The expensive and bland breakfast was dismal. The coffee was almost as tasteless as the grated potatoes, letting me know that style is unrelated to content when it comes to food. While grated potatoes won their way into my heart in a previous review, these grey sticks passed by my palate as if they were asking for change. The eggs were fine - no big accomplishment there - and the sausage was completely standard (though there WAS a pleasant absence of chewy cartilage bits. The bacon was reportedly unremarkable as well. My toast was crispy/burnt and consequently provided the most potent flavour on my plate.

I've been accused of being a 'tough critic', so I've been trying to remember to emphasize the positive as much as the negative. In this situation though, I was searching hard for that positive.

The bus station location we went to is cafeteria-style, lending a certain amount of kitsch to the situation in the numbered tags you receive while ordering. There's something affirming about having your table being designated as a number... it's very concrete. You can be sure you will not be receiving the wrong table's order. The green tags atop the orange table with matching orange (immovable) seats is serious kitsch, a style likely surviving for many decades. However, there is no art in the whole place. There are plastic flowers adorning one wall that were offset by the slightly garish wallpaper. One artful afterthought is the video game that is now a table. The controls are still there (sticking into your crotch, apparently) but the coin slot is missing. We didn't sit there.

This brings us back to the question posed earlier (slightly rephrased): is the traditional good? In this case (with the breakfast at least) the two notions seem mutually exclusive. People come to Sals because they always have, and their parents did as well. Whatever formula kept it running for decades upon decades has been absorbed and is just slightly visible on their menu's dinner items.

The breakfast may not have been good, but luckily it's a small part of their menu. The lunch and dinner specials are hallowed much more than the breakfast, evidenced by the rushed nature of the Special in favour of readiness for mass Nip production. We had a mandatory discussion about the designation of the "Nip". I related a story about bringing my Japanese friend to a Sals and explaining to him the derogatory nature of the "Nip". My friend had never heard that term before; and actually if the etymology I am aware of is true, Nip shouldn't be offensive at all. It's akin to calling us Canucks. Nippon is Japan in Japanese, but I'm seriously digressing here.

Just what IS a "Nip"? One sagacious breakfaster noted that it could be derived from WinNIPeg, further embedding the restaurant in the ethos of it's province of designation. To look up "nip" in the dictionary, the most coherent definition comes from its reference to biting. "Would you like some steak?" "Just a nip, thanks". The Sals "Nip" is a tiny burger, apparently meant to be consumed in several "nips". However, a "nip" is also a tiny portion of alcohol, according to the British. I am thus led to ask:
Is a nip of a nip just right after a few nips? I'll nip back in a minute to tell you...

Probably.

I feel bad for people passing through on the bus who don’t have enough time to look for better restaurants. If you must go, go for lunch or dinner and try your luck. Just don’t forget your wallet.

SEPTEMBER 19 2007

SALISBURY HOUSE

IN THE BUS STATION

491 Portage Ave

Breakfast Special

(Before 10:30am)

$5.56 after coffee & tax.

After 10:30am, the Special increases to $7 before coffee. No free refills. Yikes.

First thing's first: it pays (literally) to arrive before 10:30. The server said it used to be until 11am, but even that cut into the lunch time. I arrived at 10:27, just in time to hear one of the ladies behind the counter yelp cheerfully "It's 10:30 we can stop serving breakfast!", throwing her arms in the air in celebration. A grim portend, indeed.

This displayed to me a flagrant disrespect and lack of love for the eggs which I would soon be cuddling. Let me tell you, what I expected is what I got, all self-fulfilling prophesies aside. In fact, the breakfast ended up being so unremarkable, I am going to spend the majority of this review on the restaurant itself.

The Salisbury House is as Manitoban as The Guess Who (the obviousness of this comparison is not lost on many, I'm sure). It's been around since 1931, so there's gotta be something to it, right? This is what we set out to determine.
Unsubstantiated rumour has it that the restaurant chain was in fiscal disarray until it was sold to a group of local investors, amongst who were Burton Cummings and Sam Katz. This brought about an expansion, including the now-infamous location on the Provencher Bridge.

A great deal of thought during breakfast was dedicated to the following question: just because it's a tradition, does that mean it's good? Salisbury House has been a haven for Winnipeggers for years who want to be able to enjoy one cup of coffee over a three hour period. It's open late and offers a variety of (mainly) meat-based meals. This is the perfect refuge for the wintertime, where waiting for the city bus can be a day-long engagement. It's possible that Sals was at one time a unique place in Winnipeg, but now it has sadly been surpassed in quality and style by innumerable other restaurants/diners in town.