By Amy Van Veen (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: January 16, 2013
1356 Sumas Way, Abbotsford BC
604-855-3374 / 604-859-3364
Hours: Daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Prices: Up to $10
Do you ever feel like you eat too much fried food? AfterMath, sorry, Campus Lounge has a menu filled with burgers and fries that require several napkins. The cafeteria now has $2 curly fries that are delicious, but leave you feeling like you have ball of lard sitting in your stomach. What about something that satisfies without making you feel like you need a nap?
Enter Nature’s Pickin’s.
There are some days when you have an awkward amount of time between classes. Not enough to go out and check Sevenoaks sale racks, but too much to spend putzing around campus. And since it’s a new year and resolutions convict everyone and their dog to eat better, Nature’s Pickin’s is the most obvious choice. Plus, it’s five minutes away on Sumas Way – the perfect distance for that pesky class break.
Nature’s Pickin’s—what used to be Vitala Foods—has recently undergone a change of ownership and sits there, beckoning drivers with its fresh fruit and vegetable promises.
In the back of the store, amidst deli meats and samosas, sits a soup and sandwich corner where a handful of different sandwich creations are offered for $6.29 and under.
Farmer’s markets serving sandwiches? There are a few of them out there and it’s not like they’re anything out of the ordinary, but somehow buying a sandwich from a place that also serves fresh fruit, veggies, delis and breads puts an extra little oompf into the meal.
For $5.99 I got a California Lovin’ on multigrain with mustard, mayonnaise, avocado, lettuce, ham or chicken, tomato, cheddar and cucumber. If you don’t want the grains of the multigrain to show up in your teeth, you can also get rye, white or a wrap.
For those who require gluten-free options, Nature’s Pickin’s also offers gluten free salads. I got their roasted tomato garlic soup with chunks of tomato and just enough garlic to enjoy the taste but not too much that vampires run away from you.
In five minutes, I got a solid lunch that gave me some much needed nutrients to ward off cold and flu season while also satisfying me so my stomach didn’t sound off in hungry protest in the middle of an unresponsively silent class.
The bonus of this mountain-view market? Incredibly friendly staff. The lady making my sandwich also started up an easy conversation, keeping any chance of silent awkwardness at bay. The one who I paid chatted with me about the weather and the need for warm soup on chilly days.
And I left feeling better than I had come in.
