The Appleseed Modern Diner

Done take out a few times from here. The first time it was a bit greasy. But the last few times have been great. Alittle out of the way but worth the drive. I love their burgers.

This is my first review ever on Unilocal,and I feel compelled to write because of the negative reviews for the Apple Seed.
The atmosphere is great — big open, airy space with high ceilings and a modern vibe. The staff is friendly and helpful. And most importantly, the food was great — come out fast and was very tasty. I had the cajun chicken burger with sweet potato fries, and it was excellent. The coffee drinks were good.
One critical note — the Apple Seed is open every day of the week… a critical factor in a town where most restaurants are closed on Sunday.
Since I’m staying in time for a little while, I expect I will be coming here often.

Recently opened in the Albion business park, just off of Westville Rd. and Exit 23 from the 104, Appleseed is bringing its modern take on the diner to the New Glasgow area. While I would have preferred to see them contributing to the revitalization of one of the local downtowns, I understand the flexibility that you get to create the space that you want in a brand new development. That being said, driving out to MacGregor Ave. to what amounts to a strip mall box isn’t entirely appealing.
The interior of the diner has forsaken the black/​red/​white palate of your stereotypical diner for a bold pairing of green and purple (same interior designers as BaKED?). There’s lots of booths, some tables at the far end and a long counter with purple swivel stools. Behind the counter is a large window into the kitchen where a man who I assumed was the head chef was expediting orders. Televisions above the counter displayed cartoons for the kids, and Sportscentre for the big kids. Judging how the eyes of my nephew and of other kids were locked on that TV, I feel like it was a good choice for keeping them occupied, if not entirely focused on their meals.
With the place nearly full just before noon, we were seated in one of the booths in the centre of the diner and it was only minutes later before there was a small line-​up at the door. The menu is a mix of some as-​advertised modern takes on diner classics as well as more small-​town-​friendly, traditional fare. The broad menu seems like a good choice as the clientele spanned the generations, which was good to see.
I went with the namesake Appleseed burger which comes with apple slices, bacon and onion jam, and smoked cheddar, as well as their sweet potato fries. I convinced, somewhat easily given their description, the rest of my lunch companions to get an order of their three cheese tater tots.
It wasn’t a long wait given how busy the restaurant was, and this was probably a nod to the skill of their chef expediting as well as that of his brand new staff on operating a well-​functioning kitchen. The tater tots came first, and looked woefully scarce on a large plate. They’re handmade so I generally get their sticker price, but the plating was a poor choice; stack them up in a bowl with a garnish and they’ll have people’s eyes feeling better. Appleseed takes their tots in a slightly different direction, using mashed potatoes instead of shredded and while I certainly couldn’t distinguish the number of cheeses in them, they were definitely quite cheesey. Lightly breaded before hitting the fryer, something with a coarser grain to give more crunch and some texture would be an upgrade as well. Panko those tots up!
My burger arrived looking quite nice, with melted cheddar on top of the apple slices and patty, and crisp pickles and veggies on the other half of the lightly-​toasted bun. The first couple bites told a different story, unfortunately; a story of a dry burger. I’m not sure if it was from overcooking or them using too lean of a meat, but it was not pleasant. The overall flavour was good, with the sweet tartness of the granny smith slices and the richness of the bacon and onion jam, but the patty spoiled all of that.
My sister’s fish and chips came with two hefty, golden brown pieces of fish and a big ol’ pile of curly fries. The fish had a thin batter, but it was still fairly crispy by the time I stole a bite and the fish was flaky and fresh tasting. I commented to everyone that it fell in that wide zone of «OK» fish and chips, as it seems that there are so few truly memorable fish and chips.
Dad’s large seafood chowder came in a good-​sized bowl without being over-​the-​top big. My sister thought it was too heavily seasoned with herbs, but Dad and I didn’t mind. You notice the herbiness on the front, and then a pleasant seafood flavour kicks in. The consistency was nice as well, not too thin and not too thick, it was a Goldilocks chowder. It came with respectable helpings of several fish and shellfish, as well as hunks of potato and carrot. A very solid bowl of chowder… in the figurative sense, naturally.
They might need some polishing, as many new restos do, but Appleseed is bringing some fresh ideas and a new business to area, both of which are needed in plenty.