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19 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,D ecem ber 19,2019 w aterloochronicle.cawww.auburnmountainhearing.com AWARD WINNING CLINIC Doctor of Audiology • 550 Fennell Ave. E. Unit 16 B, Hamilton 289-768-6167 • 723 Rymal Rd.W. Unit 500, Hamilton 289-768-8971 • 570 University Ave. E. Unit 905, Waterloo 888-907-1436 • 350 Conestoga Blvd. Unit B3, Cambridge 888-737-9976 • 168 Barton St. Unit 3, Stoney Creek 289-203-3256 • 1144Wilson St.W. Unit D203, Ancaster 289-203-3195 We deal With all insurance plans call today Book an appointment 888-979-7196 Can you hear that? shuttle vice free shuttle service Call for details New Give Yourself the gift of sound this year! SP C1 75 76 81 The relatively small area in and around St. Jacobs Market, near the merging of King and We- ber streets and Lobsinger Line, can be a very busy one on a Satur- day morning. And a little food hub has sprouted in the vicinity of the bustling area. Add in the eclectic mix of roughly two dozen food vendors that pop up a few times a week at the market, the popular Jack's Family Restaurant, the inimita- ble Crazy Canuck, and producers and smaller food stores like Mar- tin's Family Fruit Farm and the Poultry Place, and you have tons of great options all within a min- ute's drive of each other. Now diners have another great gastronomic choice: Kara's Market Café, the current concept of Gerald Kara and family, the former owners of Kara's Smart Foods when it was on Bruce Street in Kitchener. The store was a haven for people looking for amazing varieties of fruits and vegetables, which were sourced locally and from far- flung corners of the globe. The new café on Lobsinger Line is the charming and casual reimagining of the cheery family business. Sit in the dining room (it seats about 25 but is not a full-service venue) and you'll likely hear Ka- ra greet a customer with his sig- nature "hail-fellow well-met" gre- garious nature. Soon after, I saw the customer he was chatting with leave with three locally- sourced butternut squashes in hand. That's Kara, and that's the type of conviviality that charac- terizes the casual café. The food is just as refreshing. There are fresh juices, which were on the roster at his former location, along with homemade soups and a central display stocked with local produce, when in season. Kara says the grab- and-go foods and lunches are gaining popularity. Other dishes include sand- wiches, quesadillas, BLTs, wraps and salads. They also bake bread, muffins and cookies and have a smoothie bar. To order, head to the black- board - Kara loves blackboards - at the back of the store and order breakfast, take a seat and the staff will deliver. Try the pressed avocado BLT ($7.99). It's a buttery croissant that envelops some local organic bacon out of Wallenstein, a slath- ering of mayo, Romaine and local tomatoes. The ingredient that sets it all off is their homemade "Kara- mole," another generous slather- ing of which brings to the sand- wich the richness that can only be offered by the avocado. A large thin, crepe-like ome- lette ($7.99) is cooked on the flat- top and holds cheese, grilled on- ions and organic sausage. Ask for some mushrooms if you want. "It's a different omelette that's holding all the ingredients," Kara says. And, actually, it is truer to the omelette technique than the sim- ple fold-over that seems to be the quick-and-easy method that short-order cooks often turn out. Accompanying both dishes are unique fried potatoes. The lo- cal spuds are parboiled, thickly shredded, grilled and seasoned with kosher salt. "They're almost like a roesti," says Kara. There is, of course, one other signature at Kara's: you will still find the fresh orange juice that was a staple at Kara's Smart Foods. "We hope to introduce oth- er juices in January," says Kara, adding that there's fun to be had in good, simple dishes served to customers looking for local foods - and some personality. "We have a good kitchen and good coffees, and we're trying to incorporate good ingredients, es- pecially whenever local is possi- ble," Kara says. "We like to enter- tain people." Kara's Market Café is open Monday to Saturday for break- fast and lunch beginning at 7 a.m. Catering is also available. Andrew Coppolino is a Kitche- ner-based food writer and broad- caster. Visit him at andrewcoppo- lino.com or email apcoppoli- no@rogers.com. DON'T SKIP THIS DISH: KARA'S MARKET CAFÉ OPINION HOMEMADE 'KARAMOLE' KICKS IT OFF, WRITES ANDREW COPPOLINO ANDREW COPPOLINO Column The avocado croissant sandwich for brunch. Andrew Coppolino photo KARA'S MARKET CAFÉ 1217 Lobsinger Line, Waterloo, ON N2J 4G8 Phone: 519-206-0184 Website: www.karasfood.com/our-kafe Hours: Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. 519.658.9025 | www.grahams.ca | free in-home consultation 11 Queen street east, cambridge 25% off DraPerY & uPholsterY faBrics free shoP at home BuY2 get 1 free blinds, shades & shutters Book your appointment now for January and saVe the taX! www.kitchenerpost.calocal news | local business | local events | waterloochronicle.ca