We always ask for hot sauce, and while they had Frank’s (our favourite), we were tantalized when offered their in-house Korean hot sauce. “Of course!” we cried. We were first given their “medium-hot” which was really just red-tinged water. We wanted hotter. We asked for their best. The server said their best had to be handled with gloves and needed a waiver. We asked for their second-best. He brought us two small peppers soaked in a greasy sauce speckled with flakes of chili. They were tremendous! Very hiccup-inducing, but left a really good burn in my mouth.

The Korean influence in the restaurant was new, having switched owners about seven months prior. The menu featured Korean dishes, as I mentioned, but there were little spots of cultural influence, including the baffling “Monkey TVs” poster on the wall.

All in all, Dad’s is a good place to bring your kids, and if you’re in the area, don’t shy away. Not only is it one of the only places in the area that have breakfast, they do it alright. If only their coffee were better.

We really want to try their Korean dishes (they had no Korean breakfast), so we may be back soon.

April 9, 2011

Dad’s Family Restaurant

145 St. Anne’s Road

Breakfast Special - $3.99

Wheelchair accessible.

Dad’s is a fun little strip mall restaurant in St. Vital, which features an extensive Canadian and Korean menu. The fun mainly comes from the Trivial Pursuit cards on every table, allowing you to quiz one another while waiting for your food. They’ve been on St. Anne’s Road for about six years, and before that the location was V.J.’s Burgers, and before that, George’s Burgers and Subs (this info came from the server). Across the street lay the dairy Queen that was hit by a drunk driver, and the damage still showed. (Click here for the CBC article about the incident, including surveillance video.)

Dad’s coffee was very weak, not at all what I expect from a dad. To me, dads drink strong coffee. I guess the tepid coffee fit the genteel family restaurant theme. They deviate from that later on, so keep reading. Their breakfast special was a bit different than other places, in that they had garlic sausage and a different kind of potato for the hashbrowns. We’d never seen it before in Winnipeg, but the potatoes were yellow and a bit sweet, but not sweet like yams. They were also really starchy, which said to me they were underdone. Otherwise, the toast was the standard (rye, white, brown) and the meats were typical – round sandwich meat ham, breakfast link sausages and crunchy bacon, which was the best from their meats. The plates were topped off with orange slices.

Their pancakes had the presentation of a birthday cake but in the end were only “meh.” Tons of whipped cream and sliced fruit adorned them, but the cakes themselves - though very floofy - were just okay.

Odd tasting potay toos