Quality and value...where have you gone?

I mostly eat a low carbohydrate and sugar diet for health reasons and feel good about doing so despite there being things I simply don't eat and others I limit stringently; it helps keep me fit, strong and healthy, looking trim and assists in managing the health issue I have a lot better. I miss certain foods but in the grand scheme of life it seems a small price to pay for a better life, healthier and one that, hopefully, is prolonged due to the efforts I put into eating healthily and exercising.

It can be a little challenging when eating out which I do a fair amount because I travel for work and am highly mobile for most of the week; finding low carbohydrate foods seems easy but so many places don't cater for it very well and that's problematic.

Recently I wandered into a cafe I have avoided for a few years due to a poor experience - rising costs for food that was diminishing in quality and (very) shoddy service - I simply went elsewhere refusing to give them any more of my money. Necessity however often rules the day sometimes and a few days ago I went in hoping I'd have a better experience but expecting not to - I didn't know the establishment had changed ownership and expected the worst.

That toasted sandwich above was what I ordered - half of it anyway as I'd eaten the other half prior to taking the photo - and...damn it was good! Sure, the coffee and sandwich cost me $24 Australian dollars (sort of costly) but both were good and, here's the cool part, it was off their low carbohydrate menu!

I was pretty impressed to be honest - that they had a low carbohydrate menu which has some great selections on it - and the coffee was good and the service...well, it was passable.

The sandwich was called a haloumi BLT, basically a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, on low carbohydrate
bread, with the addition of grilled haloumi cheese; they had some sort of tasty sauce on it too, I think possibly ranch dressing, and it was pretty fucken scrummy. (Scrumptious and yummy.)

It was my breakfast at 07:00h and kept me fuelled up until lunch around 13:30h and through a very busy morning of meetings. I was impressed, and pretty pleased to have found a place where I can call in knowing there's low carbohydrate options.

Finding value for money is increasingly difficult these days and with the added complexity of wanting to eat a certain way, a low carbohydrate and sugar diet, it often means my choices are limited. Sure, there's places that cater for it but they're not always convenient to get to so rediscovering a spot that is easily accessible and actually find out the food is good means a lot.

Have you ever rediscovered somewhere to eat that you have avoided for whatever reason? Do you eat a particular diet that isn't always easily catered for when out in public? Have you been pleasantly surprised by a menu item or the quality and value of food in a society in which those two things are fast disappearing? Feel free to tell me about it below.