Taste of a memory

Took a chance on a flyer I found stuck between M2's wiper and windscreen advertising a $7.90 set lunch at J's Bar and Grill.

Yes, I seriously needed a new place to eat at. Sadly, the place was dark and empty, with me as the only customer at lunchtime.

The set lunch offer was supposedly for any main course, but today it only applied to the beef gumbo (left). The set came with a starter onion soup which was a bit watery, but it was freshly made in the kitchen and not some canned cream of nonsense.

The gumbo was a nice surprise. The taste and texture reminded me of the vegetarian chilli I was fond of while I was a poor and starving student at Calumet College. It was the yardstick I measure all vegetable soups by -- not that it was exceptionally delectable, but that it was truly comfort food for a great price. It's a taste I've been looking for, but for many years haven't been able to find... until now.

Minus the beef bits floating around, this gumbo comes closest to a fading memory of some very good times.

Btw, Calumet calls it a chilli, but there're no hot peppers spicing it up. Instead, we help ourselves to the Tabasco sauce on the condiment shelf and drip to taste.