St Boniface Hospital Atrium

St Boniface Hospital Atrium Cafeteria
409 avenue Taché 

2017-02-08

Unfortunately, we quickly reach the age where we spend more time in hospitals than we want, and as we continue to age, the amount of medical care time increases correlatively.  Associatively, I’ve eaten more hospital food in the last couple of years than anyone should.  Unfortunately, you don’t always have the time to run to a nearby diner so you settle for whatever’s on hand.

Here at St. Boniface, the staff tell me that the emergency of the week involves the supplanting of the Tim Horton’s with Robin’s.  Neither a Horton nor a Robin fan, it makes no difference to me.  Often, the house coffee tastes superior to both of these franchises anyway.  Alas, Robin’s has a complete monopoly here, including the atrium shop and what’s served within the main cafeteria. 

Moreover, Robin’s claws reach into the food counters as well, giving the diner no choice for sandwiches.  When you go to any bakery, you see different kinds of bread, suited to almost any taste.  Robin takes great care in selecting which bread they use, which happens to be the smallest loaves available—smaller loaf = smaller sandwiches = less filling = less overhead.  My entire sandwich, all crust included, measures a meagre 8.5 cm (3.5”) across the edge.  You can also witness by the photo that the stuffing does not heap.

Although small, this sandwich delivers some good punch.  The dressing tastes velvety smooth, deliciously rich, and nicely contrasted by big chunks of chicken.  Despite the appearance, the wheat bread tastes soft and fresh—too bad the romaine lost its crispness due to age.  I love the tiny bits of celery, which always provides a nice, fresh crunch. 

For salad choice, they offer a fair selection, including quinoa salad.  I love quinoa.  Quinoa provides one of the greatest and healthiest conduits to soaking and sopping up great juices and sauces.  By itself, quinoa tastes quite bland.  That’s what we have here.  The counter offers packaged salad dressing but sorry, I want my quinoa to embrace the flavours of great gravies—not ranch dressing.  Consequently, this quinoa salad leaves you wanting more, much more.  The red onions and almonds add some much-needed depth and texture but the ingredients suggest red peppers, honey, balsamic, edamame and mango as well.  I don’t see or taste any of those in my container.

In addition to the fridges, the cafeteria also preps on order.  Typical fare includes breakfast items, burgers and other assorted fast food.  Bad news:  for a hospital, I expect foods to be somewhat healthier than the usual fast food.  Since they list the calories on the menu board, it's easy to see that most items hold more calories than a Big Mac.

Exceptions come in the form of Greek selections, beside the fry-cook station (and minus the line-up).  They offer pork and chicken skewers, neither of which look very appetising.  This is exactly what I expect from a fast food counter:  food sitting under heat that's dry and overcooked.  The pork skewer is not just a little overcooked, it's solid, hard and bone dry overcooked.  As a plus, it has some nice seasoning and herbs to it but when it's this dry and dense, no one cares.

The hit here is the gyro, which is huge, healthy and delicious.  Coming in at under $4 and 400 calories, it's by far the best option on the menu.  The pita comes lightly toasted on one side, exactly how you want it.  The vegetables come fresh and crispy, again with red onions to add depth and texture.  Boasting plenty of chicken and lots of ooey-gooey tzatziki, this monster should fulfill most appetites.  

Hospitals have delivered some of the worst foods I’ve ever tasted, including bland cardboard that tasted worst than my packing boxes.  That’s not true here.  Although this will never occupy a spot in the gourmet league, it tastes adequate and competent.  I would not come out of my way to search this niche out as a dining destination but I won’t starve if I need to visit a hospital.

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