Lovely New Lunch Spot in Lethbridge, Alberta

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Bread Milk & Honey is a lovely, renovated lunch spot in Lethbridge, Alberta

Bread Milk & Honey is a lovely, renovated lunch spot in Lethbridge, Alberta

Here’s another brave soul taking over a beloved restaurant personified by its longstanding owner. In this case, the location is Lethbridge, Alberta and the new restaurateur is Michael Knipe, who bought the Round Street Café a few years after moving from South Africa to Canada.

He takes over from Bonnie Greenshields, revered as much for helping feed the city’s homeless as producing superb sandwiches and pies. But after a decade, she wanted to sell.

The resulting Bread Milk & Honey, which opened in August, is a mix of new and old. The downtown restaurant has been thoroughly renovated, and a lovely space it is, with high ceilings, lots of light and gorgeous wood paneling along the counter.

Manager Susan Roberts and owner Michael Knipe

Manager Susan Roberts and owner Michael Knipe

Knipe was smart enough to retain popular menu items like the signature chicken, brie and avocado sandwich. Just about everything is made from scratch, including daily soups (like Hungarian mushroom, cream and barley) and a spinach salad where the chicken isn’t grilled until the order is taken.

The chicken breast for this spinach salad isn't grilled until the order is taken

The chicken breast for this spinach salad isn’t grilled until the order is taken

One change is a decided emphasis on good coffee, whether it’s a carefully pulled shot or a pour over.The java goes down splendidly with a new item, a South African milk tartlet sprinkled with cinnamon.

The only thing I’m not wild about is the rather generic name, though apparently it’s the same as that of a café he started back home in Cape Town. But overall, I love the attention to detail and excellence, from the food to the décor.

Bread Milk & Honey
427 5 Street South, Lethbridge, Alberta
Weekdays 7 am-4:30 pm, Saturday 9 am-3 pm. Closed Sunday

Bill Corbett

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islandeditions's avatarReading Recommendations

I have known Bill Corbett since I worked at Sandpiper Books in Calgary and we sold the very first books he published. That was 3 decades ago!! Then, when I became a sales rep, I was working for Bill’s publisher, Whitecap Books, so I sold his books everywhere within my territory. I was very pleased to see his blog, Marathon Man, when he first began writing it, and always thought this site would make a great book one day. And here it is! Thanks, Bill!

IMG_3934Bill Corbett

What is your latest release and what genre is it?Marathon Mouth: Great Road-Trip Eats in the Western U.S./Canada It’s both a travel and a food book.

Quick description: The book highlights great, independent and affordable places to eat and drink while on road trips in the western U.S. and Canada. It’s also a bit of a travelogue, highlighting things to see…

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Marathon Mouth the ebook: Great western road-trip routes and cheap eats

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Morenita's, Idaho Falls

Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica serve up fabulous fare at Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Worthy of a road trip in itself down the I-15

With summer well underway, it’s time to launch a road trip. But not sure what routes to take or great places to stop for a meal or drink along the way?

Well, if your trip ventures into any part of the western U.S. or western Canada, I’ve got you covered. My new ebook, like the blog called Marathon Mouth, offers scores of driving routes, many of them meandering off the crowded interstates and through some fantastic landscapes: mountains, winding coastlines, rain forests and deserts. If you’re into self-propelled outdoor activities, like hiking or biking, I’ve got lots of suggested places for jaunts both short and long.

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How about a drive through California’s Death Valley

All that exercise and driving, of course, works up an appetite. No problem. The meat of Marathon Mouth , so to speak, is a lively description of nearly 900 cafes, diners, coffee shops, bakeries, food trucks and brewpubs. These places are all independently owned, offering great, affordable food and libations. How do I know? I’ve eaten and sipped at the vast majority of them, often chatting with the folks who own and are so passionate about these colourful joints. The back of the book has full interactive listings for all these places, so you can easily check out their websites and coordinate your schedule with their hours.

