Roast Turkey Bagel

Smoked Turkey Bagel, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

New York Bagel Cafe (8430 Gateway Blvd.) is one of my favourite Old Strathcona cafes. However, whenever I am in the area it is so darn busy that I hardly ever get a chance to eat there. A weekday afternoon trip to the Ice On Whyte Festival brought the opportunity to get some lunch when it was not nearly as busy as on the weekend.

I have had breakfast dishes there numerous times, but never a bagel meal. I ordered the roast turkey, which came with organic veggies, cranberry sauce, potato salad, and cream cheese (which I held). The plating surprised me - everything was independent, meant to be assembled at the discretion of the diner. Personally, I love tasting each element individually and getting a feel for its flavour.

And lots of flavour there was. The bagel was a meal in itself. I chose a multigrain, and it was covered with nuts and seeds. The turkey was deli style, but it had a deep, smoky flavour and there was plenty of it. And the potato salad: it was so fresh and delicious. The only element on the plate that disappointed was the cranberry sauce. Too tart, and with some strange off smell, I did not use much of it. It needed more sugar and I think it may have been sitting for too long.

At around $17 per meal, the bagel platters at New York Bagel Cafe are not cheap, but it's such a great little place and the food is decadent (and the people who work there are really nice).

Celebrating Old Strathcona

On July 7, I stopped by the Old Strathcona block party organized by Blues On Whyte. 103 and 104 Streets were blocked off, two stages were filled with music, vendors sold unique items, and, of course, there were food trucks.

I had lunch while I enjoyed some live music and started with a brisket sandwich from Smokehouse BBQ. The slightly sweet, fresh bun was filled with chunks of brisket. The meat was lean, with just a tiny bit of sweet fat to make things rich. The sauce was not overpowering, and the spoonful of coleslaw on top made me glad I grabbed a fork - things could have gotten messy!

I had a snack later on, and went for a vegetarian samosa from Naanolicious. It was interesting seeing the street food truck right there, when their physical location was right nearby! The samosa could have been a little warmer on teh inside, but the outside was satisfyingly crunchy. I also wanted something sweet, so tried an order of Can-naandians, which are pieces of naan bread in the shape of maple leaves in a maple sauce. They were almost like soft cookies in a sauce.

Although the weather did not fully cooperate when I was there, I had a great time hanging out on Whyte Avenue and celebrating the culture the area has to offer.