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| - Today was a day to drive to the Toronto Zoo but as I headed up the QEW I kept seeing signs for a long departed Buffalo favorite ... THE SWISS CHALET. Memories came rushing in ... I started to hunger for the dipping sauce and the rotisserie chicken ... Mm mm SWISS CHALET, why oh why did you ever leave Buffalo?
So, lots of zoo walking left a real HUNGER that needed to be satisfied once I cleared the traffic hurdles of one of the world's largest cities. I knew that I would pull off at the first exit where there was a sign saying SWISS CHALET.
This particular SWISS franchise was chosen completely at random but it was truly a random selection but it was my lucky day because this particular SWISS CHALET not only verified wonderful memories but it also was a restaurant with great service and it was spotlessly clean! What a great place to eat!!
To me SWISS CHALET has always brought back memories of CHICKEN meals that were great!!! So, tonight it was all about the bird!
The starter was a small order of wings with SWISS CHALET barbecue sauce to be followed by their homemade chicken soup, and then a quarter chicken with mashed potatoes and a biscuit. Plus bottomless 7-UP (Another memory brought back!).
This restaurant has a pick up area for those who are having an easy dinner at home that is out of the way from a nicely arranged restaurant. Having just eaten at a restaurant whose tables were just set out I appreciated the ambiance of this SWISS CHALET.
Five stars does not represent perfection so hidden in the mix was an eh moment, which is appropriately Canadian ey?
The wings .... The wings were tiny and not crispy. The barbecue sauce had a nice flavor but the wings just didn't do it for me.
However, the homemade chicken soup .... I swear I could hear Barbara Streisand singing MEMMMMRIES because with each spoonful of this delicious soup I was transported back in time more than 30 years. This is really good homemade chicken soup loaded with chicken!! My only suggestion to the powers that be at SWISS CHALET ... Skip the pasta or don't cook the soup with the pasta in it because the pasta turns to mush but in this delicious chicken soup there were only a few pieces of mushy pasta so it wasn't a problem (Most kitchens understand that the pasta should be prepared el dente and then added to the soup just before serving.).
The main meal ... GIVE ME THE BIRD!!! Actually at Swiss Chalet it's all about the sauce! But, first the bird ... My quarter chicken all white had crispy skin and juicy hot meat. Of course at THE CHALET you dip and into the sauce it went and I was jumping up and down for joy in my seat (Alright, I was swaying a little bit because if I had jumped up and down the table would have flipped over.) because the blend of tastes was exactly what I remembered from my past eating experiences at Swiss Chalet in Buffalo and now I realize I miss the tastes (Why oh why did they close their Western NY franchises??). The accompanying roll was a really great tasting roll by itself with some butter on it but oh no this roll was meant to be dunked in the Swiss Chalet Sauce. Yes, I needed more sauce ... And the very friendly waitress delivered. I ordered a side of mashed potatoes because I seemed to remember a really yummy gravy and YES BABY I was satisfied again. But my word of warning for those of you without a longing for past Swiss Chalet mashed potato and gravy experiences ... The gravy is a bit on the salty side but who really gives a CLUCK because you can wash the salt down with your bottomless 7-UP!
Believe me as I drove down the Canadian Expressway back to the States I was watching for SWISS CHALET signs because to me it's worth a trip through customs, a bridge fare, and gas costs to get at this incredible chicken.
And, if you live on my side of the border at least until after the November elections, you get the bonus discount that our currency is still worth more than theirs so the cost of the meal immediately goes down by about 20%.
So, for me with my nostalgic heart there is no doubt that on this night at this randomly selected Swiss Chalet location I experienced FIVE STARS ... Take away the nostalgia and perhaps the grade might slip to four but it was still a meal and dining experience to crow about at a very reasonable price, which is then discounted thanks to our American economic system!
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