Friday, September 18, 2009

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!

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10 comments:

That Girl said...

I definitely travel on my stomach also! It's really the best way to explore a place.

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Thank you for sharing this! I was born in Winnipeg and I'm still a Canadian citizen, but haven't been back for over 20 years. I hope to take my husband there and these stops you made are great recs for us when we go!

Lori Lynn said...

Thanks for the tour!

L'Shana Tova Tikatevu
LL

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

All I have seen of Winnipeg that I recall is the bus station on my way our West in my younger days...so thanks for the tour!!! I'd love to stop for their perogies.

Hopie said...

That sounds like an amazing food orgy! :-) Nice to know Winnipeg really does exist.

Adam said...

Wow, quite the Gatronomical event you had that day. It's like a scavenger hunt filled with treats at every turn :) Of course my heart fell for the pierogi, and I'm suprised at how easy their dough is. Sometimes the easy ones are the best :)

Glad you had a killer time, and now I know that Winnipeg does in fact exist :)

Heather S-G said...

YUM! I don't know if that post just filled me up or made me hungrier than all get out!! What a delicious trip :)

Steph said...

Wow!! Thanks for showcasing all that food. I've never been to Winnipeg before. Actually other than visiting Ottawa, I've never see the rest of Canada except for Toronto b/c I live there.

Norene Gilletz said...

Your tour of Winnipeg is like mine - food related! Loved the tour. I always go to Gunn's Bakery and when I was in the Peg for my birthday at the end of May I ate Jeanne's birthday cake at least 3 different times! I was born in Winnipeg and got some of my best recipes there.

Shana tova to you and yours!!

Norene Gilletz (Cookbook Author)
http://www.gourmania.com

Anonymous said...

Accidently found this blog...
... clearly somebody's been holding out on me

I guess I'm just yesterday's chopped liver (sorry, no foody pics...)

And who am I?
... with a Giz and Grad in the family - I could only be known as:

Psycho-Giz-Grad's Dad

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