Z and I caved once again last Friday evening on our way home from work - our intention was to stop at Sobey's to pick up ingredients for a fabulous dinner, but something beckoned us to the other side of the street where the Blue Plate Diner happened to be.
Upon entering, we are always greeted with a "Hey, Guys! How's it going? It's been so long!" Although the staff don't know our names, we are there enough to have been deemed "regulars" by some of the servers. Our menus are rarely opened anymore... we have our favourites and stick by them. However, Fridays are always a good day to go for us, as the "Friday Night Dinner" meat or veggie special presents a new choice.
Despite new offerings, we were in a groove that neither of us were anxious to leave, so Z ordered an Alexander Keith's and I an Aprikat. We opted to skip appetizers (I wanted to get to Curves to work off my beer!), however if you have never been, get the Maple Glazed Grilled Cornbread ($4.50)... you will melt. The homemade veggie burger still fresh in my mind from a couple weeks ago, I opted for the Vegetarian Pozole Enchilades ($14.50) and Z for the Pozole and Chicken Enchilades ($17).
Blue Plate really is a diner... while the food has been updated, everything still arrives promptly after ordering (sometimes too much so). Furthermore, the dishes are never fancy, but comforting and homey. This being said, our Enchilades arrived hot and steaming. As always, they tasted great and were perfectly satisfying. And I love the re-fried beans served alongside (and because Z doesn't do beans I get his too!), as well as the roasted veggies served with all their plates.
When asked if we would like dessert, our first question is always, "What's the crumble?" On Friday night it was something with mango (Z doesn't do peaches or mangoes), so we opted out. However our server mentioned to us that a new gluten free dessert had just been added to the menu, and as soon as he said chocolate mousse and raspberry, we were in. This arrived in good time as well. We both enjoyed the cake, the mousse was a change from most flour-less, gluten free, chocolate desserts usually found... while I do enjoy the density of the latter, the mousse was lovely and light after our meal.
Once again we were happy and satisfied with our meals and service - this is what continually beckons us to the restaurant.
I will give some cautionary advice if you are on your way to Blue Plate though - for weekday lunches: make a reservation, it is very busy; because of the mixture of conversation and music, it is always loud at lunch, so don't be surprised. Weekend brunch: I would advise reserving a table for this as well, and like weekday lunches, it gets pretty noisy. If it is your first visit, it would probably be best to head over for dinner any evening or for a late lunch on the weekend - you are almost always guaranteed a table if you are dining in a group of four or less, and it is far quieter, with great music in the background.
Whenever you make it to Blue Plate, hopefully you find it as comforting and satisfying as Z and I always do. It really is a beautiful updated diner in the middle of the hustle and bustle of down town Edmonton.
Blue Plate Diner
10145 - 104 Street
780.429.0740
M - F (11am-10pm) S (9am-10pm; Brunch 9-1) Su (9am-10pm; Brunch 9-2)
2 comments:
I've always loved the vibe of Blue Plate...it is one of the rare authentically hip places in Edmonton!
Exactly! I love when places have that vibe without trying too hard... everything just comes together on its own.
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