Village Squire, 1980-04, Page 17One of the most appealing things about
the early Say Cheese was the atmosphere.
Antique lovers were lured in by the display
of old cheese dishes in the front window
(not for sale), while art lovers could browse
at the paintings and prints displayed by
local artists while they sipped their tea,
seated at small tables made from old
treadle sewing machines. Gradually the
restaurant expanded t� seat 30 to 35
diners, but line-ups were still common and
the overcrowding sometimes made it
difficult for customers to get near the
cheese and baked goods counter.
In its earlier days, the restaurant was
open for lunch and tea, from shortly before
noon, until 6 p.m.
As Corry Dear, the restaurant's manager
says, Say Cheese in its early days was
operated on a much smaller scale. The staff
were often friends of the owner and part of
the restaurant's appeal was the casual,
friendly atmosphere. Miss Dear said she
remembers combining visits to the market
with lunch at Say Cheese as a girl. The
restaurant's proximity to the market also
proved handy, since the fresh produce
used in many of the Say Cheese specialities
was just a few steps away.
A NEW LOCATION
A year and a half ago, Hilary Alderson
decided it was time to move Say Cheese to
larger quarters, and so the restaurant
relocated on Dundas Street, in the heart of
London's downtown. In addition to the
restaurant upstairs, Say Cheese now
features a much expanded cheese shop
downstairs, managed by Mies Graham,
yvhich features almost 200 kinds of cheese,
plus exotic teas and coffees, fresh herbs
and hydroponic kits for customers who
might want to grow their own herbs, and
tempting baked goods from six -grain bread
to carrot cake and melt -in -the -mouth
cheese muffins.
From the beginning, Hilary Alderson's
cheese -laced menus and salads and main
dishes made from fresh, natural foods,
proved popular not only with customers,
but also with the more discriminating
restaurant reviewers. Anne Hardy has
mentioned Say Cheese in her guidebook
Where To Eat In Canada for several years
In the years Say Cheese was located on
Talbot Street, Ms. Alderson tried a number
of experi ments - one was free jazz
evenings and another was once -a -week
vegetarian night featuring delicious meat-
less dishes like spinach lasagna and
vegetable casseroles.
When the restaurant's baked goods and
health food items proved popular with
customers, Hilary Alderson opened a
branch outlet - a booth called Say Cheese
Again - at Covent Garden Market. In
addition to cheese, customers can buy
fresh baking, yogurts, nuts, muffins,
sandwiches, and goats' milk products at
the market shop.
SPROUTS -AN OFFSHOOT
Another offshoot of Say Cheese is a
second restaurant, featuring take-out
foods, called Sprouts, "The Good Food
Company, at 221 Queens Avenue, in
London. This restaurant features "healthy
food takeouts" according to Corry Dear, -
items like pita bread pocket sandwiches
filled with green salad, homemade bran
and banana muffins, sandwiches made to
order, homemade soups and in the
summertime, popular yogurt cones and
shakes. Summer is definitely the busiest
time of the year for Sprouts staff, with
many shoppers and office workers popping
in to buy a lunch they can take to Victoria
Park.
Sprouts, named after the alfalfa sprouts
used in the restaurant's sandwiches and
salads, is clean, bright and cheery from the
white brick exterior with its brilliant green
trim to the counter displaying a variety of
salad fillings for the pocket sandwiches.
The restaurant also promises to deliver
lunch free to customers within a two block
area. In the summer, one of the
restaurant's staff dons a track suit and
T-shirt with the catchy logo Sprouty's
Sprinter, to run the paper bag lunches to
customers in the area.
Although the present Say Cheese is
much roomier than its predecessor, it still
features the same comfortable, relaxed
atmosphere. The walls are decorated with
posters and prints, including works by
London printmaker Rudolf Bikkers. The
dining area is divided into smaller alcoves
with ferns and other healthy -looking
greenery and the collection of antique
cheese dishes still has an honoured place
on shelves at the front of Say Cheese.
Staff hired to work at Say Cheese are
"on the outgoing side and care for their
customers" according to Corry Dear. She
said the staff try to make dining at Say
Cheese "a memorable experience."
Although the Say Cheese menu doesn't
feature items like french fries or hambur-
gers, traditionally the favourite dining -out
choice of the younger set, there are special
children's platters featuring cheese, bis-
cuits and other munchies popular with
kids. Also, Corry Dear said, quiche and
cheese muffins are both popular selections
by younger diners.
SLIMMING LUNCHES
Weight -conscious diners can also find
something to match their calorie conscious
guidelines - dishes like the summer
slimmer with ricotta and skim milk cheese,
fresh fruit and cucumbers, and carrot slices
served with french toast or a variety of
tossed green salads.
With the move to the Dundas Street
location, the restaurant's hours of business
have also expanded. Breakfast, featuring
treats like cheese crumpets and streudel
with cheese, is served from 8 a.m. to 11
a.m. The lunch menu, named the "Say
Cheese Wet Paint Menu" in honor of the
restaurant's transition period, features
everything from authentic Welsh rarebit to
salad nicoise, and is served from 11 a.m. to
3 p.m. Then afternoon tea is available until
5 p.m., and a supper menu, with dishes
like Swiss eggs, the popular cheese and
onion soup and quiche lorraine, until 10
VILLAGE SQUIRE/APRIL 1980 PG. 16