Seriously, best breakfast sandwich of my life:
Colossus $7
If I would not get fat, I would pay $7 to eat this everyday of my life. Tomato + onion + cheddar omelette and 2 bacon slices in between french toast with MAPLE SYRUP.
As I was eating this, hot, gooey syrup was running down my arm. Seriously did not care. I’m pretty sure I got some burns from it. Sooooo good.
Salty + sweet = deliciousness.
MIGHTY SKILLET
Roaming Food Truck
I’ve heard so many good things about brunch at Diary Lane Cafe, that we finally made our way down there one Sunday morning. It’s a little out of the way, but it makes for a nice walk on a nice, warm morning. There was a little line when we got there, but it wasn’t too bad. I think we got in after waiting 15 minutes…
The bf got the Triple Double. Seemed a little excessive…but, to each his own…
TRIPLE DOUBLE $15.75
This was SO much food. He barely finished it. He definitely loved all the protein. The breakfast plate came with THREE Sylvan Star eggs, Broek Pork sausages, Spolumbo’s chicken sausages, and local naturally cured bacon. And on top of all that, there were local red potato hash browns and Engel’s toast. Crazy. We both could’ve definitely shared this.
I got the back bacon and Sylvan Star Gruyere stuffed french toast. I have this love hate relationship with french toast. I hate french toast but I love it when it’s stuffed with salty goodness. French toast is always a hit or miss for me. For example: awful french toast experience here.
Back Bacon & Sylvan Star Gruyere Stuffed French Toast $12.75
This one was…drum roll…GOOD! I loved the little details like the chives on top. and the bread wasn’t too soggy. Also, loved the local red potato hash.
The rest of the menu looked delicious too. It also serves lunch and dinner, will have to come back and try it some other time~
DIARY LANE CAFE
319 19 Street Northwest
Calgary, AB T2N 2J2
(403) 283-2497
Big Taste @ River Cafe.
Course 1
The first course was a light starter consisting of Polar Bluff carrots and Old West Ranch Buffalo Mozzarella. I love love love buffalo mozzarella. I could eat buckets of this stuff. Anything with buffalo mozzarella = good in my books. And really, you’d have to try pretty damn hard to mess this baby up. This light salad was served with roasted carrots, pickled carrots, crisp carrots, toasted farro, and arugula.
The entree from the Big Taste menu was a plump Noble Farm Duck Cotechino Sausage:
Big Taste Menu
That beauty of a sausage was served with braised french lentils, roasted apples, buttered cabbage, and a preserved lemon yogurt. I am just loving all the restaurants using apples in their dishes. Bf loved it, polished it off, wouldn’t even consider trading with me…
I wanted to trade because I got this god awful french toast:
Brioche French Toast $16
I don’t even know why I ordered this, I know that I don’t like french toast (unless is stuffed with salty, meaty goodness). Oh I know, I was persuaded by the promise of brioche and crème fraîche. Crème fraîche is like my kryptonite. I will pretty much order anything that has crème fraîche on it…
This. Was. Not. Good. Never again am I ordering a french toast that is not stuffed with meat. The bread was so mushy – I felt like I was eating bread pudding. Not a good texture. And the flavours were just boring. You would think that the Okanagan rhubarb, orange, basil, and white chocolate crème fraîche would be good…but it wasn’t…or maybe it was, but just not good enough to mask the nasty mushy texture the bread had. Yuck. Biggest disappointment ever. Also, I don’t understand why people like normal french toast? it’s just sweet on sweet topped with more sweet.
At least the dessert was good…
Big Taste Dessert
This was a dandelion honey panna cotta topped with Kayben Farm blackcurrants and 2 baby Highwood Crossing steel cut oatmeal cookies. Have I mentioned I love panna cottas?
RIVER CAFE
25 Prince’s Island Park
Calgary, AB T2P 0R1
(403) 261-7670
This is by far my most favourite restaurant to have brunch in Calgary. It’s such a shame it is all the way up on Edmonton Trail. Edmonton Trail is such a huge hassle for me to go to without a car…
Anyways, got to start brunch off with some tea. I like my tea with milk and honey!
Tea
The bf got the pan fried trout & spinach hash with lemon butter and soft poached eggs. He absolutely loves pan scramblers and really enjoyed this.
Pan Fried Trout & Spinach Hash
Mmmm….I love poached eggs!
