Lending a Helping Hand

This past weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at a soup kitchen to feed the homeless. My friend's church helps out once in a while at The Scott Mission and he had promised to take our friend there and asked if  I would be interested in volunteering too. Absolutely!
I have never volunteered at a soup kitchen before. I have volunteered to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity and volunteered as a childcare assistant community programs for little kids in Waterloo but this was definitely a first time and was looking forward to every moment of it.
We arrived just before 9:00am and put on our plastic aprons after signing in. We were asked to help set up the tables. Everything was very organized and in its correct spot. While my friend and I set the tables, there was another group of volunteers cutting slices of pie to place at each spot at the tables. My other friend had disappeared into the freezer room.

Dining Hall

When everything was set and ready to go, Raoul, one of the workers there briefed us on how everything would flow.
10:30am: first round to come in
10:40am: start serving the main meal
11:00am: start cleaning up
11:30am: second round to come in
11:40am: start serving the main meal
12:00pm: clean up

Me cleaning away...what I do best haha :)

Simple enough. I was one of the servers. We all lined up in the kitchen and carried a tray of 6 plates out to the table we were directed to. The two people sitting at the end of the table would take the plates and pass them down the table. There wasn't much talking amongst the individuals and some of them were very polite. During the meals, there was a police officer standing on duty at the back of the dining hall.
When the first round was up, we started cleaning up and all the volutneers worked as a team to clean, wipe down the tables, wash the cutlery and dishes and reset the tables to get ready for the second round.
According to Raoul, there weren't as many people coming for meals this time because the government had just sent out HST cheques. Once the money ran out, then the soup kitchen would be full again.

Main Meal Dish

Kitchen with 2 huge soup pots

I watched as some of the individuals would go around and collect food from other plates left behind, some pouring the remainder of the soup into plastic containers, and putting the bread into plastic bags. This would most likely be their meal for later.

It is always good to lend a helping hand and to help others that are in need.

Munching on Toronto - Bier Markt | Free Times Cafe | Fynn's of Temple Bar

I heard a lot about the Bier Markt before and in my mind, I pictured an actual market with a lot of beer. I managed to get part of that imagination right. They had a whole binder of beer for you to choose from, and each item on the menu provided you with suggestions on which beer(s) would go best with the meal.
I ended up going on two separate occasions, once sitting on the patio and once sitting inside (it was pouring buckets outside and unless I wanted a free shower, I wasn't feeling the outside vibe).
During my first visit, we ordered a salad, the fish and chips and two Leffe's.

Belgian Cobb Salad with Flat Iron Steak

Bier Markt Fish & Frites

I think this is one of my fav beers now :)

I really enjoyed the fish and frites but I found the cobb salad to be a little too bitter for my liking. All in all, I was satisfied. On my second occasion to there, we kind of over ordered (I tend to do that when I'm super duper hungry - and end up having to doggy bag half of it).

Wurst Sampler for 1

Schnitzel Sliders

Mediterranean salad with Flat Iron Steak

Yes we got the Flat Iron steak for both salads because the steak was just...very very delicious.

Free Times Cafe. Nothing too special about it, it was a place my friends and I decided to just eat at because it was close to their home and we were just absolutely pooped from all the walking we did earlier and well of course hungry.

Combo Plate 3 Plus 3 Falafel

The food was mediocre, nothing out of the ordinary. My friends each got a burger, and they were pretty big in size.

I've already talked about Fynn's of Temple Bar in my Hunt for my favourite French Onion Soup but I wanted to make a comment on the Warm Goat Cheese Salad and their, what I believe is called, the 'Baconator'.

Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Smokehouse Caesar (aka Baconator?)

The salad was actually really good. The goat cheese was simply delicious and the salad was nice and light and complimented the cheese very well. I would definitely go back to have it again. I didn't have this Caesar but my friend did and a few other ordered it as well because its 1. huge and 2. it comes with a pepperette stick.
Let me know if you have been to any of these places before and if you have a favourite item that you absolutely love or hate.