Tucked away in Creekside Shopping Centre past the former Rona, Bro’kin Yolk opened its doors 2 weeks ago and fulfills the long awaited destiny of a brunch restaurant in the Northwest corner of the city. (Seriously, the only other brunch place within a 5km radius is an Eggs Oasis.) We arrived at 11am on a Friday morning and the place was already full, with a couple of people waiting in the entrance for a table. We were told that it’d be 40 minutes for a table for 2, and put down a number before heading over to the Tim Hortons next door.
I came here with Brittany, a former classmate who I hadn’t talked to in over a decade. We got in touch again when I came across Holsem YYC on social media, a small business that Brittany founded not too long ago. Holsem is a service that delivers healthy, frozen meals to busy Calgarians, giving them “more time to do the things they love, fueled by foods the body loves”. Sharon (lapettiteshar) has a great post over on her blog for more details on what Holsem is all about and I encourage you to check them out. 🙂
Brittany guessed that we would have a table within 15-20 minutes instead of 40, and she was right. I received a text stating that our table was ready, which was nice because I feel that sometimes restaurants just skip to the next customers in line if you’re not physically there, even though they took down your number.
The interior was gorgeous, and the oodles of natural lighting helped make the place feel even more open than it already was. A light, natural colour palette permeates the space, while darker accent colours and patterns provide contrast.
Brittany and I kinda got lost in conversation, but soon realized that we’ve been sitting at our table for 15 minutes already and nobody had come by to greet us or ask if we had any questions. We had tons of time to contemplate on what we should order by this point, and eventually flagged down a waiter. He told us to wait a minute as he heads back towards the kitchen, seemingly confused and trying to figure out who was supposed to be serving us; it appeared as if nobody really knew. Coming back to our table shortly afterwards, he took our order and took decent care of us for the rest of our meal.
House-made Waffles!
The Bro’kin Yolk specializes in house-made waffles, which come in quarter sections for $2 each. Toppings are an extra 50 cents, and are available in flavours such as White Chocolate Lavender or Drunken Berry Compote. Other items on the menu include Eggs Benny (made with waffles instead of English muffin!), Breakfast Poutine, classic breakfasts, and sandwiches. With only a limited number of servings per day however, the Chicken and Waffles is one of the more prominent offerings. Check the chalkboard at the entrance as you walk in to see if there’s any left!
State of the Art, Next Generation Chicken & Waffles Tracker
Chicken & Waffles ($15)
Seeing as the Chicken and Waffles was still available, ordering it was a no brainer. The presentation was simple, with two modestly sized pieces of fried chicken coupled with sides of maple honey hot sauce and gravy. The waffle was fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, giving it that audible delicious crunch when you bite into it. The chicken on the other hand, wasn’t bad but could’ve used a bit more seasoning. I appreciated how the sauces came as a side, this way you can control when and how much you want to use instead of your waffles being drenched and soggy.
I personally enjoyed this dish with the gravy a lot more, maybe because I was looking for some classic, savoury comfort food on that rainy day. The hot sauce just didn’t complement the chicken & waffles in the same way for me, while Brittany liked it most when the two sauces were mixed together. Call me crazy, but next time I order Chicken & Waffles here, I want to try it with one of the waffle side toppings. Just imagine.. White Chocolate Lavender Chicken & Waffles!
Short Rib Hash ($14)
Next up, we have the short rib hash. The slow cooked short rib was soft and flavourful, while the sunnyside up eggs gave off that golden colour as if you won a trip to Charlie’s chocolate factory. Many of the dishes actually come with hash, which The Bro’kin Yolk proudly identifies as being hand-cut, twice fried and tossed in duck fat. I thought that the hash itself (w/ peppers & onions) was satisfactory but nothing too special.
When it came time to pay, the wireless credit card machine had troubles picking up signal from where we were sitting, so our waiter had to walk around with it for the payment to go through. I did find this to be slightly amusing, although it definitely wasn’t a big deal. Price and portion wise, the Bro’kin Yolk is comparable to most of the brunch places on Edmonton Trail, and you’re still going to have a long wait on the weekends. Location wise however, it’s much more convenient for us folks in the Northwest and offers ample amounts of parking.
A nice touch was the kids menu and high chairs, making this place more family friendly than some of the alternatives. It’s clear that the Bro’kin Yolk team has put in a lot of hard work into their new store, but there’s also a lot of hard work ahead as they try to iron out some issues. Overall, I’m eggcited to finally have a brunch spot in the Northwest and would return in the future to try some of their other options when things have settled down a bit.
The Bro’kin Yolk
130, 12580 Symons Valley Road NW – Calgary, AB
(587) 317-5743 | www.brokinyolk.ca
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