By Amy Van Veen (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 28, 2012
33758 Essendene Avenue
Abbotsford, BC
604-853-2425
Prices: up to $33
Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
A Canadian grill, you say? Well, all right. I can buy that.
The amount of seafood featured on the dinner menu showcases the pride and joy of West Coast cuisine. Their excellent dinner menu is leaning on the side of $33 of the spectrum, but the rest of their menu—especially the lunch size options—is $15 and under. It should be noted, too, that a lunch size version of their rice bowls required a take-home box.
The main portion of the menu includes lunch size options of sandwiches, pastas, salads and rice bowls all for under $15. There are also some other goodies like perogies and chicken strips for around $12 and poutine—a classic part of any Canadian grill menu—for $6.50.
As much as their dinner specialty menu may make me hide my wallet, the appetizers make my mouth water – bacon-wrapped steak chunks and grilled asparagus with bacon? I am definitely returning for more.
Additionally, this Canadian grill serves local Domaine de Chaberton wine – a choice Fraser Valley option.
For those who also have that frustrating gluten-free diet that makes them feel like the downer in a group of friends deciding where to eat, choose Mitch Miller’s. Their menu, as large as it is on its own, also includes a variety of gluten-free options including, surprisingly, gluten-free gravy.
Upon entering this local restaurant overlooking the intersection of Essendene and Montrose, one feels like part of the Abbotsford community. It’s easy to see Abbotsford as a collection of isolated neighbourhoods or a place where commuting students pass through for a quick bite before and after classes, but the historic downtown has its own rhythm. There’s the martial arts place across the street, Hemingway’s offering a haven of used books and that bench sculpture with three men. These are the things people know and recognize about Abbotsford’s downtown – and Mitch Miller’s is a major part of that.
It’s one of those restaurants where you can dress up and have a glass of wine at the candlelit tables, or you can stroll in wearing jeans and work boots and get a satisfying meal. It’s without pretense but full of character. The servers offer friendly conversation, the music offers a classic playlist that you find yourself singing along to without realizing it, and the presence of a Christmas tree is actually appreciated instead of despised.
Their food, though, takes the cake. I ordered the tomato coconut curry rice bowl and it was like a flavourful embrace of quality goodness. The pyramid of curry soaked, freshly steamed vegetables sits there like a work of art – a delicious work of art. A big pet peeve of mine is when restaurants skimp on vegetables – that’s the good stuff! But this rice bowl gave me more than enough nutrients for my daily serving.
Whether it’s a lunch size serving of deliciousness or a bowl of alcohol infused ice cream—such as champagne and strawberry—Mitch Miller’s has something to offer everyone and anyone.