Close-Up
I got the wild mushroom, truffle, basil, and white cheddar scramble on duck confit hash. This. Was. Amazing.
Duck Confit Hash
I love love love truffles and this dish is fantastic. I would definitely recommend this dish. At first I was a bit disappointed because I had wanted poached eggs, but my disappointment went away as soon as I smelled the truffles. Oh god, my mouth is watering as I write this.
Close-Up
This is probably my all time favourite breakfast dish — a must try.
Big-Fish Oyster Bar & Lounge
1112 Edmonton Trail Northeast
Calgary, AB T2E 3K4
(403) 277-3403
The bf and I went through this phase where we would eat at the Sunterra Keynote every weekend since their food was so reasonably priced. We’d have brunch there every Sunday, sometimes a dinner, and it definitely became a place to take our parents for celebrations because it was so cheap! We’ve weaned off it a bit now, I don’t think we’ve gone in a couple of months. I get sick of things pretty quick if we have it too often, and it also seemed like a waste to spend all of our money there when there are so many good places to eat at in Calgary.
Here’s a compilation of most of our meals there. As you will see from the pictures, even though you will order the same meal, you’ll still see a lot of variety & discrepancies. The discrepancies were also something that go on my nerve after a while. You’d never know if the food is going to be cooked the way you like it or if it was going to be a bit…off…
This was probably our first meal there, and what made me fall in love with this place. As you all know, I love having a traditional breakfast. Their “Classic” breakfast here is only $6.29!! That’s a good $3.00 off any other place that offers breakfast in town. The breakfast comes with 2 eggs (cooked to your liking, I got poached here), hash browns, choice of meat (ham, bacon, or sausage), and fresh fruit. I loved the mint on top, it made it just that much better!
Fruit - Fresh from the Market Below
The bf got a chicken burger with a side of Caesar salad:
I think around $9.00
The food here is nothing extraordinary, but it’s totally not bad either. I’d say above average most days, average some days, and I’ve never had a bad meal there. The portions are great considering the prices though.
Another day – the bf got a bison burger:
Still around $9.00
Look at all that bacon!! They sure don’t skimp.
I got a roast beef lunch once, this was a little pricier, probably around $12.00:
Love Love Cauliflower
I wasn’t a big fan of the sauce, and the meat was a little cold. I think the temperature issue was due to me getting it probably at the end of lunch service. It wasn’t over-cooked or anything, and the potatoes were fantastic. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Also, this was enough food for me to have lunch the next day as well!!
Smoked Salmon Crepe with Capers:
Around $10.00 I think, could be less
The bf ordered this, and he loved it!
My traditional breakfast again:
Love Love Tomatoes
Another reason I love this place is that they’ll give me grilled tomatoes instead of toast at no extra charge! There was a miscommunication this time and I didn’t end up getting any potatoes but I didn’t really need them anyways.
This time I got both potatoes and tomatoes, and even an extra tomato!! (See what I mean by discrepancies?)
So Yummy!
Here’s another Smoked Salmon Crepe:
Crepe
A Beef-Cooked-in-Wine Crepe:
More Crepe
And a breakfast burrito:
Probably around $8.00
That’s it for the breakfast/brunch portion of the post. As you can see, it’s a great place to take a large group of people for brunch and not break the wallet!
We also stopped by at night once to try their dinner menu:
Wine & Cheese Board for around $12.00
This is a wicked deal for under $20.00. Most places will charge more than that for their charcuterie boards. And it’s not like they give you regular cheddar and pepperoni either! We got fancy “exotic” meats and 3 different variety of cheeses.
We also got a burger to share. This was probably $10.00. The coleslaw that came as a side on this was fantastic. It tasted really good as a dip for the potatoes!
Beeeeeefffffyyyy Goodness~
The ordering system of this place is kind of weird when you go at brunch time. I’ve been there like 6 times now and I still don’t think I do it properly. Some of the stations, like the crepes, you order from the chef, then you go to the cashier to pay for your meal. Some stations, like the traditional breakfast, you just go to the cashier and they’ll take your order for you. Also, I never know if I’m supposed to stand there or wait for my food, or if I’m supposed to sit down and they’ll bring it to you. They do both, like if you’re not standing there waiting for your name to be called out, they’ll walk around looking for you…
A tad bit confusing, and a tad bit inconsistent, but a great place to eat nevertheless~
SUNTERRA MARKET
Keynote
200 12 Avenue Southeast
Calgary, AB T2G 1G1
(403) 261-6772
After the very not filling meal at the VIN Room, we had to get ourselves another snack. We decided to stop at The Great Canadian Bagel on our way home. We’ve been here a couple of times now, and every time, the food is always good and the service friendly.
