Blogger: Cynthia Bragg

Any parent who has a picky eater will appreciate this blog.  When I was pregnant I read every day, watched every documentary, planned very carefully all the ways in which I would raise my wonderful little child.  She would be sweet and kind, a lover of animals and she would be a good and healthy eater.  I myself was a picky eater, as my mom would attest as she tirelessly worked every lump out of her mashed potatoes before I would eat them.  Luckily for me I grew out of this!  I remember the day I sat at my Aunt Judy's kitchen table, not long before my little treasure was born, and recounted how my daughter would eat all vegetables, because I had found out the secret in some documentary I had seen.  And my lovely Aunt, who always tells it like it is, laughed and told me in no uncertain terms, that my child would decide if she would be picky or not.  And decide she did! The Anti-vegetable-atarian was born.

As many a parent can attest, a picky child can make dining out difficult, always ending up in the restaurant with the crayons, the all you can drink soda pop, the french fries and chicken nuggets on the menu.  Don't get me wrong, we enjoy these as well, these are important institutions of family dining!  But now that the Anti-V is 10, I'm gently nudging her to have new experiences.  Such was the case on a recent girls day out, when I ignored her request to go to Wendy's and chose a restaurant by another "girl's name"...the lovely Jane's.

Jane's on the Common is a darling of the Halifax restaurant world, as readers of The Coast will attest.  It has been chosen year after year in various categories of the best of the best in Halifax dining.  I'm a big fan of Jane's.  As I mentioned in my "Taste" blog, like many of the restaurants in Halifax, Jane's is dedicated to fresh local ingredients.  Creations are inspired and service is impeccable.  And while there is no children's menu, my previous visits to Jane sans Anti-V told me that Jane had something my girl couldn't resist...a classic made special...Jane's GRILLED CHEESE! 

So off we went.  As anticipated, Anti-V chose the grilled cheese made with aged white cheddar and provolone cheeses, Sweet William's smoked bacon and served with Jane's own Tomato Butter, which Jane herself told us was her mom's very special recipe for homemade ketchup!  She's so sweet, that Jane, and so was her tomato butter...yum!  In the absence of french fries, a caesar salad with aged parmesan and house made dressing quickly became a hit, as Anti-V exclaimed, "This is the best food I've ever eaten".  I couldn't agree more, as I enjoyed the Asian inspired haddock cakes with garlic ginger aioli with basmati rice, stir fried vegetables and a hint of wasabi circling the dish.   

Smiling sweetly...don't let her fool you, it's Claire the Anti-V.

We finished with some carrot cake as I enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee.  I wondered if Anti-V thought about what was in the cake, because I barely got a morsel and she doesn't eat "cooked carrots". 

We had a delightful lunch, but as you can see, the table manners need some work!

Jane's is a small and very busy restaurant, especially loved for its brunch.  If you plan a visit, you may sometimes have a wait, but it's always well worth it!