Greenavi was a great place to grab a cup of coffee and chill with a book, or do a few hours work with their free wifi. They also had lots of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friendly stuff available for snacking. I’m really sad to see them go, but if the note posted to the door is telling the truth, it was simply a matter of the owners wanting to move on to pursue other things. I’ll really miss this place. Curious to see what opens here next; with Just Us Cafe and now Greenavi having not lasted in this location, I have to wonder if yet someone else will try opening a cafe here, or if the place really isn’t suited to that sort of business for the long term.

Before I get to a quick review of Greenavi on Queen West, I’ll do a quick followup about Wild Thing. Remember that post I made a few months ago, mentioning their delicious looking panini and promising to go back and try one? Well, I finally did last weekend, and the results of that are pictured to your right.  I ordered the Brie, Garlic and Apple panini, which came with a fennel slaw.  The panini was delicious: simple cibatta bread spread with what tasted like garlic butter and filled with thick slices of brie and thin slices of apple, served hot from their panini grill.  The slaw was also really tasty. I love fennel so it really worked for me.  Two thumbs up, and reasonably priced at around 7 bucks.

Now, on to Greenavi, which opened at the beginning of the summer in the space vacated by Just Us. The owners at Greenavi seemed to want to continue on where Just Us left off, offering organic beverages and food.

The space hasn’t been renovated much since the new owners took over.  Sure, all the Just Us stuff is gone, but it basically looks the same as it always did, only with a different menu board.  This isn’t a bad thing, really, it’s more an observation. Clearly, the previous owner wanted to sell everything and get out of dodge as quickly as possible.

A quick glance at their product wall and display case tells me that they get their espresso from 49th parallel, other coffee roasted locally, chocolate from Coco Camino, and many of their baked goods come from the same vegan bakery that supplies The Big Carrot.  Not bad!

On my first visit, I decided to get a large latte and a coconut and sesame sticky bun, which I’d had before at The Big Carrot.  I eyed their menu of wraps and panini, but decided I was in the mood for something sweet.  The latte was a bit too milky for my tastes, but then, what do you expect when you order a large?  Next time if I want a big coffee, I’ll go for a cappuccino, or maybe just an americano.  That said, what I could taste of the espresso in the drink was nice, and it was a good-sized cup for the price.

On a second trip a few days ago, Rich and I discovered that they use 100% compostable/biodegradable takeout cups, which I’m a big fan of.  Yes, takeout cups still generate waste, but it’s far better than the styrofoam cup variety.

Another bonus: They’ve got free wifi.  I’ll admit that makes it a bit frustrating to get a table on the weekends, with students settling in to write papers or study, macbook plugs snaking around the tables to the nearest plug. But hey, it’s a niche that needs to be filled.  I think I may just join the students some afternoon soon and do some marketing work for my own job.  Beats sitting on my sofa at home.

Greenavi Cafe, 490 Queen Street West (a few blocks west of Queen and Spadina).  http://www.greenavi.ca/index.html

Upon sitting down we were immediately given a large jug of water with lemon slices in it. After our morning of wandering around Queen West on an unseasonably hot day, we were happy to get it. Once that was settled, we were on to ordering food.

As a former vegetarian who still keeps a mostly vegetarian diet, I was so pleased to be in a restaurant where I can order anything on the menu. As any vegetarian will tell you, it can get frustrating eating out sometimes. There are only so many times you can eat pasta or salad as your main meal, you know? Needless to say, I found myself having a difficult time choosing what to eat at Fresh, because the entire menu sounded delicious!

I ended up ordering the Urban wrap with a side of sweet potato fries. I felt a bit guilty ordering the fries, since most of the rest of the menu is very healthy, balanced choices, and fries are most certainly not one of them. However, one thing I have missed from Ottawa is the sweet potato fries at The Works, so when I spotted them on the menu here, I knew I had to try them. To go with my wrap I chose the antioxidant smoothie.

Rich ordered the kathmandu wrap (with an order of sweet potato fries, of course!) and the date almond smoothie.

Verdict? Delicious on all counts. The wraps were fantastic, flavourful, and filling. The sweet potato fries were crispy and well seasoned, and the perfect replacement for the ones I miss from Ottawa. Truthfully, these fries are even better than the ones from The Works. The smoothies were both great, although Rich noted that his was more of a dessert than a drink to go with his meal.

We’ll be back for sure. In fact, this will probably be one of our go-to spots for a quick meal when we don’t feel like cooking, since the Bloor location isn’t far from our house.

Fresh by Juice for Life. Three locations: Spadina, Bloor, and Crawford (Queen West). Lunch for two with smoothies, tax and tip, $40.