September 19 2010
Nick’s Inn
5392 Portage Avenue (Headingly)
Hours of operation: Not posted anywhere. (wtf people?)
Breakfast Special - $5.95
Breakfast served until 11:30 weekdays, 1:30 Sundays & holidays. Cash only.
Nick’s Inn isn’t so innie… there’s no hotel attached, so it’s a cube of pure chiliburger goodness. Their breakfast wasn’t too bad either. This is the place everybody tells me they go to when driving back into the city. I was surprised to see the Headingly Grill mere metres away from their back door, also offering breakfast - but when considering Nick’s size, I guess I understand. Also, Nick’s sign had the Coke logo on it, while the ‘Grill was sporting the Pepsi brand. Going further south off the highway, I encountered the Headingly Hotel (which may or may not also do breakfast), and the community club with “Erotic Bingo” on Fridays. Seriously.
The menu said to “Ask about the breakfast specials” but when we did, we were told there were none. The menu didn’t lie to us any more after that, but it did apply an inappropriate apostrophe to “omelettes” and had the American spelling of “favourite.” It also offered a “three decker clubhouse” which made me pause, but was ultimately grammatically acceptable. The menu proudly proclaimed to be made by Sysco, so you know who to write your angry letters to.
The church bells across the street were ringing when we arrived at 10am, and while we were able to grab a table for six, they filled up very quickly after that. On the walls were the standard pictures of Greece that you can find in just about any Greek restaurant in Winnipeg, but also there were pictures of Nick himself, and his son, both of whom Nick’s daughter (our server) said were “lost to us now.”
My omelette and hashbrowns were the same colour as the plate, but were tasty good. I had the Greek omelette, with grilled veggies (red peppers, zucchini) and feta cheese. The hashrbrowns were Nook-like, in that they were boiled and then lightly grilled. They had a nice buttery taste to them but were barely touched by the grill. I prefer mine to have a crispy edge to them, which was completely lacking. The bacon was thick and tasty and didn’t taste grilly at all, which is a risk with fast-paced diners like Nick’s.
