After a long absence, writer Carla Waldemar made her way back to Winnipeg, Canada, ready to feast on the culinary scene. What she found was a delightful and delicious variety of restaurants and the cuisine they served. Here, she shares her experiences and suggestions with RealFoodTraveler.com readers. 

Save this article to Pinterest so you’ll know where and what to eat in Winnipeg, Canada. Photos by Carla Waldemar. Clockwise from top: Lemon Tart and Lemongrass Ice Cream from Gather; Corn and Nori Fritters and Haloumi Waldorf Salad from Nola; Eggs Benedict from Juneberry. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

Hungry for more? Read Carla’s musings about eating like a local.

O Winnipeg!: Delicious Places to Go

A funny thing happened on the way to Winnipeg; the pandemic descended and travel ground to a halt. Making up for lost time (and tastes), I boarded a plane for a long-overdue visit to the provincial capital of Manitoba and a bright star in the Canadian food firmament. Plenty of attractions at which to walk off a food coma, too.

I stayed at the Fort Garry Hotel, a 108-year-old grande dame which recently received a face lift in its locally-beloved Oval Room Brasserie. “Modernizing” layers have been peeled away to reignite its original grace. It made a lovely first stop for breakfast before heading to the streets. I voted for the egg-and-sausage combo, lush with savory potatoes and a side of house-made sourdough toast. “Try our marmalade,” nudge my veteran server. “I don’t even like marmalade, but this kitchen’s is irresistible.” No lie.

Fortified, I laced on my walking shoes for the short trek to The Forks, Winnipeg’s most-visited attractions. Anchoring the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, it’s been a meeting site for First Nations peoples for 6,000 years—and now, for present-day folks of all stripes. Its enormous food hall hosts choices that range from ramen to pierogies to pizza. I opted for a bison burger laved with wild blueberry sauce, followed by a local craft beer.

Crossing the iconic Riel Bridge nearby, I set foot into the Francophone sector of the city, St. Boniface. Admiring the venerable riverside cathedral’s silhouette that’s withstood a fire that raged within, I paused before following my path to Nola, where a dinner reservation awaited.

Here, Chef Emily Butcher, fresh from riding the range at deer + almond, has won accolades on Food Network’s Top Chef Canada for the Asian-inspired flavors of her small-plates menu. My rhubarb-infused cocktail (genius!) married well with Nola’s corn-and-nori fritters—crispy and sneaking a little jolt of heat, then cooled by a pool of aioli. Coconut chimichurri added a fillip that elevated the entire creation.

Next, “gunpowder carrots.” Whatever gunpowder seasoning is, it didn’t overwhelm my palate as I forked into a julienne of honey-glazed carrots served (brilliantly!) with whipped feta, pumpkinseed butter and a sprinkle of the candied seeds themselves.

Gunpowder Carrots at Nola.

Nola’s haloumi Waldorf salad proved a smart update on granny’s classic—this time loaded with squares of the mild cheese, red grapes and candied walnuts mingling in a drizzle of fresh apple vinaigrette.  We followed up with an order of loaded baked potato gnocchi, which incorporated bacon bits, sauteed kale and crispy fried spuds, too, delivered in (ready for this?) a sauerkraut beurre blanc. Sounds awful but trust the kitchen: those flavors prove understated enough to play well together.

Cheesecake for dessert: boring, right? But not in Emily’s vision. She melds black sesame and roasted parsnips into the mix, then plates a slice with a drizzle of miso caramel sauce, a sesame tuile and citrus-bright orange coulis.

Come morning, I’m actually ready to eat again, and it’s off to the St. Vidal neighborhood and Juneberry, clearly a local favorite as proved by the line awaiting its 9am opening. Warmed by a cheery, berry-toned décor, the chef/owner delivers a menu that makes one simply want to say, “Yes! Bring it on! The breakfast banh mi? Beef short rib hash? Breakfast Reuben? Honduran Baleadas? Prosciutto mushroom toast? Overwhelmed, I eased into eggs Bennie—this kitchen’s version starring grilled mortadella, aged goat cheese and caramelized onions. A rosemary hollandaise crowned the pair of poached eggs, all resting on housemade focaccia.

Juneberry’s Honduran Baleadas: tortilla, short ribs, scrambled eggs, refried beans, cotija cheese, avocado, lime crema and pickled onions.

Lunch in the new Hargrave Street Market food court found me fighting off ravenous office slaves, so I simply grabbed a lifesaving salted-caramel milk shake and moved on—thus saving appetite for dinner at James Avenue Pumphouse Food & Drink. With a window side seat aside the husky machinery of yore, we delved into another sweet list of small plates, starting with TNT prawns—goodly-sized critters enrobed in a nicely spicy mango mayo. Mango-pesto cauliflorets arrived next, followed by what must be the world’s largest pierogi. Lapping off the plate, the giant pastry envelope enclosed smoked gouda, mashed potato and kielbasa. Needless to say, no room for dessert.

By 9am, I’m back at a table—this time, at the hippie-meets-hipster-diner called Modern Electric Lunch. Yes, you bet, they serve breakfast, too—dynamite dishes like mushroom hash. Pistachio ricotta pancakes. Pork belly tostada. Turkish eggs. Avo toast. Once again, I opted for the Bennie. No meat, which is fine by me: instead, al dente asparagus spears join the eggs in a brown butter hollandaise set upon a lemon-dill scone. Good choice. Swell service, too.

The new quartet of biome domes at Assiniboine Park showcases lush plants from the tropics, the Mediterranean, and closer to home, the Peg, along with a giant indoor waterfall and butterfly garden. You’ll need a timed ticket to explore, so plan it before or after a lovely lunch at the adjoining café, Gather. Local-grown everything takes pride of place on the menu. Again, I opted for cauliflower fritters, this time with a lively tzatziki dip, then a lemon tart sided with lemongrass ice cream. Hefty burgers weighted neighboring table.

Lemon tarte with lemongrass ice cream at Gather.

My final dinner of the trip occurred at Feast Café Bistro, one of the few Indigenous-owned and -operated restaurants in all Canada, celebrating roots in First Nations cuisine. A long, narrow room in an older neighborhood hosts the standout-food of Chef Christa Bruneu-Guenther. Her wide-ranging menu catapults from butternut squash bannock pizza to lemon-pepper Manitoba pickerel, from buffalo lasagna to bison burgers to my choice, an enormous, braised bison rib served with smoked blueberries and a juniper-maple jus, accented by a garlic and cream mash of squash and potatoes. Dessert—a first for me: sweetgrass ice cream (or choose wild blueberry).

If Delta charges me for excess baggage, it’s because I’ve incorporated it around my middle. Worth every calorie!

For more information about visiting Winnipeg, visit their tourism website, here.

-Story and photos by Carla Waldemar

Hungry for more? Read about Carla’s culinary experiences in Spain.