under the high wheel, edmonton

It's Spring and a healthy brunch feast was in order to celebrate the start of a new season and weekend!

When I think about Spring, I think of bright-coloured flowers in bloom, birds that chirp and fly all day and most importantly, warm weather. But.. this is not the case in Edmonton. I'm actually not quite sure whether or not Edmonton has a Spring or if it has two Winters, Autumn and a Summer. It is still currently quite gloomy, cold and snowy, which luckily was the complete opposite of what our meal was like at Under the High Wheel.

Under the High Wheel is a beautiful cafe located near the end of the strip of restaurants along Whyte Ave. It prides itself in serving up an amazing brunch, utilising local, Alberta-grown ingredients and organic produce. Just look at the colours!

We start off with the safe choice of a huge traditional breakfast!

Traditional Breakfast ($15.00):
Two fried free-range eggs, cranberry maple sausage or bacon, herb roasted potatoes and toast.

Two perfectly charred cranberry maple sausages rests on a bed of fluffy scrambled eggs alongside four slices of toast, roasted potatoes and a side of fresh fruit. I loved the hint of maple in the sausages! It was a large serving with generous portions of roasted spuds and slices of fluffy rye toast.

Kale Salad ($23.00):
Wild Nova Scotia scallop, free-range hard-boiled egg, caramelised apples, apple wood smoked cheddar, Pembina bacon and artisan cracker crumbs. 

I'm not a salad-y type person but this ain't your typical salad!

It features smooth luscious pan-fried scallops, lovely tangy dressed kale, salty cheddar, caramelised roasted apples, a creamy hard boiled egg, slices of crispy bacon and a scattering of baby sprouts and artisan cracker crumbs. The scallops were huge and they were super generous with the amount of bacon and cheese. The sweet apples were a lovely contrast to the tart vinaigrette dressing. The kale was fresh and provided a nice crunch alongside the crispy bacon and cracker crumbs. I would definitely order this again!

Savoury Belgian Waffles ($18.00):
Choice of smoked salmon or bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise. 

This is Under the High Wheel's take on the traditional eggs benny! Instead of your classic toast, you have a giant sweet waffle with fluffy innards and a crispy golden exterior. Thin slices of smoked salmon are slathered across the waffle, topped with eggs which are poached to perfection and submerged in a slightly more tangy and acidic hollandaise sauce. One poke into the egg resulted in an ooze of golden egg yolk (or well, in this case it was orange because it was a free range egg). It was such a great combination of sweet and savoury flavours!

The food here is wonderful! It's freshly made and tastes fabulous. The downsides to Under the High Wheel would be the wait time for your food and the steep prices. But anyway, it's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area and not rushed for time!

Under the High Wheel
8135 102 Street
University/Old Strathcona, AB T6E
f: https://www.facebook.com/UnderTheHighWheel
w: http://www.underthehighwheel.com/