Review: 99th Avenue Cafe - great breakfast spot!
I've been complaining about YYC's breakfast scene for years now. sure, we have a handful of gems like the edmonton trail options, eat eat!, dairy lane, lazy loaf, etc., but these are few and far between, and for me require a 20 minute drive or so from my condo on Heritage and MacLeod. The south has basically nothing in the way of breakfast cafes/diners, aside from Nellie's (blech) and Cora's (fancy fruit isn't my thing). A few weeks ago, however, I was driving on Bonaventure Drive and noticed a little cafe attached to the Stetson Village Inn on MacLeod and 99th Ave SE called, appropriately, "99th Avenue Cafe." It doesn't look like much from the outside, being attached to the motel and all, but given the paucity of breakfast cafes in the area, I made a mental note to try and visit sometime.
This morning, we were looking for a nice breakfast but didn't want to endure a 20 minute drive plus wait for one of the more popular options in town, so we decided to give 99th Avenue Cafe a try. When we arrived, we were surprised to see a full parking lot outside, in spite of a empty motel parking lot! It appeared as though the cafe was actually a destination in itself, and wasn't simply operating off of the motel clientele. Inside, the cafewas bustling with activity. i would say the tables were about 80% full, occupied primarily by a senior after-church crowd. We were seated immediately, though, and had coffee within a couple of minutes.
The breakfast menu is a standard 'bacon and eggs"-type cafe menu, although I am happy to report that the prices are much lower than is found on the other breakfast hot spots around town. e.g. breakfast sandwiches $7.99, omlettes $6.99-$8.99, etc. etc. I think the most expensive item was eggs benedict at $10.99. These prices are very refreshing and welcome in the otherwise overpriced Calgary dining scene.
I had a 3-egg "Loaded Omelet" (ham, cheese, mushrooms, green peppers, onion) with hashed browns, rye, and an extra side of hollandiase (wanted to see how they did it). It was a SUBSTANTIAL omelet made with high-quality, fresh ingredients... very impressive. For only $8.99, it was an AWESOME value, and I have to admit the food itseld was superior to the $12.99 omelet I had at Eat Eat! yesterday. And although I'm not an expert, the hollandaise was excellent as well. very rich and creamy. i'll be getting the eggs benny next time.
my partner had 2 eggs, bacon, tomato slices (option of fritters, hashed browns, or tom slices), and toast. The egg yolks were rich and dark; you could tell these were premium eggs, not the cheap, pale ones you see at most cafes around town (ahem, 1889!). My partner is VERY picky about bacon, but she said this was perfect; thick cut and crispy, with little fat.
with tip, our meal and coffee came to about $23. awesome food, awesome value. service was great too. we will be going back often.
BTW, found their lunch/dinner menu here: http://www.stetsoninn.ca/cafemenu.pdf we didn't try any of these, but based on the awesome breakfast we had this morning, i would recommend this to anyone looking for comfort cafe/diner food.
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