Encounter, the refurbished cafe clutched to the guts of the soaring, poured-concrete Hudson Bay Centre. It may not have great food or anything remotely close, but there are no lava lamps or funny sounding drinks, just mall music, caged food presentations and a cafeteria staff in abstracted chambermaid uniforms. We have seen the future, and it looks very... institutional

Come here to revisit your youth, for this is pure high school cafeteria. My plate comes loaded with two pancakes, scrambled eggs, skin-on roasted potatoes, greens in sweet vinaigrette and my guest's plate comes with thick-sliced smoked salmon. Terrific brewed coffee too, better than any cafeteria caffeine.

Like a typical cafeteria, Edibles is packed by noon with people eating big plates of food. Seems like brunch, when you think about it, is really just lunch with eggs. But fun and retro even though they will try to tell you it's hip. This very institutional cafeteria is consistently full of wealthy roast beef sandwich eaters, and The Bay employees, and folks that got lost on the 5th floor. Have a burger here one day, and a coke. Hell, have them throw some canned gravy on your fries. You won't like it, but for some unknown reason you'll be back next week to do it again. - A.J.