Back to Winnipeg

Earlier in the summer, R and I took a trip to Winnipeg for a 2nd wedding reception (a compromise for having a small reception in Ottawa that excluded extended family).

Where is Winnipeg, you ask? It's the capital city of the Province of Manitoba, located at the geographic centre of Canada. The population is around 650,000




Going to Winnipeg requires a visit to some of the local institutions to get my fill of the treats I grew up with. Let me show what would easily be a "not-so-healthy but filled with delicious food day".

The first stop was a place I had never been to, The Eye Opener, but a good place for breakfast. R had the "Winnipeger", stuffed with chopped kulbassa, green onions and cheddar cheese.


Giz had "The Eye Opener"


Knowing that we would be running from one food store to the next, we took pity on R and dropped him off. We then proceeded to Gunn's bakery. This well known bakery has been providing Winnipegers with old country style, kosher baking since 1937. Well, it's kosher -- but open on Saturday.



After Gunn's, we stopped in to Alycia's Perogies. This is, apparently, the recipe for their dough.


Both Giz and I have blueberry perogies on our minds since seeing Adam's post. Unfortunately, they hadn't received their shipment of blueberries yet. So, I picked up a couple dozen cheese and onion stuffed perogies to freeze and take home with me. WAY better than the mass-produced crap R buys at the grocery store here.


After Alycia's, we headed went to a family dinner. On the menu was steak flown in from Toronto (care of Giz's Purolator Services).


Kosher steaks are available in Winnipeg, but not as readily as Toronto.

Such a good meal -- the steak was so flavourful. It makes me want to invest in some kosher steaks.

I was also thrilled to find that another favourite was on the menu....Jeanne's cake! Jeanne's cakes are a favourite of many Winnipegers, so much so that they're sold at the airport.

Yes...the cake says, "Can't leave Winnipeg without a Jeanne's cake".


Jeanne's cakes are known for their cookie bottom and shaved chocolate sides. I'm drooling already.

Ok...I know you're thinking -- holy crap, how much did you eat in one day. But, it doesn't end there. Oh the shame.

Unfortunately, we had to run quickly from dinner to catch a Bombers' game, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, that is. It was nice to catch up with some friends, but with the Bombers' making only one down during the first half, it was probably one of the worst games all year.

Since it had been a couple of hours since dessert, it seemed reasonable to go for a second dessert at Baked Expectations.


It was a long shot, but I had high hopes for my favourite cake being available.

I've had some unlucky experiences with this cake before (note: language warning if you follow the link). But, the stars were aligned and when I walked in, I saw that there were two slices of pavlova left. Before sitting down, I found a waiter and told him to save a slice for me and sat anxiously waiting for my slice.

Oh..pavlova...I miss you.

My friend got a slice of German Chocolate Cheesecake...

and R got a slice of Cinnamon Tort...


50 gazillion calories later, we decided to call it a night. The next day would be the reception, so we needed to rest up.

There you have it, a quick tour of some of the food sites Winnipeg has to offer. Proof -- Winnipeg truly exists!