Local Review: Heat n' Eat Meal Co. in Shallow Lake
Our local food reviewer shares her experiences with chef-prepared fresh and frozen meals from Heat 'n Eat.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
A restaurant is a risky business, even in good economic times. Recent years have been even more challenging, especially in smaller urban and rural areas like ours. Fortunately, professional chefs ā and even some start-up amateurs ā tend to be resourceful, using whatever venues make sense for their offerings. Witness the goodies we can find at the Owen Sound market any Saturday.
After the pandemic made dining out hazardous for a while, one local chef pivoted to take-out and catering, creating a menu that looks nothing like any fast-food outlet in the area.
Heat nā Eat on the main thoroughfare of Shallow Lake covers fresh and frozen entrees like Iād expect to find in an independent mid-range restaurant. With the add-ons of appetizers, soups and desserts, the pressure of cooking meals on a busy day or entertaining simply goes away.
Any of the three frozen lasagnas on offer (beef, chicken, or vegetarian) are reliable staples in my household, all robust, cheesy and satisfying.
For these and other pasta choices, such as the pulled pork mac & cheese, you may need to experiment with the cooking instructions on the package. Whether cooked from frozen or thawed, they needed more time than stated for my oven, and I recommend covering with foil for part of the time or the top layer gets dried out.
The butter chicken and curried apple chickpeas come with basmati rice you cook yourself. Both are in a nice aromatic sauce thatās not spicy. The pork schnitzel was disappointingly dry, but most other choices have been fine once we figured out the cooking times.
The fresh choices vary from week to week, and even the frozen items are not all in stock on a given day, so itās best to call ahead if you want something specific. Even if you donāt call first, fresh meals usually take less than 30 minutes while you wait.
Our favourite from the fresh list is Pad Thai, which comes in chicken, seafood or vegetarian variations, all in a nutty sauce with fettuccine.
Beyond entrees, there are burgers, sandwiches and pizzas for fresh take-out, plus an assortment of fresh or frozen soups. Once you decide on your must-haves, itās worth browsing the freezers and pastry counter for something youāve never tried.
Heat nā Eat has a full catering menu for small to large events and will consult on a custom selection. Lots of gluten-free options in stock most of the time, and some vegetarian. Many items come in various portion sizes.
Heat n' Eat Meal Co. Inc., 291 Princess Street, Shallow Lake, (519) 370-8010. It is not wheelchair accessible.
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The āTiny Tummiesā meals are great to stock a seniorās freezer š