{"id":76168,"date":"2016-03-14T00:23:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T06:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=76168"},"modified":"2021-12-29T19:57:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T00:57:20","slug":"buckwheat-pancakes-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=76168","title":{"rendered":"Buckwheat Pancakes and Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ll be bold and apologetic and admit to Edmontonians that I’ve probably spent the equivalent of a day in Edmonton proper during the entire two decades that I’ve lived in Alberta. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect upon entering the city and I’ve certainly never explored what the city has to offer.<\/p>\n

Well… Edmonton is surprisingly foodie… especially around Whyte Avenue and day 2<\/em> started in a great little place that I was lucky enough to find parking around: a restaurant \/ coffee shop duo, Da Capo<\/a> and Under the High Wheel<\/a>. The two are so connected that I thought they were both one. <\/p>\n

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But this is a great place for vegans, glutinos, and others with allergies to kick back, relax, and enjoy a positive vibe and good meal. The gf buckwheat pancakes are monstrously large and served with a salad (Californian style). My soy latte kicked me in the head and fuelled a rapid frenzy that produced several decks for next week’s workshops.<\/p>\n

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After the frenzy died down, I started texting people and inviting them to come over for a coffee and breakfast salad. Then I started finding people from high school and university that I haven’t seen in years. Who knew Edmonton could be a place for meeting people and catching up.<\/p>\n

Later in the day, we relocated to a place called Da De O… only because other restaurants on the “must do” list were fully booked with waiting lists. This looked promising but I was initially leery of the Southern theme… in the prairies. Still, the restaurant was rated high as a “Whyte Ave. staple.”<\/p>\n

This restaurant is a place where the servers are extremely stressed out about turn over time. So, it wasn’t a simple matter of sitting and enjoying a meal with friends, it was an are-you-done-yet?<\/em> themed evening. <\/p>\n

Our “disco” server kept saying, I feel bad, but I need this table for another group, are you done yet?<\/em>. It didn’t matter that the food took FOREVER to come out, once on the food was on the table the obsessive are you done yet<\/em> panic ensued. Even the floor manager was stressed; it made it impossible to enjoy the meal and the conversation became about the stress (and as you can see… it wasn’t that busy).<\/p>\n

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So, we became done… without fully enjoying the meal or finding a tip.<\/p>\n

The rest of the day was filled in with watching synchronized swimming figures, prepping for an early morning of gelling, and providing a quiet room for a stressed out and wound up little girl who is still getting used to “away” competitions.<\/p>\n

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