Winnipeg | Restaurants

[esquire]

One thing I've learned from this thread is that Sal's is a divisive subject... lots of strongly pro and anti Sal's sentiment that is slowly tearing this city apart.

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by esquire

One thing I've learned from this thread is that Sal's is a divisive subject... lots of strongly pro and anti Sal's sentiment that is slowly tearing this city apart.

Sals is why city planning ignited urban sprawl

Sals is why the barriers at portage and main haven't come down yet

Sals is why ST. B is run by franco-nimbys

Sals is why we now have growth fees coming even to downtown

Sals is why there are noise complaints at 8:37 pm in the exchange



I'm exaggerating, but Sals apologists, that line of thinking, is why

[cheswick]

Last time I ate at Sals the waitress reeked of cigarettes and was missing a couple of teeth up front. It was like a caricature of a diner waitress come to life.

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Have any of you brought out-of-towners from cities, not farmer's fields like Brandon, to Sals and talked about it's Winnipeg cult status?

No, I used to do that with friends, except we'd go to the Paddlewheel up on the 6th Fl. of The Bay.

Former co-worker friend and I had gone to the Sals across from Portage Pl. 15-16 yrs. ago.

Nowadays, I've invited one of the same friend to Stella's at the PlugIn Gallery. She tells me "we don't have to go there, McDonald's coffee is cheaper."

I don't get it.

[wags_in_the_peg]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Last time I ate at Sals the waitress reeked of cigarettes and was missing a couple of teeth up front. It was like a caricature of a diner waitress come to life.

my sister in law with 3 degrees finally got a job

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Last time I ate at Sals the waitress reeked of cigarettes and was missing a couple of teeth up front. It was like a caricature of a diner waitress come to life.

I bet if you stood closer to the "old style" cashiers at Safeway or Superstore, you'd smell the same s**t.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Have any of you brought out-of-towners from cities, not farmer's fields like Brandon, to Sals and talked about it's Winnipeg cult status?

I did. Never lived that down. "This shit? That's what Wpg is proud of?"

I you removed the man-buns, hipsters and differences in the menu Stella's and Sal's are interchangeable. Only real difference between the two is Stella's targets a younger crowd.

[esquire]

^ Stella's at least has some different stuff that most people couldn't easily cook in their own kitchens using the ingredients they have on hand. I mean... Sals is mainly bacon n' eggs, toast, a fried patty on a bun (or what Sal's calls a nip)... I'm not exactly Joel Robuchon but even I can throw that stuff together at home by myself, even when I'm hung over.

[Curmudgeon]

I'll take Sal's by a mile over White Spot, which is the "local" diner in the Vancouver area.

I love the nips, no one else does burgers like that with the fried onions. As for Stella's, meh, it's okay, but nothing special and overpriced, and Cora's does a better breakfast at a similar price point, but it is better than the Tallest Poppy which I found to be absolutely ghastly on both of my visits.

[Wolf13]

I actually don't care about Stella's as much as my incessant tirades on the matter suggest, but Winnipeg's interpretation of quality irks me.

My aforementioned out-of-towners, whom I took to Sals, also visited Stellas. They went back the next day.

Originally Posted by CoryB

I you removed the man-buns, hipsters and differences in the menu Stella's and Sal's are interchangeable. Only real difference between the two is Stella's targets a younger crowd.

If you don't see the massive differences in food, service, clientele, ambience, location, hours, QUALITY, then I can't help you. Stella's isn't 529, but it is a solid 3-5 tiers above whatever Sals is.

Stella's isn't a burger company, but their burger is infinitely better than Sals. The rest of their food is as well.

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Stella's at least has some different stuff that most people couldn't easily cook in their own kitchens using the ingredients they have on hand. I mean... Sals is mainly bacon n' eggs, toast, a fried patty on a bun (or what Sal's calls a nip)... I'm not exactly Joel Robuchon but even I can throw that stuff together at home by myself, even when I'm hung over.

I wouldn't choose Sals over Denny's.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I'll take Sal's by a mile over White Spot, which is the "local" diner in the Vancouver area.

I love the nips, no one else does burgers like that with the fried onions. As for Stella's, meh, it's okay, but nothing special and overpriced, and Cora's does a better breakfast at a similar price point, but it is better than the Tallest Poppy which I found to be absolutely ghastly on both of my visits.

Really?

