Glow Fresh Grill

Shawn and I went for dinner at Glow Fresh Grill at the Shops at Don Mills.

The whole philosophy behind Glow is "eating clean, eating well, and doing it right on a consistent basis." Instead of the typical bread basket with butter, we were presented with thin slices of raisin toast and three different spreads: spicy carrot, black olive, and butternut squash. My personal favourite was the olive, though the spicy carrot came in a close second. They were both oddly addictive, and the waiter ended up giving us another bowl of bread since we demolished the first one in about two minutes (I single-handedly demolished the second bowl of bread, because I couldn't just waste those delightful spreads). The butternut squash was kind of bland, but our waiter did emphasize that everything they make is fresh with no additives, preservatives, or synthetic colour... and well, butternut squash is kind of a bland on its own.

I ordered the lobster mac and cheese as my main course, though it is listed under starters. I didn't know how small the portion would be, otherwise I would have ordered something else or at least another starter with it. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised, though, since it was $14, and how many dishes that include (real) lobster are ever that cheap? This is where the "eating clean, eating well" philosophy comes in, 'cause this mac and cheese contains no butter or cream. It does consist of aged cheddar and gruyère, and you can surprisingly taste both flavours along with the lobster. The only problem is that it lacked flavour overall. I guess I never realized how much mac and cheese relied on butter and cream to taste so delectably delicious, because while Glow's version was good, it wasn't fantastic. The pasta was nice and creamy from the cheeses, and the breadcrumbs on top added a nice texture and flavour, but it was kind of... bland. I feel like it could have benefitted from some salt, at the very least. I suppose it's difficult to make a healthy mac and cheese that tastes amazing (e.g. fattening).

Shawn's shrimp pesto linguine was much, much better, with basil pesto and huge jumbo shrimps tossed in with olives, tomatoes, and feta. The textures worked beautifully together, and the pesto provided ample flavour without adding any salt. I love that Glow offers lighter dishes made with fresh local produce, so it's great for those who are more health-conscious. For those who are looking for richer or heartier dishes, this isn't the place. I think I made the mistake of ordering the mac and cheese, since it's a food that is meant to be fattening and Glow is more focused on healthy eats. Making a healthy version of a fattening food is usually a bust, as most can attest to. But the other pasta dishes and fresh seafood sound very promising.