Canteen – one of the newer additions to the 124th Street culinary mix and the sister restaurant to the Red Ox Inn – has fast become a go-to brunch spot. The brunch menu has retained many staple dishes since Canteen opened its doors, but many new ones have since been added. Still, when you find a favourite dish, chances are good it will be there when you crave it again.
Just as brunch should be, the menu is moderately priced (dishes hover around the $17 mark), and it is worth every cent. The biscuits and gravy take an old-school breakfast tradition and add just enough flair to make it unforgettable. This isn’t just any biscuit after all – it’s made with cheddar and chives. Douse that in Canteen’s sausage gravy, complete with a healthy serving of Irvings pork and leek sausage, and you have an onion-esque love affair on your hands.
For those craving brunch from south of the border, thehuevosCanteenoswill assuredly satisfy. Corn tortillas are served with ample black beans,pico de galloand creamy poached eggs, along with house-made ricotta and house-smoked pulled pork that is so tender, it barely needs to be chewed. Just don’t pop in without a reservation, as this 50-seat room fills to the brim every weekend. –Cory Haller
10522 124 St., 780-485-6125, canteenyeg.ca
Culina Muttart has been a staple on our Best Brunch list since our very first Best Restaurants issue. It is nowhere close to jumping the culinary shark, though. Located right inside the front entrance of the Muttart Conservatory, the wood decor and bric-a-brac laid throughout the space exudes a feeling of warmth despite the institutional location. The nods to Mexican cuisine on the menu are what I like best; make sure to get an order of sweet grilled cornbread with the mixed-berry butter for the table. And the breakfast burrito, stuffed with a perfectly puffed-up egg, black beans and tomatillo sauce, is worth returning for time after time. For those with sweet teeth, the French toast with fruit compote never disappoints. –Steven Sandor
9626 96A St., 780-466-1181,culinafamily.com
Daravara’s dinner menu is nothing to sneeze at, but brunch is where the 124th Street pub really shines. No doubt some of the Saturday morning clientele are returning to soak up the liquor from the night before – Daravara’s menu is wonderful, but it is a pub, after all – but the word has spread, and the place gets a little busier each weekend.
The menu features morning-after cures with enough protein to vanquish even the worst hangover and destroy any level of hunger you may have thought you had. Take heed: The dishes are hearty, savoury and intimidatingly large. One such dish, the Dirty Burger, is a protein powerhouse. Two four-ounce house-made beef patties rest between sizable buns, but add to that a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg, beer cheese and a drizzle of sausage gravy, and you have yourself the most delicious mess this side of breakfast (or lunch). –C.H.
10713 124 St., 587-520-4980
