Stella’s Cafe at Plug In
Butter Tart
Maple Caramel French Toast, Sliced Banana, Blueberries, Maple Caramel Sauce
With nine locations in Manitoba ranging from the suburbs to YWG Airport it seemed pertinent to stop by Stella’s at some point while in Winnipeg, the space attached to Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art proving most convenient after a stop at Jonnie’s Sticky Buns just West on Portage Avenue.
Originally opened in 1999 at 166 Osborne Street, two original investors selling their shares prior to mass expansion, it was after securing paid parking on a nearby street that doors to the Institute were opened, a rush of young adults carrying sketchbooks and poster tubes making their way to class while Stella’s Café was also quite busy to the left.
Offering an up-front Pastry case and dining room beyond, a brief wait at the hostess stand followed by seating at a cozy two-top flanked on both sides by students, it was after briefly perusing options that two selections were made, the first a classic Canadian Butter Tart that tasted good but seemed to have been previously frozen based on both temperature and texture of its sugary center.
Taking a lengthy wait as an opportunity to indulge in still-warm Buns from Jonnie’s, all three magnificent, it was perhaps twenty minutes before French Toast was delivered as three thin slices topped in runny Syrup, the Bread itself no better than store-purchased while Pure Maple Syrup would have been preferred to the “Caramel Sauce,” though at least the tiny Wild Blueberries bursting with flavor were enjoyable.
www.stellas.ca
