Flavours of the Middle East

By Kacie Cooper

There are many students living in Windsor and because it is extremely expensive to go to post-secondary school it is common to find there is too much month left at the end of your money.

But since we all like to splurge, you go out and buy yourself a nice meal because you deserve it.

So let’s talk about comfort food. You know what I’m talking about – Mom’s home cooking. Soups, sauces and hearty meals that fill you up.

It’s hard to find a restaurant that serves this kind of food. There’s good food and then there’s warm you to the core, slurping steaming hot soup on a cold winter’s day food. Comfort food.

It’s especially hard to find a restaurant that serves good comfort food that isn’t from the Western Hemisphere.

That’s where Mira comes in. A sign above the alley-sized restaurant on Chatham Street reads “Middle Eastern Flavours.”

The restaurant is small in terms of square footage, but when you walk in the space is warm and inviting, with high ceilings, lots of natural light and warm browns and reds on the walls. The décor is minimalistic, but the wooden chairs and square café style tables add character and make up for the lack of decoration. The air smells of warm herbs and spices as soon as you walk in and the entire restaurant is very clean.

There are so many good things to say about this restaurant. The owners are very generous and consistently give complimentary items and discounts to students. The restaurant is less than a one-minute walk from the downtown campuses of the University of Windsor and St. Clair College.

For these weekly college food critic pieces, I have set out a budget of $10 to spend at various downtown restaurants and rate how much food I can get for my set budget, how good it is in terms of taste, how filling it is and rate the staff and restaurant itself.

Now, I’ll disclose, I have been to Mira several times before and I love their food. They are extremely close to my campus and have very reasonable prices.

I order a chicken shawarma plate which comes with rice, chicken, and a side of hummus and what I believe is pickled radish.

This plate would usually cost just under $13, but after I told the owner I only could spend $10 and I would have to order something else, she said she would only charge me $10 for my meal. The friend I was with ordered a chicken shawarma wrap which has lettuce, tomato, pickled radish and some other vegetables in it and it cost her only $5 despite being a huge wrap.

My plate was huge, I had a hard time finishing it. To top it all off, the owner brought us each a small bowl of complimentary lentil soup to eat while we waited for our food, which she’s done every time I’ve gone in there. She also gave my friend a free pop with her wrap as part of a student discount.

We paid and both left a tip, with our entire combined meal costs and tips equalling $20.

As we were leaving, the owner told us to come back soon and that she understood we are students and even if we didn’t have any money, to come back anytime for free soup. Who knew people could be so kind.

Ratings:

Food 9.5/10

Price 9/10

Service 10/10

Appearance 7/10

Overall, this restaurant receives a rating of 8.9/10, and it is a place I absolutely recommend.

Mira is located at 104 Chatham St. in downtown Windsor. If you live, work or go to school in the downtown core, this restaurant is a must try place.