Even though it was past lunch they still served their breakfast sandwiches. It’s like a Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwich but less greasy…
We both got the Western Sausage Supreme
$5 Bagel
This $5.00 bagel was way more filling than our $40.00+ “meal” at VIN Room had been.
Egg, Sausage, Cheese, and Tomato, What's not to Love?
Yum…this was very satisfying~
THE GREAT CANADIAN BAGEL
3-1919 4 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T2S 1W4
(403) 209-2022
I’ve been wanting to go to WURST ever since I heard about it opening. We finally got a chance to go this weekend. When we walked inside, it was not what I had expected. The restaurant was big and roomy, and rustically decorated. I especially love the 2 trees in the dining room, it gives the whole restaurant a very warm feeling.
Pretty Decor~
I love the tables and chairs as well, I wanted to steal it and take it home with me!
Right across from where we were sitting was a huge painting of a pig:
Massive painting of a pig
We ordered off the brunch menu this time, but I can’t wait to go back and try their lunch & dinner menu. Everything on their menu looks really good, and the prices are reasonable as well. I especially want to go back and try their seafood tower, at $32.00 per person, I’d say it’s quite affordable. We asked our waitress, and they said they were still waiting for the towers to come in, so we’ll check back later. Maybe when their patio is opened (they’re hoping for late July), it’d be a nice, relaxing meal to have on a sunny patio~
House-made ketchup that was brought to our table in anticipation for the bf’s fries. The ketchup is quite smokey, the taste of it almost leans towards a barbeque sauce:
House-made Ketchup
The bf ordered “The Mission” sandwich:
“The Mission”
The open-faced sandwich consists of Bratwurst Sausages, Braised Red Cabbage, Fried Egg, Crispy Shallots, and Appenzeller. It’s nice of them to serve it with a little salad even though he chose fries as his side.
Cloose Up!
The fries were really good, they were nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
I got their French Toast, and it was glorious. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed french toast as much as I did that day. I would recommend everyone that goes there to get this item. It was the perfect blend of savory and sweet. I usually don’t like to order french toast, waffles, crepes, or anything sweet for breakfast, because it is, more often than not, too sweet. Those items, you usually have about half of, and then you’re begging for some salt. I loved the fact that this came with double smoked bacon and shredded Sylvan Star gouda stuffed in the toast. At first I thought the bacon would come on the side, but it was so much better like this. With every bite, you got a taste of sweetness from the blueberry sauce, and then just the right amount of saltiness from the bacon and cheese. Oh, and the texture of the melted cheese is to die for. I could honestly eat this every morning and never get sick of it.
Glorious Glorious French Toast
The french toast also came topped with apple slaw and whipped crème fraiche. The crème fraiche is actually which made me order it in the first place, I’m a sucker for crème fraiche. But…mmm…this was so good, I’m salivating just thinking about it right now…it’ll be hard to try other items of their brunch menu now, because I’ll always want to order this. And, oh man, was this ever filling. I was full half-way through this thing, but I powered through it and ate it all! It was much too good to waste.
I can't wait to go back! They also have a beer hall downstairs, we poked our head over the banister and it looks like a fun place to go with friends. They have long banquet like tables and lots of beer steins lining the walls - very atmospheric. WURST 2437 4th Street Southwest Calgary, AB T2S 1X5 (403) 245-2345
Went to The Holy Grill for brunch a while ago, they kind of have like a fast-food approach with the seating & ordering. You have to grab yourself an empty seat when a table opens up, and then you can go up to the counter and order your food. Once the food is done, the cook (I think he’s the owner as well) will call your name, and you go get it yourself. I kind of like this method of dining, you don’t have to wait for the waiter to get a napkin, or more water, you just get it when you want it!
This time we had our ticket lost. We kept waiting and waiting for our food, and of course, the bf is getting restless because he’s hungry and his food is taking forever. So finally, I just ended up going up to the counter and asking about our food. They couldn’t find our ticket! The guy behind the counter was very nice and give us complimentary cups of soups to tie us over as he prepared our lost order~
After a little while longer, our food finally came! Sorry about the thumb in this picture. I couldn’t even retake it because the bf was giving me death glares for delaying his food from entering his mouth. Right after he heard the shutter sound from the iPhone, he went at it!
