The Nook Diner - Tasty Brunch

Post-call is a blissful time. The reward for a nights' (likely) hard work and determination, I often feel the need to make use of my free time as liberally as possible, despite the obvious exhaustion and energy deprecation that occurred overnight. Especially so when a group of my fellow pediatric residents are on and who are willing and keen for the spoils of a post-call brunch. Trolling through Urbanspoon found a local favourite, The Nook Diner.

The Nook is located on Sherbrook Street within earshot of the Misericordia Hospital. The restaurant has an aged appearance that speaks of its history and the nostalgia of the entire street, as captured by the beautiful panorama wall art on the exterior of the restaurant. The insides are classic diner-esque: comfortable, clean, but aged. Friendly and helpful staff escort you to a table as you are impressed by the cacophony of noise roaring from the other diners.

The menu is tried and true classic diner food. A simple foldout menu speaks to the no fuss attitude of this restaurant by offering a bevy of breakfast and lunch items that should delight most. Soups, salads, sides, burgers, hot dogs and meat platters greet diners as one peruses through the menu, all as you would expect with nothing extraordinary. What is special, however, is their brunch items including eggs, breakfast burritos, a nice variety of eggs benedicts and a large concoction of classic and creative omelets.

I was craving the crunch of Onion Rings and the version here did not disappoint. The large rings are nicely fried in a thick batter to achieve a beautiful golden crispy brown hue. The interior housed a tender and soft onion that imparted a nice sweetness to the ring. Overall as you would expect and hit the spot for me.

Finding an Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce Omelet is surprising, especially when considering the dive-y nature of The Nook. The large omelet is fried nicely and chalk full with a bevy of asparagus spears, is topped with a generous topping of hollandaise and finished with a dash of paprika. The chefs here intentionally underseasoned the omelet to allow for the full flavour of the asparagus to seep through, and lo does it work! I quick liked the interchange between the creamy Hollandaise with the peppery paprika and the soft and sweet asparagus.

Another exciting dish, both my dining companions ordered the Mexi Benny with Mashed Avocado & Polenta. Moving away from the classic eggs benedict, the chefs here make the base out of light and creamy polenta. Rounding out the flavours is the further creaminess of the mashed avocado, sweetness from the perfectly cooked poached eggs, and pepperiness from paprika. For those wanting more taste, I recommend adding the supplied salsa to kick up the sweet and salty components. Overall this was a unique take on eggs benedict that allows the egg and avocado to shine without the usual starchiness one gets when using english muffins.

The Nook offers no nonsense breakfast, lunch and brunch options that should appeal to anyone looking for classic diner food. Despite that moniker, the do offer some unique and realized dishes that show the creativity and skill of its chefs. The perfect place for the start (or end) of ones day.

Boon Burger - Tasty Vegetarian

Embracing the new chic trend towards vegetarian and vegan food, Boon Burger shot up in popularity in the Winnipeg food scene as the de facto restaurant for realized vegetarian (and vegan) cuisine. Promising tasty burgers that would not make one miss their carnivorous side, it quickly became a local staple for both those choosing a non-meat lifestyle as well as for hipsters looking for a new trend to partake in. Nevertheless, at the insistence of a fellow colleague, I made the trek to Boon Burger Cafe just to see what the fuss was about.

Boon Burger has two locations, one downtown (their original flagship) and this particular location on Sherbrook Street. For a new trendy restaurant I was rather disappointed at the drab exteriors featuring dark dense green on black with no sign of color in site. Nevertheless, the interiors are better with a brilliant chalkboard detailing the current specials and an open rustic feel to the seating and dining areas. Staff are appropriately helpful but thankfully unobstrusive.

As a burger bar, the menu emphasizes the different burger options available to diners. Boon Burger offers four types of patties: a mushroom based patty with a bevy of herbs (Boon), a chickpea based curry patty (Buddha), tofu and lemon based (White), and a black bean based (Black Bean). With these patties, the chefs made a host of creative burgers some with an extraordinarily complex number of ingredients. Alongside the burgers are a mix of salads, pizzas and sides including their version of poutine made with vegan gravy.

I went with the Boon's Super Platter, as it allows for a bevy of options to try.

