FFWD Weekly
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Food by Patrick Rengger Inglewood is one of those places that has been threatening to develop into quite a funky neighbourhood for some time. First the junk stores became antique boutiques and now there is a gradual increase in interesting restaurants and cafés. One of the latest of these is The Yard Café. The Yard is a bright and cheery café which is actually deceptively large, having a separate room out back for smokers. It also has a deceptively large and eclectic menu. Among the options for starters, which ranged in price from $5.25 to $7.25, were beef patties, chicken fingers and nachos. But it also offers more exotic appetizers such as Camembert and raspberry sauce, vegetarian bocorek and a mushroom melt stuffed with crab meat. My companion and I decided to split the melt and were instantly pleased and impressed – instead of the usual faux crab sticks, the dish was actually filled with real crab. The mushrooms and cheese were succulent and delicious, and though the crab itself was a trifle overcooked it was still a good way to start the meal. For main courses there is a positive cornucopia on offer. There are the typical offerings of sandwiches and burgers, ranging from $5.95 to $6.95, and the grill at The Yard offers both the expected – chicken breast, New York or peppercorn steak – and the unusual – curried goat, special jerk chicken and roasted goat in red wine sauce (all between $8.50 and $10.25). There is also an extensive and interesting selection of pastas, from baked lasagna to chicken sun-dried tomato curry pasta, and a fine offering of seafood dishes, such as Louisiana red snapper, poached salmon and oven-baked sea bass. My companion decided to try the poached salmon, which came with a light wine sauce, garlic, rosemary, lemon pepper and parsley ($10.95), while I preferred the exotic temptations of the roasted goat with congi rice and fresh earth carrot juice ($9.95). My companion made the better choice – as interesting as the goat was, and not all that bad, it was still only mediocre. I found the meat, which was plentiful, to be dry and stringy, while the sauce was a shade too glutinous for my taste, but perhaps I am simply not a goat kind of guy. The congi rice, however, was a pleasure and the carrot juice quite refreshing. The poached salmon was exceptional – light and cooked to perfection, with a fine balance between the herbs and the wine sauce. The Yard Café (1420 - 9th Avenue S.E., phone 237-9978) is a fine additon to the meal options springing up in Inglewood, and is good for both lunch or dinner. Given the amount of food and type of cooking, it is really quite reasonably priced. It is also wheelchair friendly and, at least for the moment, it is not hard to get a table.

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