We were so excited about patios being re-opened on Saturday that we decided to try a breakfast place that was new to us. We were feeling pretty confident after getting our second dose of the vaccine but were happy to note all the serving personnel in masks, a sign-in system before we were seated, and tables placed at a generous distance from one another.
We biked over to The Juneberry in Old St. Vital and used the contactless digital menu to choose our breakfasts on our phones.
The Juneberry menu is an interesting mix of more traditional fare and some Asian influenced offerings. Dave went for the classic breakfast and was especially happy with the generous portion of Saskatoon jam.
I tried the breakfast banh mi, a nod to a Vietnamese classic I had enjoyed on our trip to that country. It was served on a fresh fluffy baguette and stuffed with scrambled eggs, housemade lemongrass pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms, zingy pickled carrots and cucumbers, thin radish rounds, seeded jalapenos, cilantro and spicy mayo. It was fantastic but I could only eat half of it.
We opted to share some baby potatoes made with chermoula- a kind of Morrocan relish.
The service was great and it was uplifting to hear the joyful chatter at the tables all around us. One didn’t want to eavesdrop but most of the other patrons were clearly delighted to be going out for breakfast again on a beautiful Saturday morning.
We’ve had a weekend restaurant breakfast tradition for years. It was nice to reclaim it.
Other posts……….
I was a waitress at The Paddock across from Polo Park and at the A&W Coffeeshop. I often think about those waitressing jobs because they taught me lots of important lessons. 
I learned to work quickly and efficiently at a whole variety of tasks, especially at the A&W Coffeeshop where they really didn’t have enough staff and I was run off my feet. 
When my husband Dave plans a date night for us I can always look forward to it being something unique. Last Friday he picked me up after I had spent a long day doing stuff for my Dad and said we were headed for a literary spot. 
I would never have guessed it was a brewery, but the Stone Angel fit the bill since it was named after the famous book The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence. The large statue in the brewery attests to the fact but just to be sure I double-checked with the bartender and he confirmed indeed the brewery had been named after Margaret’s book. 
Dave is part of a beer club that meets regularly to explore all the breweries in the city so he had been to the Stone Angel with his club members. I don’t drink beer normally and since I was the only woman in the place during our entire visit I was a little intimidated but I had a good time. 
Dave picked out two beers he thought I might like- a Kilter Juicy and a Peanut Butter Stout. I tasted them both. The stout was a little too bitter for me but the Kilter Juicy had a nice grapefruity flavour and I drank the whole thing. 
Next, we were off to the Tehran Cafe. I had never had Iranian food before but it was wonderful. 
I ordered a walnut, chicken and pomegranate stew with saffron rice and green salad. So good. 
Dave had a lamb shank with rice and Shirazi salad. It was great too. 
We enjoyed the interesting art in the restaurant and the attentive service. 
A literary brewery and a new kind of food were not what I was expecting for my date night but it was a fun evening. Even after spending more than 45 years together with him, my husband continues to make my life interesting. 
My sister and I sat in an old observation train car built in 1914 that has been attached to the station house. 
The restaurant serves meals with a definite French flavor and in the background as you eat you will hear the latest Montreal francophone music. 
I tried in vain to find some photos of the train station in the late 1950s because during the 1958-1959 school year I was attending classes at Marion School right across the street from the station. I must have seen the old train station every day when I arrived at school.
Thursday night I attended a cooking class at De Luca’s restaurant with my sister and two of her friends. 
Our affable host Tony welcomed us to his well-known family establishment which opened in 1968
and introduced us to Chef Mike who would show us how each dish was prepared. 
First up was a tomato soup served along with three kinds of fresh bread. 
Tony was on hand to answer any questions we might have about ingredients or cooking methods. 
That’s what we had read about the Marlin Azul cantina in Merida. After my sister said she and her husband had enjoyed delicious shrimp fajitas there Dave and I decided to try it on our trip into Merida yesterday. Once we were out of our Uber we got a little direction turned but there are these English-speaking tourist guides hired by the city at many key intersections and this man named Roberto was happy to point us in the right direction. 
When we got a little turned around again direction wise this gentleman kindly stopped and offered to take us to the restaurant.
He led us right to the Marlin Azul and the outward appearance lived up to the descriptions we had read.
So did the descriptions of the friendly service. This affable waiter helped Dave pick out the perfect beer to go with our meal.
And the food certainly lived up to its hype. The shrimp fajitas we shared were wonderful.
We were about to set off on an eight kilometer walk around the city to explore some of its art galleries. Our meal at the Marlin Azul fortified us and got our afternoon off to a perfect start! 