Our server was nervous because the owner was in the restaurant. What does that say?

The service was slow (from the time we sat down it was a full hour before we got our food and we were the only ones there) and a few of our orders were  wrong. Also, it was sort of odd; the waitress said because it’s a special occasion (13 of us to serve is pretty special I guess), she would bring the pot of coffee to our table instead of bringing us full cups like she usually does. This is a sign that a place is not adequately prepared for breakfast.

I got the ‘Mixed Grill’, which consisted of three meats (sausage, bacon and ham), three eggs, hashbrowns and toast. I was startled with what was brought to me. Get this: they screwed up the eggs. Normally the most unflappable breakfast ingredient, they managed to do what nobody else has done. One breakfaster got theirs almost raw, and several plates were supposed to be over easy but came over hard (including mine). I’m not convinced there was yolk in mine at all. One other patron had a nice big piece of shell in hers. Yikes.

The potatoes were grated, which is usually a good sign except that they came white, bland and unappealing. I didn’t have any yolk to mix in to try and salvage them, making it doubly troubling. I was forced to use ketchup for flavour, and I hate doing that.

(The hashbrowns tasted like they had recently been delivered from a past life as shredded paper and ground particle board. Perhaps they were rehydrated freeze dried potato gribblies? We do grow the damn things IN this province (Manitoba) so why can some far away potato torture factory provide a cheaper alternative and why does the Pony Corral have to buy it? Oh right... It’s cheaper. Leif)

The meats were… unique. The bacon was good… tender but well-done and the ham was decent (if not greasy), and the sausage was deep fried. Yes, deep fried. I’ve never seen that before. Not only deep fried, but it came as one huge wiener instead of several small ones. One breakfaster got his with only the tip deep fried, making its resemblance of a “wiener” quite profound. See picture.

The toast was barely singed by heat at all and was almost as white as the potatoes.

A few of us were feeling frisky and ordered shots of Kahlua to add to our coffees. Not only did this freak our waitress out (who then took 20 minutes to ‘check’ if they could be done) but they cost $6 each. What the heck!?

To top it off, they only had Tobasco sauce to offer us for heat. No thanks, we’re The Connoisseurs, or didn’t you notice? No, I guess they didn’t.

The Texas in the “Texas sized breakfast” refers to size and not quality. At least I hope so, because if this is how they do it in Texas… well, I just don’t know.

A historic Connoisseurs moment: I didn’t finish my plate. This is a first and hopefully, a last. Ravi, having a similar experience, summed it up best:

“Normally I don’t waste food but this food was worth wasting.”

They earned the 3 by having peanut butter on the table and some decent coffee. (The coffee was only slightly below average; which is strangely “average” for this town.  Our theory is that a large subterranean lake of coffee exists below Winnipeg and that many restaurants pay a fee to the Municipal Government to pump coffee out of it. The Pony Coral does this I think. Leif) 

What else… well, it was -40 outside and the walls were great at blocking the wind. Way to go walls.

I’m sort of ambivalent about the music that was playing, satellite radio 80’s hits. I know the 80’s are a bit popular thing now, but for those who were actually there it’s recalled with much cringing. However, I was noted to have been unconsciously bobbing my head at a few songs; leftover affection for synthesizers left over from my youth.

I’m sure the Pony Corral’s lunches and dinners are fine, but stay away from breakfast.

February 9 2008

The Pony Corral Downtown

444 St. Mary Avenue

Hours of operation:

Mon - Sun   11 AM - 2 AM

Breakfast served until 4 PM

Texas Style Breakfast   $7.99

with 3 eggs                            $8.99

Eye Opener   $8.99

(with O.J. and mandatory ham)

Mixed Grill   $9.99

(three eggs, three different meats)

All three are slight variations of ‘The Special’ that we try to focus on. All include hashbrowns and toast, but not coffee which is $2.29 extra.

Talk about a dirty thirty.

For our 30th review, we went to the Pony Corral downtown. I’m writing this less than an hour after eating there and I feel ill, and I know I’m not the only one. Not barfy but definitely wish I could un-swallow some of our breakfast.

Given that the Pony Corral building also houses J. Sprats on the second floor, I suggest that the entire intersection be avoided.

First off, it’s a sports bar décor: multiple televisions with multiple channels. This morning we were treated to women’s bowling, some poker and then a lengthy dog show which just made me sad for mankind and the dogkind alike.