It comes with a soup (Lentil Curry) which had a nice combination of smooth lentil texture with the spiciness of curry. It also comes with a side of their "famous" Sesame Potato Fries which ended up being just ordinary french fries topped with sesame seeds. The salad was a scrumptious Kale/Arugula salad that combined tart slightly bitter kale with crunchy arugula and sweet smooth beets. My burger was the Buddha Burger featuring their chickpea based buddha patty and finished with a sweet peach-red pepper chutney and topped with a bevy of vegetables. I was impressed by the meaty-ness of the patty and felt it was an appropriate alternative to the usual beef burger. While it did not have the same protein punch, the subtle flavour of the burger allowed for a better interplay between the delicious chutney and other vegetable toppings.

Overall Boon Burger Cafe delivered on their goal of creating tasty meat alternatives. I was impressed by the bevy of flavours imparted in their burgers and felt the lack of meat actually made the burgers more balanced and allowed for each ingredient to shine. Definitely something worthwhile for those choosing a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

Sherbrook Street Delicatessen - Exquisite Smoked Meat

Winnipeg's battle for sandwich supremacy has escalated another tier. Starting off with the wonderful King + Bannatyne, followed by the sublime Nicks on Broadway, Sherbrook Street Delicatessen adds one more wrinkle by offering home made Jewish style kosher cooking that harkens back many generations. It should be no surprise to those regularly reading my blog that I love The Food Network. One of the first programs I saw featured the Carnegie Deli, a kosher style deli in the heart of New York City serving drool worthy smoked meat, salami and corned beef sandwiches. You can understand my excitement when Sherbrook Street Deli promised the same style of cooking. Thus, on a post-call day I made the quick trek to Sherbrook Street.

The beautiful restaurant is located right beside another of my favourites, Stella's, on Sherbrook Street. The restaurant has a modern sheen to it with large windows and a handsome sign that confidently boasts of the deliciousness inside. The interiors do not disappoint either with attractive large oak tables and chairs; a sprawling bar top for those diners looking for a quick bite; and a host of tasteful paintings and images showcasing life in the 1940's. Overall it works to create an ambiance of an old fashioned deli but with modern aesthetics.

The menu is simple but fully featured. The hallmark of the restaurant is, of course, their deli meats which they use to create a number of fun sandwich platters. The staples are all here including Corned Beef, Smoked Meat, and Beef Salami. Should one want to try just smaller servings, Sherbrook Deli offers each meat by weight, giving the diner the ability to customize their meal to the umpteenth. A number of soups and salads round out the sandwiches. And finally, for those wanting something more hearty, they offer a few main plates including a Rib Eye, Schnitzel and Short Ribs. Everything sounded incredible, but I was here for the deli meats!

Matzah Ball Soup is a Jewish staple soup that features doughy dumplings in a base of chicken broth. The version here was delicious with a homemade broth that had a robust richness that featured large chunks of chicken meat and vegetables, and two large tender and plump dumplings. The use of dill here was an excellent choice that added a earthiness but sharpness to the dish that cut through the otherwise one dimensional soup and dumplings. An excellent start to the meal.

I let out an audible gasp of excitement when the Earl Barish (Smoked Meat) Sandwich Platter arrived by my side. Given the option of hot or mild mustard, the artisan sandwich is paired with a bevy of homemade kettle cooked chips, a side of creamy coleslaw and a large pickle. Starting with the sides, they were simply ordinary and as you would expect from potato chips and coleslaw.

But oh the sandwich was divine. Large thick cuts of tender, juicy and fatty smoked meat is matched with a sharp and grainy mustard (I chose hot, by the way) and guarded by slices of homemade multi-grain bread. The tender meat had the perfect amount of warm juicy interiors with a slight salty crunch from the exterior crust which furthermore contrasted well with the strong mustard. In a word, delicious.

There are no amount of superlatives that can fully describe the Sherbrook Street Delicatessen. In short, they fully achieved their goal of homemade traditional Kosher style meats and sandwiches and is a wonderful addition to the bulging sandwich market of Winnipeg. From the beautiful restaurant's exteriors to the wonderful staff, delicious food and prompt service, this restaurant is an experience that every Winnipeger should behold; do yourself a favour and go.