. Fast-forward to last Wednesday. I was heading downtown from the north end of Toronto so I quickly popped the address into the GPS and went on my way to the event. What I hadn't realized was where exactly I was going.
I parked on a side street and stepped out into Little Italy. If you are like me and appreciate patio-dining, you need to visit this Aroma location. Tucked away in this attractive and unique neighbourhood, you'll find it right beside an old-fashioned Italian barbershop. Let's talk outdoor dining for a minute. If you care to take your cappuccino and salad outdoors, the patio here is right off of College, tucked to the side of the building where there is a lot of space to set up for a nice afternoon lunch. But that's enough about the venue, let's talk food.
The star of the menu preview was the Freekeh Salad. Shalit Foods did a demonstration. Their awesome representatives taught us about the nutritional properties of this new grain. Needless to say, it's been taking the health-food market by storm. Freekeh itself is a flavourful ancient whole grain that has been used for centuries now in Middle Eastern cuisine. Basically, the product consists of smoked green wheatberries that have a slightly sweet and nutty taste. It can appeal to many niche dietary needs. Freekeh is low in carbohydrates, high in fibre, rich in probiotics, vegan, and kosher! I really love it for the high protein content as well. I also love being able to tell my vegan friends about another great option that is relatively unexplored.
"We're excited to be among the few restaurants in Toronto featuring Freekeh and the only fast-casual in town to offer this trendy and tasty super grain as part of our Savour Summer menu," says Daniel Davidson, Manager of Marketing and Communications for Aroma Espresso Bar Canada.
The salad that's being featured features freekeh, black quinoa and sprouted brown rice, tossed with organic baby kale, tomato, cucumber, carrot, red onion, parsley, and DILL PICKLE! I was blown away by this flavour combination. The salad is seasoned with za'atar seasoning and topped with a creamy Mediterranean cheese made fresh from strained yogurt, called 'labneh'. It comes served with a housemade lemon and olive oil dressing, and it's reasonabley priced at $7.95.
This salad is available now, at every location in Toronto, including the new kosher Aroma on Bathurst and Wilson!
I highly recommend it. Pair it with a soup, sandwich, or one of their fantastic Israeli pastries for a light and healthy meal. Just looking at these pictures has me craving the fresh crunch that you get with every bite of the freekeh salad!
... A few treats to finish off a delicious lunch!
