Optimistically Cautious: Brunch as it Should Be: Blue Plate Diner

After a walk about the City Market downtown (where I was disappointed that both Inspired Market Gardens and Whimsical Cupcakes were absent this week), I treated my parents and Amanda to brunch at Blue Plate Diner (10145 104 Street).

I've posted before about dinner at Blue Plate, but brunch at the Diner is truly one of my favorite meals at the city. There's just something about the combination of the brick, the buzz in the air and the charm of their retro furniture that I cannot resist.

I ordered the pancake breakfast (2 buttermilk pancakes, eggs, choice of meat side), while my sister opted for the mornin' sandwich (fried egg, cheddar cheese and tomato with herbed mayo on toasted multi-grain and served with potatoes), and my parents selected the big breakfast (2 eggs, potatoes and multi-grain toast and choice of meat side).

The pancakes were great - moist and fluffy, they soaked up the maple syrup nicely, and as always, their potatoes were crispy and delicious. My Mum really liked the bread, which we found our later was brought in from French Meadow, the artisanal bakery a few streets down.

After brunch, we headed to deVine Wines on the corner of Jasper Avenue and 104th Street for a free wine sampling they were hosting that afternoon. Though I didn't buy the red Chilean wine I tried, I did come away with a bottle of German Riesling wine, in the hopes that it would taste similar to one that I sampled in St. Goar this summer.

The City Market is open for its last hurrah this Saturday, and I highly recommend a morning of produce shopping followed by brunch at Blue Plate. You won't regret it!