For those looking for a little break this winter, consider visiting Lady of the Lake in Brandon.
Walking through the front doors of this locally owned gift store, café and pub, 10,000 sq. feet of shopping and eating space are on display. On one side of the building is the quaint café and pub, featuring a selection of homemade offerings. Adjacent is a 7,000 sq. foot gift shop, packed with vintage furniture, home décor and personal accessories. Awarded the Best Gift Shop in Canada from the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association, it is easy to get lost for hours just wandering.
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“I opened this location in 1995, but our two daughters are running it. While I am still serving as a mentor and my husband, Wes, often helps out as Mr. Fix-it, our daughters, Kaleigh and Miranda, are doing a fabulous job managing it,” said owner Bridget Stobbe.
I suggest starting with the gift shop at the Lady of the Lake Shop because you might work up an appetite shopping, so stopping at the café afterward may be just what you need.
You won’t find a deep fryer in the kitchen, pre-made entrees or dressings. Chef Kaleigh prides herself on creating from scratch. The results of her culinary talents will leave your taste buds with the satisfied feeling of enjoying comfort food with a creative twist.
Regardless of your hankering, there is something on the varied and extensive menu that fits any fancy.
For lunch, your eyes may be lured to the flatbread pizza while your stomach calls out for the sweet, curried chicken salad or the hot-mamma meatloaf sandwich. You may decide on one of the luncheon favourites, which is quiche with salad and homemade biscuits — famous among the regulars.
For dinner, I often struggle between sharing a selection of appetizers or enjoying an entrée, but usually end up choosing appies.
Curried mango chutney over warmed brie with flatbread is a great choice, but so is the warm spinach and caramelized onion dip with toasted flatbread and corn chips.
The wine and cheese salad checks my box. I love the creamy goat cheese, grapes, pecans and homemade balsamic vinaigrette served with one of their famous fresh biscuits. Also very popular is the creamy and super-flavourful Hungarian mushroom soup, of which my ancestors would be champions.
Turning to the dessert menu, this time of year they offer candy cane cheesecake and eggnog cheesecake. They also offer brownies, butter tarts, a tempting assortment of cookies and, of course, saskatoon berry pie. Everything is made from scratch and in house.
My guess is these delicious offerings support one of my favourite quotes from Julia Child: “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” Who are we to argue with Julia Child?
Must-try saskatoon berry pie
Filling:
- 7 c. saskatoon berries
- 1 c. sugar
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tbsp. water
- 1/4 c. cornstarch
Cook the berries, sugar, lemon juice and salt in a heavy bottom pot until soft and liquid has come out of the berries.
Mix cornstarch and water into a slurry and add to pot.
Cook until filling thickens.
Pour into a nine-inch unbaked pie crust.
Crumb topping:
- 1 c. brown sugar
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 c. rolled oats
- 1/2 c. melted butter
Combine all ingredients and sprinkle a generous amount on top of pie.
Bake at 350 F until fruit bubbles and the crust and topping are golden brown. Leftover crumb topping can be stored in the freezer.
Adele Buettner is a farm girl (at heart), foodie, volunteer, business owner and lover of all things relating to agriculture and food. She is located in Saskatoon.
