TASTE REGINA
Le Macaron owners expand tasty empire.
The coffee culture in Regina is increasingly growing more sophisticated. Not only is the quality of the coffee paramount at your local corner coffee shop but so is the food. Cafes such as The Artful Dodger, Brewed Awakenings and the Naked Bean are placing a strong emphasis on scratch-made cooking. And now, the owners of Le Macaron, one of the city’s premier pastry shops, have opened an exceptional coffee shop at 3283 Quance St.
Located just a block from Le Macaron, owners Gilles and Jackie Gobin leaped at the opportunity to open Cafe Caffeina when the former Java Express went up for sale. Asked why he made the purchase, Gilles admits, “we bought it mostly because we felt we didn’t have a choice. If someone else moved in it would be an encroachment on our territory and they would compete with us.” As owners, they can now control what the café serves and still maintain a high degree of quality.
While Le Macaron may be the sophisticated bigger sister who loves to primp and preen, Cafe Caffeina is the wholesome younger sibling who loves bold colours, strong art, indulges in a good chewy gingersnap and truly appreciates a wellstuffed deli sandwich with all the fixings.
Open just four months, the coffee and food at Cafe Caffeina (which means ‘caffeinated coffee’ in Italian) is drawing on the couple’s solid following at Le Macaron and pulling in new customers wanting wholesome food and excellent coffee.
“We serve real food,” says Gilles of the 30-seat cafe. “We don’t use any processed meats. The turkey and chicken are roasted here.”
The turkey breast, for example, is carved from a large deboned turkey, which has been marinated overnight with basil pesto and minced garlic and roasted the following day. The cooled breast is sliced thinly to fill the hot turkey caprese panini, while the dark meat finds its way into a cold chipotle turkey sandwich.
In addition to the meats, the vegetables are also roasted on-site and the pestos and aiolis are made from scratch. Sadly, the soups are outsourced. “The health department wanted us to install a grease trap if we were going to make soup.” Lack of space in their tiny kitchen to meet health department specifications meant they were forced to bring in soups from elsewhere.
The cafe’s high impact deli-style sandwiches are premade in the morning for a quick pickup on the way to work. They can also be made to order. But with the cafe opening at 7 a.m., it’s a snap to pull in for a cuppa java and grab a bagged lunch to go.
A popular vegetarian wrap is the grilled vegetable and goat cheese, a colourful and inviting variation filled with fresh pea shoots, arugula, roasted red pepper and roasted zucchini. The wrap comes together with a healthy dose of goat cheese and a squirt of garlic aioli, basil pesto and tomato pesto.
But if vegetarian doesn’t suit your fancy, try the chicken saltimbocca, the beef affumicato made with smoked beef, grilled onions and chipotle pesto, or the chickenavocado wrap. The Italian-American muffaletta is one of their signature meat sammies, layered with sliced calabrese sausage, genoa salami, capicolla ham or prosciutto, sliced provolone cheese, a spoonful of olive salad and basil pesto.
For a change of pace, try the egg frittata served with pea shoots, sliced tomatoes and toast.
The sweet menu at Cafe Caffeina differs in nearly every way from Le Macaron — the pastries here are homey and rustic. Look for wholesome muffins, giant cookies, butteronly croissants, and freshly made fruit cups and side dish salads. A unique item and a must-try is the yeasty gugelhupf-style pastry. This is a rich cinnamon bun baked with fruit such as apples or cranberries and glazed with apricot jam.
Cafe Caffeina serves the usual lineup of espresso-based coffees, with an emphasis on fair trade organic beans. Their regular espresso is by LavAzza, while the remaining selection is from ReSIProcate, a special commercial blend by Canterbury Coffee. As well, they make their own vanilla syrup and will be adding more custom syrups in the future.
There’s lots to be said about a great coffee shop, especially one with great coffee and lunches that will satisfy your cravings and fill your belly right where it counts.