Discussions

Has anyone noticed any food trends in Brandon or is there something you would like to see in the local bakeries/cafes?  
 
We are doing a major business project for school and replies would be greatly appreciated.

there is no place that offers no meat options, every restaurant you must eat meat or cheese. although, food free from animal products not popular in brandon, may be an interest in take out orders or premade meals

Waddle into any generic all you can eat establishment.  
Shove as much food down your gullet as possible. Untie  
sweat pants to enable you to shove MORE food into your stomach. Leave no/crappy tip, get up and waddle out.  
Solid trend since 1974. 82% of Brandonites participate.  
 

Franchised cheap microwaved food seem to be the trend around here. Or pizza and Chinese food.  
 
I'd like to see more ethnic food choices. The few we have are pretty good but I'm always in fear that they wont last around here!

This is what you get in Brandon. No place for meat free meals and only one authentic Chinese restaurant. The other ethnic restaurants are no where near real food i.e Mexican, Indian, Carribean nothing is so good.

Brandon has an extremely small vegan population. God forbid they cater to the largest demographic in the area. They are under no obligation to serve grass if that's not what most people want.

Cafes in Brandon with a liquor license. It would be nice to have a establishment that that offered wine, beer and some liquors in coffee/tea. As well as had an area for "one man bands" to perform, to highlight local artists. Similar to Joe black coffee house in Winnipeg, or even the park theatre.

love to see more ethnic options. Whether it be Thai, authentic Italian, Greek, Mediterranean (that offers shwarma's and donairs), would be a challenge but an awesome English style fish and chip shop, I know getting fresh fish would be an issue. We have too many of the "same ol' same ol'" restaurants/pizza shops/Chinese restaurants.

CRP said "Brandon has an extremely small vegan population. God forbid they cater to the largest demographic in the area. They are under no obligation to serve grass if that's not what most people want. "

Of cours you are going to see the majority of restaurants catering to the largest demographic, but there are some simple ways for restaurants to cater to people who have chosen different diets, or are forced to have a different diet due to allergies, etc.  
 
One simple thing that restaurants could do is to keep some gluten free pasta and bread on hand so that some of their dishes/sandwiches could be made gluten free. For example....if I want to order a BLT, and I needed it to be gluten free, all they would have to do is substitute the bread. Or if I wanted my child to have a gluten free grilled cheese sandwich, they would just substitute the bread. Same goes for pasta dishes where the sauce/other ingredients are gluten free, just substitute the pasta, and you've opened up a lot of options for people with gluten allergy.  
 
There are a lot of items that restaurants can keep on hand very easily to substitute to accommodate peoples diets.

We certainly have more than enough variety for pizza and fast food, that's for sure. We have plenty for ethnic food as well, but their problem is that they don't last. I suppose that's alright too though, as every few years we see something new, and gives people the variety they are asking for here in Brandon.  
 
I think we are lacking in basic "please all" restaurants with decent variety on their menu's like Olive Garden, or what used to be Gulliver's or Moxies, etc. We've got Aalto's, and the 34th St. bar and Grill is pretty basic, and even Montana's is pretty "please all", but other than that, it's either fast food, pizza or ethnic. That's a small city for you though. We just don't eat out very often, so we don't really get sick of what we have here.  
 

SparkyJones said "Lady of the lake has a stage area for small bands to play. Its considered a BAR but the Double Decker higlights local talent quite regularly and they serve coffee too. Simply ask a server for no meat or no cheese on what you might be looking for. Even A & W serves salad. Chilli Chutney has plenty of vegan options. Small ethnic restaurants don't last around here because no one wants to get away from "jim-bobs burger and fry buffet of happiness". Sabor Latino is amazingly fantastic Latin American cuisine. Tana Ethipoian(they don't even use cutlery), The Rollin Pin Chinese(try the dumplings), Sushi Hut(avocado mango roll just as one example of a vegetarian dish). TAMARA79 What more do we need? Red Lobster? Olive Garden? Cant really get more ethnic than that now can we?   "

Why this was addressed to me idk as I said the exact same thing you did. The few ethnic restaurants we have are good, but we could use more. In the past some have tried to make a go of it and didn't last which is unfortunate. Stuff had some good examples and there are countless more. Thai, Filipino (the one we did have didn't last long though), Middle Eastern, Jamaican, Cajun (not just one watered down version on the menu), even French.

As far as trends go I would say that in the last 5 years a number of restaurants and grocery stores jumped on the "sushi trend". We had a couple of sushi restaurants open up and soon enough the Chinese restaurants were selling sushi, too. Superstore and Sobeys have sushi made daily.  
 
