| The Buffalo Café, located in a turn of the century character house is right at home with the small-town, main-street charm of its neighbourhood. Situated right on 9 Avenue S.E., the café has a bustling cheerfulness.
A girlfriend and I visited the café for brunch on a sunny Sunday morning. The roomy front patio area was hopping, but we didn’t have to wait for a table inside as is usually the case in many popular brunch spots around the city. It was an atmosphere of bustling cheerfulness in and around the café, with hungry runners fresh from the nearby river trails and groups meeting for their weekend catch-up.
Displaying a rustic southwestern motif, the walls are painted a warm apricot with swirling white clouds creating a big sky indoors over the cornflower-blue ceiling. Aged hardwood floors, bright Mexican-themed artwork and shelves of collectible hot sauce bottles complete the casual look. Every nook and cranny is set up for seating to make use of the house’s unconventional space.
Once seated, our service was efficient, bordering on brusque, but our server came by frequently and we were never left too long without being checked on. It did take a few minutes of being given empty coffee cups to realize there was a self-serve coffee station around the corner. That would be familiar to regulars but would be useful for newcomers to let us know how to get our caffeine fix.
I settled on the French Canadian toast ($8.75), thick slices of bread cooked to fluffy perfection in a sweet egg mixture. It came with a cute, mini-glass bottle with a self-serving of rich, sugary maple syrup for drizzling. Also accompanying the French toast were thin, crispy slices of bacon and spicy house-made hash browns coated with chili powder. Our meals were served on mismatched dishes that added to the dishevelled elegance.
My girlfriend ordered up the Mexican hash ($9.25), a concoction that looked and tasted like breakfast served up after a big night of leftovers from a traditional Mexican meal. Thin tomato tortillas lined the bottom of the plate and were covered with a sautéed blend of red and green peppers, hash brown potatoes, bits of spicy chorizo sausage and chunky salsa. The entire mix was topped with two poached eggs, and cool sour cream was drizzled over the entire hash mixture to contrast the hot spices. It was a veritable Mexican breakfast feast.
Breakfast is served at Buffalo Café until 11 a.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. for late risers on the weekends. The lunch menu also offers a selection of sandwiches, flour tortillas, burgers, quesadillas, paninis, as well as soups and salads. All sandwiches come with chips and salsa as part of the southwestern theme.
With the homey décor, loud hiss of the coffee machine, thick breakfast smells wafting about and the occasional crashing sound of stacking dishes, dining at Buffalo Café was like having a leisurely meal in a friend’s home – the kind of friend who makes you feel at home so you can go fill your own coffee cup!
Buffalo Café is located at 1309 9 Avenue S.E.; phone, 265-6406. |
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