I love Le Commensal, a chain of vegetarian restaurants that has several locations across the province of Québec (and which I believe has recently spread to Ontario as well, with one restaurant in Toronto). They offer a diverse range of delicious veg*n dishes, served up buffet-style, in a cozy and inviting environment. My first experience with Commensal was in Québec City, right in Old Québec, and I was delighted from my first step in the door. They have salads and hot dishes and desserts and more! You pay by the weight of your food! Aaaaand they let you bring your own wine! Wicked.
Aside from their restaurants and offering catering services, Commensal has also branched out into the world of frozen entrées. Yes, we all know that I haven't had much luck with TV dinners in the past (see: ugly manicotti), but loving the Commensal restaurants as I do, I had highhigh hopes. And a couple of the entrées ended up not being too bad at all (I will try to review these at a later date). Sadly this was not the case with their Veggie Shepherd's Pie.
People, I am a sucker for comfort food. I love mashed potatoes, I love corn, and I used to love meat. (I have grown fond of faux-meat in its place. You know how it is.) Given this, and the fact that Commensal rocks in general, you would thiiiink that the shepherd's pie would be a sure-fire hit, no? Well, actually, no. I don't know if it was the particular soy-mix and seasoning they used, or perhaps the flavourless-ness of the mashed potatoes, or the general frozen nature of everything altogether, but it tasted pretty darn bad... Sort of blandly dog food-esque (not that I have eaten dog food, but I can imagine). Plus, this poop was expensive! It was $6-something Canadian (another mid-workday purchase for lunch) for a relatively small serving. I have willingly paid this on more than one occasion for Commensal's other entrées, but since this was crappy, it was kind of a kick in the face.
The shepherd's pie is at least good for you in many ways, with lots of protein and iron and calcium, though it seems to have more fat and sodium than other pre-packaged veg*n products. Also, I should note that it is vegetarian and not vegan. Overall, this ended up being a disappointing product from a company that I know can do better. Maybe if I had brought my own wine to work to drink with it, it would have gone down better? Something tells me that wouldn't go over well with management.
Product and nutrition info: http://www.commensal.com/en/produits/epicerie/repas_indiv_surgel/product41
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