are you gonna eat that? » coffee

CALGARY: Perkins breakfast

are you gonna eat that? — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:33:05 +0000

In honour of our larger-than-life American cousins, we hit up Perkins Family Restaurant for a Fourth of July breakfast. Perkins is a chain that started as a pancake house in Ohio, and now has 400 restaurants across the U.S. and Canada.

To be honest, we didn’t really wake up and say, “Hey, it’s July 4th, [...]

CALGARY: Vendome Cafe

are you gonna eat that? — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:31:08 +0000

I have a new favourite coffee shop. The Vendome Cafe is in the Sunnyside heritage building where Heartland Cafe used to be, behind the LRT station. The owners of Teatro run it now.

The Vendome has some of the friendliest staff I’ve ever met at a coffee place, even when the lineup stretches to the [...]

CALGARY: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Company

are you gonna eat that? — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

Enough has been said about Phil & Sebastian’s splendid coffee talents, but getting your sleepy hands on a cup of their lovely liquid usually meant a hot, cramped, long wait at their Calgary Farmers’ Market booth.

In late November, the duo finally opened their long-awaited storefront location in Marda Loop, and it’s been packed ever since.

The [...]

CALGARY: Fassil

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:03:54 +0000

One of my new favourite restaurants in Calgary is Fassil, a family-run Ethiopian place in the southeast. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get here to try their delicious stews and other dishes.

If you’ve never had Ethiopian food before, here’s a quick primer.

All food is served on and with injera, a [...]

EDMONTON: Wildflower Grill

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:48:20 +0000

The Wildflower Grill is a sleek restaurant in the Matrix boutique hotel building. The downtown Edmonton establishment focuses on “new Canadian cuisine.”

We went there to try the Sunday brunch (11 a.m.-2 p.m.). Everything on the menu (9 mains, 3 sandwiches, 2 salads) looked delicious and promising.

A warm, buttery, crumbly cornbread muffin kicked everything off, [...]

CALGARY: Breakfast at The Main Dish

are you gonna eat that? — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:59:38 +0000

It seems you can’t get into any decent breakfast place or diner in Calgary these days without having to line up. (Or queue up as my newly relocated friend JJ would say.)

The alternative involves eating things wrapped in paper.

So it was nice to find that The Main Dish — which I thought only did [...]

CALGARY: Jack of Hearts Bistro

are you gonna eat that? — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:30:30 +0000

Doesn’t this look better than your desk?

Doesn’t this look better than a sandwich at your desk?

This definitely looks better than anything at my desk.

All of the above is courtesy of Jack of Hearts Bistro, a comfortable, sunny spot in the beautifully restored heritage Lorraine Building in the Beltline.

Graphics guru David [...]

PRODUCT REVIEW: Starbucks VIA

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:45:18 +0000

Did you know 40 per cent of the world’s coffee sales is in instant coffee? It’s huge in Europe and Asia, which accounts for much of the $21-billion instant sector.

I’ve been in high-end hotels in China where they plunk down a jar of Sanka when you ask for coffee. There are full aisles of instant [...]

PRODUCT REVIEW: President’s Choice Blue Menu

are you gonna eat that? — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:10 +0000

I got an email last month from a marketing company working on the Healthy Insider’s Report campaign and the launch of 138 new Blue Menu products for President’s Choice: would I be interested in reviewing some of their new items?

I’m already a big fan of PC — the in-house brand of Real Canadian Superstore and [...]

TORONTO: A café/store for daily pleasures

are you gonna eat that? — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:00:26 +0000

Tucked into a drab stretch of Adelaide (at Portland east of Bathurst), La Merceria is a stylish burst of espresso relief and beautiful housewares in what no doubt will soon become a bustling area.

The store is a labour of love for couple from South America (she from Colombia, and he from Argentina). The front [...]