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| - Ah National - I still remember how excited we were to find out a craft beer bar was opening just a block & a half away. Then I remember the acute disappointment we felt when we discovered that knowledgeable beer fans were not National's target market. Who is National on 17th's target customer? Well, let's just say that the real reason Melrose Cafe had to close was that, surprisingly, there is not an infinite supply of douche bags on the Red Mile, & Melrose couldn't survive on National's leftovers.
But anyway, let's just skip over the early days of finding NO vegetarian meals on the menu (and finding nothing that wasn't a saturated fat bomb), the times we ran dry for ages without service, the times the staff knew nothing about the beers on tap, & even the time we thought would give them one more try & ended up with poutine without curds (& then when they finally brought me proper poutine when my partner was almost finished his meal, they ended up charging me twice!)
Yes, I've decided to forget all that because almost a year after what we thought would be our final visit, my partner & I started chatting with a guy at the Ship one night who commiserated with us on our bad National experiences, then said he was their new manager.
Jason & I really love craft beer, & apparently you have to be absolutely appalling for us to never return. We decided to give National one more try.
Good news! It has improved, somewhat. I haven't had a serious service issue in 2014, although we did run dry a few times (but nothing severe).
Food has improved for vegetarians. The mac & cheese is very yummy, and is so large I had to take half home with me. The menu does vary, though, so you never know how many vegetarian offerings will be available.
Last visit I had something called the "GLORY BOWL" described as "tofu, pea shoots, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, tahini dressing, brown rice". I asked the server if there were other vegetables in there (as that sounded a bit lean) & she assured me there were others, & mentioned carrots. So I ordered. But what she didn't mention was beets. I detest beets, as I am not fond of the taste of dirt. (I know the proper foody phrase is "earthy" but c'mon, dirt is dirt)
If you are going to add beets to a dish, you need to mention it! Diners need to know that if they want to stir their food to blend the flavours, one dirt-tasting ingredient is going to bleed all over the rest of the meal in the colour of bad '80s lipstick. You can't just surprise them with that! Still, the tahini sauce was not bad - you might like this if you like beets.
The beer is still excellent. The on screen menu done as a train station schedule is interesting but hard to read & often not accurate; I usually just stick to the paper menus. Those screens change to tvs during live sporting events. Currently they only serve North American craft brews - limits them somewhat, but on the other hand you don't catch them padding their numbers with crappy beers from anywhere (looking at you, Craft Beer Market). National on 17th wins my award for best lengthy tap list in the city at the moment.
Accessibility - yes, although the main seating is long picnic tables which I honestly find difficult to navigate with a cane. There are also tables with free standing chairs which would definitely work best for wheelchairs. Bathrooms are out the hall on the main floor & I believe they are wheelchair accessible (will check & update next time I visit)
Good patio around the corner of 17th Ave & 5th St SW. They also have heaters for cooler nights. Shaw Open is available for Shaw customers; otherwise there is no wifi.
I am putting this on my Vegetarian Friendly in the Beltline List for now but I may have to remove it depending on how the menu changes in the future. I may also have to update this review to more stars if my 2014 experience continues, but at the moment I am still wary after being burned so many times.
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