He got the Brunch Burger – it has a grilled all-natural beef patty, and is topped with cheddar cheese, fried egg, bacon, tomato, mustard, and onions atop an English muffin. The burger also comes with market fries on the side, haha, you can see some of the breakfast potatoes snuck on to the plate (the round ones). He said it was delicious, but keep in mind that he was also famished, I’m sure anything would’ve been delicious at that point.
'Scuse the Thumb
Not Predictable At All!
I would definitely come back here again. Hopefully the next time our ticket won’t get lost! The bf wants to try their Gourmet Burger (it has blue cheese, yuck).
Oh – and they’re closed on Sundays, FYI. Fitting, considering their name~
THE HOLY GRILL
827 10 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2R 0B4
(403) 269-4659
I love that brunch places are all over my area, breakfast = the most important meal of the day! Even when it’s eaten at 11:00 am~
Wake Bistro took over the old gelato space in Kensington. The decor is great, very homey feeling, I especially love the old school clock that hangs out right by the door. I love the small diner atmosphere, the places where the wait staff treat you like you’re family~
I, of course, got the Kensington’s Breakfast, I should really start branching out on my breakfast choices. But, eggs, bacon, and hash is just such a wonderful combo!! I love dipping my potatoes into the runny egg yolk. Wake does substitutions (yay!), I got more potatoes instead of toast. I don’t understand when places won’t let you do that…I would think potatoes are cheaper than bread. Hmmm…I feel like I’ve said this before, lol, am I repeating myself on here already?
The classic breakfast, of course
The bf got the Monte WAKE-O~! It comes with 2 free-range eggs, country-style ham, double-smoked bacon, and cheddar cheese all stuffed between 2 pieces of thick-cut french toast, and it also comes with hash browns. This was right up the bf’s alley, lots of meat and lots of food.
I'm getting hungry just looking at this
As you can tell from the pictures, the potatoes were a bit on the dark side. I don’t know, maybe they were using old oil or something, but you really couldn’t taste it, maybe they just left it in the fryer for too long? Or…actually…I don’t know…I think they cook it on their grill…then the oil thing wouldn’t make sense. Maybe that’s just how their potatoes are, nevertheless, they were dee-lic-ious.
WAKE BISTRO
207 10th Street Northwest
Calgary, AB T2N 1V5
(403) 264-4425
Had breakfast at Galaxie Diner last weekend. This little diner is right next to Myhre’s Deli, I think the two restaurants are connected (they’re owned by the same guy). One time I had ordered a milkshake at Myhre’s Deli and they made it over at Galaxie. The decor at Galaxie, from the bright red wooden booths to the (unfortunately broken) jukeboxes, is reminiscent of classic 1940s diners. Usually this place is jam-packed with hungry people lining up out the door for some quality breakfast foods, but we went quite early on this Saturday (think 9:30 am) and there was only one table there before us. It didn’t take long to fill up though, but the time our food arrived, 3 or 4 more groups had squeezed into the tiny diner to fill their bellies.
I read on their website that they use real butter, which is great!!! None of this margarine bullcrap~
Vanilla Malt
I got the vanilla malt milkshake. I’ve been craving a milkshake for weeks now, and this hit just the spot. The bf really liked it too, he kept sneaking sips from me. He thought all malt milkshakes tasted like the stuff you get from Wendy’s, so he was all “omg, this is soooo good. Nothing like the Wendy’s Frosty“. Hahaha, silly boy, how can he compare real milkshakes to fast food stuff?
Another great thing about Galaxie is that all their breakfast items come with unlimited toast and hashbrowns. This is a pretty safe perk for restaurants to offer, because very few people will want another rounds of those carbs. I got the traditional breakfast (as always) with three eggs (no additional cost!!), bacon, hashbrowns, and a croissant (instead of toast). I’m SO EXCITED that I can have a croissant instead of toast, I’ll definitely be coming back here just for that reason alone. I loveeeee croissants!!!
I love dipping my hashbrowns in the egg yolks, anyone else?!
Bf got the Benedict that was on special, I can’t recall what was in it though, I think it was some kind of sausage with mushrooms and salsa?
Special of the Day
So delicious and soooo satisfying.
A++
GALAXIE DINER
1411 11 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T2R 1G7
(403) 228-0001
