By Anne DesBrisay

The back and forth with a buddy when weighing options for a lunch pick can go like this: “So, what’s new and interesting? Say, have you tried…? What about that place we saw beside the place we went to last time…? Where did we go last time…?”

“Or shall we just meet at Thyme & Again?”

In the quest for the new and the newfangled, it’s easy to overlook the tried and true treasures of a neighbourhood. Now in its 23rd year, owned by the delightful Sheila Whyte, Thyme & Again has stood the test of time. Its lunches are easy, tasty, affordable pleasures.

We agree to meet early to snag a table in the autumn sun.

A soup ‘n’ sandwich lunch is not what you need in July. But come fall, when the light leaves us and the wind has a wintry edge to it, the duo delivers big time. The winner was the roasted chicken club with good meaty bacon on home baked bread, the assembly grilled, served with a pile of slaw, a Dill pickle, and paired with a bowl of roasted pumpkin soup frosted with a foaming maple crème fraîche. Enjoyed in the sunshine on Thyme & Again’s sidewalk patio, still delivering in mid-October. Pretty nice.

Cost: $9

Open: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ;Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thyme and Again, 1255 Wellington St. W., 613-722-6277.