| Ethiopian, Indian, Italian, Greek, cupcakes and pub fare – the only food that seemed to be missing from Kensington was deli, until new resident Merle’s Delicatessen recently moved into the northwest community.
Calgary entrepreneur Brad Mondesir opened the deli six weeks ago. Who is Merle? Well, that’s the middle name of his mother and co-owner, Emily. The mother-son team has brought a retro ’70s feel to their eatery along with an updated look. Orange, black and beige make up the interior palette, chunky light-boxes illuminate the 27-seat room and colourful pendant lights dangle above the takeout counter. The wall above the long leather banquette awaits black-and-white photographs of historic Kensington, which Mondesir acquired from the city’s archives.
Merle’s menu offers a great selection of deli food. Order up a Montreal-style Wayne's Bagels bagel with a schmear of plain, herb or sun-dried tomato cream cheese and different toppings, accompanied by a pickle and coleslaw ($9.95); or a breakfast bagel with butter, peanut butter, jam or homemade strawberry cream cheese, ranging in price from $1.75 to $2.75.
There are potato latkes, smoked salmon bruschetta, salads (including one with a guava pear dressing), poutine, quiche, as well as smoked meat, Reuben and five other choices of sandwiches. For dessert, cheesecakes ($6.95) are brought in from the Cheesecake Café, with in-house cakes to follow at a later date. The restaurant features Boylan’s line of sugar-cane sodas in such flavours as creamy red birch beer, cola, ginger ale and seltzers, as well as the South African sparkling drink Appletizer.
For lunch, we started with an order of poutine made with both sweet potato and regular potato fries, topped with Montreal cheese curd and smothered in homemade, vegetable-based gravy ($6.95). There were a few cold fries on top, but the steam and heat was tucked inside the delicious, gooey centre and the sweet potatoes were a nice addition to this traditional dish. Poutine can also be ordered with smoked meat.
Next, I ordered the regular six-ounce Montreal smoked meat sandwich ($7.95; Merle’s 10-ounce cut, $9.95) on light rye bread, which comes with a small side of slaw and a big, juicy pickle. Mustard choices include traditional French, Dijon, spicy, grainy Creole and horseradish Keynes. The sandwich was good, although a little too tidy. If thick slices of smoked meat aren’t falling out of the sandwich as you try to take a bite, then it falls shy of being authentic. For now, Merle’s won’t be giving Palace of Eats’s smoked meat sandwich a run for its money.
Merle’s homemade quiche with dill, asparagus and smoked salmon ($7.50) was pleasant, if a tad salty. For the choice of soup, salad or fries, I opted for the Montreal cabbage soup with cubes of smoked meat and cabbage in a lovely vegetable broth. We had tried to order one of the bagel sandwiches, but the restaurant had run out of bagels – and cola – by noon on Saturday.
While I was hoping to zip in and out of the deli for a quick sandwich, lunch took so long that the ice in my glass had melted and the 1.5 hours on my parking meter ran out. The restaurant was busy, which is promising for a new business, but customers waited to be seated, waited to give their orders and waited for their meals, both for dining in and takeout, while one cheerful server did her best to juggle it all. Sure it’s hard to predict the dining traffic when you’re new, but one has to expect something of a rush on the weekend. A second server did arrive, but a little after the fact. I’m hopeful the restaurant will fine-tune its system with the passing of time.
To be fair, I revisited Merle’s for a weekday lunch and found an entirely different story. On the latter side of the lunch hour, my friend and I shared the restaurant with one other table while a few customers streamed in and out for takeout. In this relaxed setting, the server had time to explain some of the menu items and check back with us during our meal.
Merle’s will soon receive its liquor licence and, currently open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, plans to extend its hours of business past midnight. It has a superb location, a good menu and, if it adds a bit more pizzazz to the food, a lot of potential.
Merle’s Delicatessen is located at 1241 Kensington Rd. N.W.; phone 270-2700. |
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