Marathon Mouth , all 400-plus pages of it, costs about $9.99, less than you’d usually spend on a burger and fries. So steering you to the best places is well worth it, wouldn’t you say?

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Marathon Mouth is available for immediate download at all the major online retailers like   Amazon, (Amazon Canada), iTunes, Kobo and Chapters/Indigo. Even if you don’t have an e-reading device, you can download free apps (at places like Amazon and Adobe) for reading e-books on your computer.

Time to start pulling out the maps and packing the car, I’d say. Bon appetit!

Everything’s Coming Up Pink at Livingston, Montana Cafe

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Chorizo tacos a delightful breakfast special at Pinky's Cafe in Livingston, Montana

Chorizo tacos a delightful breakfast special at Pinky’s Cafe in Livingston, Montana

It’s a tough act replacing a dining institution, known as much for its colourful owner as the excellence of its food. Such is certainly the case with Pinky’s Cafe, a breakfast landmark in Livingston, Montana, a short drive north of Yellowstone National Park.

When I visited a few years ago, I was greeted and served by Pinky himself—a relaxed, gregarious guy with a white ponytail—while wife Terri ably tended the morning grill. When I returned this fall, the name was the same, but they were gone.

I was starting to get all nostalgic… that is, till my breakfast special arrived on the table. Chorizo breakfast tacos! Eggs, sausage, pico de gallo and a squirt of sauce, all loaded aboard a couple of little tacos. Great, imaginative stuff. I mean, if you can bring burritos to the breakfast table, why not tacos?

The tacos are the brainchild of newish owner Morgan Milton, a trained chef who spices up the morning menu with offerings like bacon-stuffed waffles, banana-walnut pancakes and bacon caprese omelettes. Apparently, his mother does the baking, so the family tradition continues.

You know it's funky when even the bathroom carries on the pink theme

You know it’s funky when even the bathroom carries on the pink theme

So does the relaxed, small-town atmosphere, with a mix of locals and tourists filling the tables in this colourful little place.

Yes, Pinky is gone. But long live Pinky’s!

Pinky’s Cafe
109 South Main Street, Livingston, Montana
Tuesday to Saturday 8 am-2 pm, Sunday 8 am-12:30 pm. Closed Monday

Invermere Restaurant Fuzes Truck and Sit-Down Fare

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Fuze Food has moved from an Invermere, B.C. truck to an indoor location

Fuze Food has moved from an Invermere, B.C. truck to an indoor location

As the charming movie Chef showed, there’s definitely an allure to owning a food truck. The costs of capital, maintenance and staffing can be considerably less than a bricks-and-mortar establishment, and the menu is usually substantially smaller. At the end of the day, you just drive away.

Of course, there are drawbacks, such as power outages and working in cramped quarters over a scorching grill. And if you’re located in a colder climate, there’s a good chance you’ll be closed in winter. Which isn’t a bad thing if you’re a ski or surf bum.

But not every culinary entrepreneur is enamoured with the food truck dream. Indeed, some use the experience as a stepping stone to opening a traditional restaurant.

Such is the case with Fuze Food, in Invermere, B.C. It started as a summer food truck, churning out spiced-up wraps, salads and smoothies, with an emphasis on local ingredients. A couple of years later, young co-owner Sarah Adamson moved into a strip mall right next to a Subway.

The menu hasn’t changed a whole lot, with lots of healthy, tasty options like a satay bowl or a donair wrap. I go for a Thai bowl—loaded with veggies and vermicelli noodles and doused with a house-made peanut sauce—and down it with an apple-avocado smoothie. It’s good, flavourful stuff, though at a bit of a resort-community premium.

Lots of tasty items like this bowl in a box

Lots of tasty items like this bowl in a box

Now that it’s indoors, Fuze is open year round and offering a late-afternoon, evening pizza bar. Though of course that means less time for skiing.

Fuze Food
315 3 Avenue, Athalmere, B.C.
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-9 pm (pizza bar opens at 4 pm). Closed Monday