I wouldn't call pizza or burger joints trends. They are just staples in this community that will always see good business.  
 
As for what I'd like to see here...I agree with the suggestion for Thai. It would be awesome to have a businessman bring in some cooks to start up a Thai restaurant. Mediterranean would be great, too. Authentic Italian with fresh made pasta would be a good addition and I think would be well attended by locals. It's less "out there" than my first two suggestions.

A good Mexican restaurant would be nice. I'd figure that with the demographics of immigrants recently, it should happen eventually.

I'd love a good Mexican restaurant. I guess there used to be one but I didn't even hear about it until it had closed. I live out of town so I need good advertising to hear about it...say even ebrandon!!  
 
Can't say there is much else I'd care about when we get a chance to eat in Brandon we either get a good steak, good sushi, or good pizza that we can't get around here. But I would like to go to a good Mexican restaurant!!

Is only open until 4 pm, same with the wild flower Cafe. The only cafes that are open relatively late are forbidden flavours and coffee culture. It would be nice the have a cafe that is open until midnight and serves liquors in coffee and wine, and desserts in a more quiet, comfortable, casual, relaxed atmosphere. As a student it's frustrating that there are few places to study when it's late and you can't focus at home. It would also provide an alternative to the bar/pub scene in Brandon.

HI all  
 
Has anyone tried the Dynamite roll at Browns Socialhouse ?  
 
This is a non meat dish.  
 
The food there is trendy but delicious and they have several dishes that are non meat.

I noticed a happy trend 18+ establishments free of kids. I love it, not everyone wants to eat a meal with crying kids. A cafe that had a liquor licence would be the bomb. I have lived in several cities some of my favourite spots were retro/ hipster cafes and wing joints. The wing joint had 50+ flavours of wings and about 30 flavours of milk shakes. Also loyalty things like buy x so many times get a freebie.

To respond to Jelly bean  
Yes Gluten Free has become a trend or fad but it is a dangerous one.  
Reasone : Lots of people go on a gluten free diet for just that a diet.  
However people with Celiac or a Gluten intolerance (myself) have to be carefull because it is not just a matter of changing the bread as you put it because of contamination with regular foods.  
Gluten Free is suppose to be prepared in a different food station that is not touched with other foods.  
An example of this when I was diagnoised with gluten intolerance I was told to buy a new toaster because even a single crumb of regular toast can make a person with Celiac or an intolerance very sick and I'm not sure a lot of these resturants understand that, with this so called fad diet.  
I hate to name resturants but Wendy's will make a person a gluten free burger (no Bun) put in a tray. They change there gloves. but is it prepared in a space that has not been touched by there regular food. (not sure). And there are other resturants that say they have Gluten Free foods but I don't take the chance because chances are there food is all prepared same place.

M's is celiac friendly and gluten aware. They have a dedicated prep space, toasters, pans the fryer is gluten free (hello French fries!!) and the food is strictly checked to be gluten free. The owner has celiac disease very severely so she (and her staff) understands the need for caution.  
 
This doesn't mean they only cook gluten free foods, they also have awesome home made foods with a generous portions.

Thanks for all the replies.  
In reply to divad, gluten-free stuff is something we had considered as well, however, we didn't know whether or not that is something that would pay off as we have no idea about numbers when it comes to Celiacs/people on GF diet in Brandon.  
I am somewhat aware of prepping food that's gluten-free as I know someone who is Celiac as well. (I do believe he trusts GF foods at Boston Pizza).  
 
If anyone has more ideas or suggestions, keep 'em coming.  

I'd just like to post this article for anyone that doesn't have a medical reason for being gluten free:  
 
Why a Gluten-Free Diet Is Unnecessary and Even Unhealthy  
http://www.muscleforlife.com/why-gluten-free-diet/

I would like to see a restaurant that had something interesting for kids as well as a good meal and maybe the hockey game on the TV for the adults.  
It's hard to get out with kids unless you go to McDonalds or sit in play structure at Huggy's

Of kid friendly restaurants in Brandon. Boston pizza, Applebee's and montana's all have kid menus and provide colouring for the kids. Alberts bistro has outdoor activities for kids, playtime entertainment has a cafe while kids can play, fun and games HQ is for kids, plus there are probably other non-chain restaurants that cater to kids also.

cosmo55 said "This is what you get in Brandon. No place for meat free meals and only one authentic Chinese restaurant. The other ethnic restaurants are no where near real food i.e Mexican, Indian, Carribean nothing is so good. "

I cannot disagree with you more: Sabor Latino, Tana Ethiopian and Chilli Chutney are all excellent restaurants. Not even sure what you mean by "no where real food". All three also offer vegetarian dishes.