BRUNCH TIME IS BUSY TIME AT SATISFYING MILL CREEK CAFE
It’s around noon on a Sunday and, as usual, the Mill Creek Cafe is hopping, with almost every seat filled by a mix of millennials, parents with young kids, seniors and sporty types.
The cafe, located next to Scona Cycle near the edge of the Mill Creek Ravine, has been a hangout for people seeking good casual eats for more than 15 years, and each weekend a crowd comes out to do brunch.
Many of those diners live in the area and arrive on foot, a lucky thing given the tight parking on the street outside. Occasional groups of cyclists come to refuel in warmer weather after what, judging from their physiques, have likely been cheery morning rides to Red Deer and back.
Self-serve carafes of coffee ($2.50) are lined up from lightest to darkest near the door, along with a jug of drinking water in which there are slices of cucumber.
The corner location provides lots of light from the two walls of windows lined with counters and chairs that lets customers watch the constant activity outside, unless they’d rather sit at one of the two- and four-person tables.
Others make a beeline for treats at the takeout counter, particularly the giant cinnamon buns that can easily feed two.
However, if you’re looking for something savoury, the two-page menu is huge, offering weekend brunch items such as eggs Benedict, crepes and huevos rancheros along with omelettes, corned beef hash, fried egg sandwiches, latkes and other breakfast food.
The cafe prides itself on shopping locally and making key items in-house, including vegan nine- grain bread, gravlax, brined back bacon and spicy chorizo sausage.
The effort shows. I tried the latkes with a generous portion of gravlax ($15.95), an Atlantic salmon cold-cured with maple syrup and sugar that, amazingly, leaves it tender rather than overly sweet.
The fish melts in your mouth and arrives nicely accented by capers and slices of red onion. The latkes, thin shredded versions of potato pancakes, came fried to a proper crisp with a big dollop of creamy soft Boursin cheese.
Not sure which accompanied which, but the latkes and the gravlax were a great combination, with a green salad on the side to provide a palate-cleansing dose of vegetables.
The eggs Benedict with back bacon ($14.50) was another hit. The tender bacon is rolled in corn meal and rests on two toasted English muffins under two runny, perfectly poached eggs topped with creamy Hollandaise sauce.
The only downside was the cup of fruit. While the fruit was fine, the pieces were too big to eat easily and should have been cut down to bite-sized chunks.
Portion sizes are good, at least for my appetite, filling without leaving you so full you have to take a nap.
The place was busy, so there was no time for chit-chat with our server, although she was happy to check in the kitchen to find out what herbs are in the sausage — apparently none.
The Mill Creek Cafe hits the mark for brunch. And you don’t have to spend the morning tromping out in the fresh air to enjoy it.