From delicious breakfast items like shakshuka (I had my first there!) to soups (always comes with delicious baked-in-store bread), sandwiches and salads to their wide range of caffeinated drinks and pastries, Aroma Espresso Bar is one of my favourite places to grab brunch or lunch.  In fact, this Israeli-based eatery is popping up all over the GTA!  I’ve also been to one location in Manhattan.

The salad

Aroma’s salads are perhaps my favourite.  I’ve had their quinoa, chopped and kale salad among what’s listed and the best thing about them is that you can customize from a wide range of items like tofu and chicken.  Their latest addition is a freekeh salad.  Freekeh is the latest “it” supergrain, the new quinoa, perhaps.  It is an ancient grain that is low gluten (but NOT gluten-free) as it is harvested early and high in fibre.  It is also low on the glycemic index and high in protein.  It is great for anyone who has a minor grain sensitivity but is not Celiac or allergic to wheat.

Media were treated to a demonstration of how the salad was put together

I recently had a chance to preview and taste the new salad at a lunchtime media event.  The delicious salad consists freekeh mixed with black quinoa, sprouted brown rice as well as chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, kale, carrots, onions and labneh, a middle eastern cheese (you can omit the labneh if you are vegan).  The dressing is made with lemon and olive oil.  While the portion is a little on the big side if one is having any additional items (such as a sandwich), it is extremely light and perfect for the summer season.  For those of you who love Aroma’s chopped salad, this is a great alternative (especially if you want to add some grains to the meal).  The salad is available at all Aroma Espresso Bar locations as of today, Tuesday, June 9.