Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Downtown Burlington

My Dad, stepmom and I walked downtown to go out for lunch on Friday. The neighbourhoods around downtown Burlington are well manicured and pleasant to walk through. We went to Mikado Japanese Cuisine, located on 415 Elizabeth Street in Village Square. We didn't walk through Village Square this time, but it is an interesting quaint brick walkway through a collection of shops and restaurants. Its transformative atmostphere is so different than the surrounding streets that it kind of makes me feel like I've somehow transcended to Disneyland.

Upon entering this small, bright and sunny restaurant, we were greeted by the friendly and quite humourous staff there. The menu was enourmous, well priced, and had a large section of lunch specials. I ordered the vegetarian lunch special, consisting of avacado and cucumber roll, and also came with miso soup, salad, vegetable dumplings, and two other peices of vegetable sushi. The meal was attractively presented in a bento box, all the food was well prepared and delicious, and there was a perfect amount of food. The miso soup had wonderful flavour and was a nice way to warm up and start the meal. The sushi was quite nice, and did not at all have a fishy taste. I would definately come back here, the food was great, the service friendly, and the prices were very reasonable.


Next we walked to A Different Drummer Bookstore, an independant bookstore located in an old house at 513 Locust Street. Its no surprise how well known this place is, considering it gives the epitome of 'bookstore' feel. The visual displays are a treat, showcasing attractively arranged books with a plethora of unique covers. There are three floors, the top one being a small nook, offering you plenty of titles to explore. There is also a sunroom where you can sit and browse through a book, and there used to be an old cat that would snuggle up with you, who sadly died this year. The staff are knowledgable and this selection is unique and extensive, and they can also order in books that they don't have in stock. Even if you aren't shopping for a book, I would suggest coming here just for the experience of it.

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