ALL BRUNCH, ALL THE TIME
Pure bliss for crepe and Benny fans
It takes moxie to put pickled plums at the centre of your Benny, but spirit is just one of the delightful elements at play during brunch at the New York Bagel Cafe.
For one thing, the menu at this longtime local favourite is all-brunch, all the time, an unusual concept in Edmonton. Owner Grace Kalinowski, who opened the first incarnation of the café on Whyte Avenue in 1982, decided to craft this singular approach between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week, after noticing customers seemed to favour brunch over dinner.
The menu skews heavily toward eggs Benedict, with more than a dozen different combinations, many of them European in focus, including a bresaola and pickled plum Benny, a roasted pork and horseradish Benny and a prosciutto and grilled apple Benny.
Kalinowski’s taste in the kitchen has been inspired by her aunt in Poland, who home-pickled and preserved furiously, and served her provisions with creative flair to her family.
The portions are large and the egg dishes come with caraway-roasted potatoes and a refreshing assortment of fruit — tiny pearl grapes and kiwi fruit cut in the shape of flowers, along with raspberries, watermelon and strawberries.
Another popular item at the café is the bagel platter, with bagels supplied by Bon Ton and Bliss Bakery. Platter choices include Montreal smoked meat ($18.50), and a novelty choice called the James Bond, served with Canadian white sturgeon caviar for $125 (call ahead if you want this one).
Kalinowski’s right-hand man, chef Stan As pidow, also does a lovely job with the Polish crepe, stuffed with cottage cheese and topped with a glistening berry compote to complete the European perspective. The menu has omelettes, too, made with four eggs for $26.
Located in a quiet nook of a street in the heart of downtown, The Manor Bistro is the neighbour you wish you had, offering good parking, an expansive, flower-rimmed patio and a refined interior space.
While brunch in Edmonton is so popular as to border on the routine, there is something about this longtime resident of the High Street that still hints of special occasion. Maybe it’s the fireplace in the main dining room, or the red-walled private dining room, perfect for larger dining parties. Or it could be the European elegance of its owner and chef, Cyrille Koppert.
The menu is also somewhat understated, and old school. Don’t hold your breath for bacon jam or rhubarb thyme compote with chia. An appetizer of banana bread (4$) served with pecan apple butter is as crazy as it gets. But that bread, along with every offering we sampled on a recent Sunday, was wellexecuted, and simply delicious. Indeed, I am still thinking about the crepe ($15), stuffed with fat prawns and covered in a creamy rose sauce, and the pillowy omelette ($14) — generously appointed with bacon, mushroom, cheddar cheese and leeks. The goat cheese spinach salad ($12) with pancetta had a warm honey mustard dressing and was both tangy and creamy, and beautifully balanced.
Two choices for plain-Jane eggs Benedict were there for the unadventurous, and that’s not a bad thing. I’m only sad we didn’t have the manpower to try the french toast, with its promised poppyseed vanilla wash and poached pear. But it’s always good to leave something to look forward to later.
I am also pleased to announce that the Manor Bistro has extensive dessert offerings at brunch, something lacking in other brunch establishments. This is one of the highlights, overall, of eating at The Manor, where servers bring an ornate silver tray covered with sweets from which to choose, directly to the table. The restaurant is known for its tiramisu, but we had cheesecake, which comes in two good-sized balls, dipped in Callebaut chocolate and rolled in pralines for crunch.