White Spot isn't special, and as a family restaurant with more offerings, I'd say it absolutely crushes Sals or Perkins.

I think most of what turns people off are prices, but let's faces, prices have been where they are for a long time, and we're pretending that I can still get a good burger for under $4 anywhere.

Remove price, and ask which one is better. Now ask the market which they think is better, price factored in, and you'll see Stella's doing well and Sals on life-support from nostalgia alone.

Even our nostalgia is laced with fentanyl...

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

I actually don't care about Stella's as much as my incessant tirades on the matter suggest, but Winnipeg's interpretation of quality irks me.

[...]

If you don't see the massive differences in food, service, clientele, ambience, location, hours, QUALITY, then I can't help you. Stella's isn't 529, but it is a solid 3-5 tiers above whatever Sals is.

Sal's is for baby boomers, Stella's is for Millennials. Other than being newer and with a different menu they are both average at best restaurants. Even with things like curry on the menu Stella's is still fairly boring place to go. Just wait until the Millenial group has children that are young adult aged and you will see the comments about Stella's being old, out of style, etc just like there is for Sal's today. It is sort of sad that with so many better choices out there people's highlights of Winnipeg come down to these two and the complete trash that is Santa Lucia.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

and the complete trash that is Santa Lucia.

[Tacheguy]

I took people from Edmonton to Sal's a couple years ago and they liked the nips. they taste good.

oh yeah..Stella's sucks.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by Tacheguy

oh yeah..Stella's sucks.

[optimusREIM]

Why is it that we insist on shitting on the one semi decent food Winnipeg success story at the moment? I'm really starting to understand why we've never achieved our potential.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

Why is it that we insist on shitting on the one semi decent food Winnipeg success story at the moment? I'm really starting to understand why we've never achieved our potential.

A lot of restaurants have been dumped on in this thread... You'll have to be more specific.

[Authentic_City]

I was recently in Philadelphia. Of course, everyone says that you must have an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. So I went to a place that was very highly recommended. It even had a municipal historic plaque out front declaring this was the birthplace of the famous sandwich.

Guess what? It's terrible! Marginal, greasy bits of beef fried up on a grill and covered in cheese whiz. WTF?

It's comfort food for locals. No different than a Sals nip or a Jeanne Cake or a slurpy.

Sure, these foods might puzzle out of town visitors. What's the big deal? This is pure garbage, etc. But that's not the point of comfort food. It's all about nostalgia.

But now what's wrong with Santa Lucia? And what's next, an all out assault on chicken fingers and honey dill sauce? Is nothing sacred anymore!?!?

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

I was recently in Philadelphia. Of course, everyone says that you must have an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. So I went to a place that was very highly recommended. It even had a municipal historic plaque out front declaring this was the birthplace of the famous sandwich.

Guess what? It's terrible! Marginal, greasy bits of beef fried up on a grill and covered in cheese whiz. WTF?

It's comfort food for locals. No different than a Sals nip or a Jeanne Cake or a slurpy.

Sure, these foods might puzzle out of town visitors. What's the big deal? This is pure garbage, etc. But that's not the point of comfort food. It's all about nostalgia.

Oh no, that's too bad. I've had some great Cheesesteaks. The real McCoys should be made from sliced ribeye with lots of gooey provolone.

To me though, a Cheesesteak is never as good as an authentic Po' Boy, and the best are to be found in New Orleans, although one of the best sandwiches I've ever had was in Memphis airport. As an aside, Memphis looks a lot like Winnipeg from the air.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Sal's is for baby boomers, Stella's is for Millennials. Other than being newer and with a different menu they are both average at best restaurants. Even with things like curry on the menu Stella's is still fairly boring place to go. Just wait until the Millenial group has children that are young adult aged and you will see the comments about Stella's being old, out of style, etc just like there is for Sal's today. It is sort of sad that with so many better choices out there people's highlights of Winnipeg come down to these two and the complete trash that is Santa Lucia.

I don't think anyone's highlights of Winnipeg are Sal's or Stella's and neither will ever feature in an airline magazine, but I do like Sal's nips and they do have a good weekly special. I like the fact that Winnipeg has its very own local chain of diners. This city punches well above its weight in terms of restaurant variety and quality, and excepting those specializing in South, East and Southeast Asian cuisines, I would argue that Winnipeg has a better food scene than Vancouver. With respect to Asian restaurants, Vancouver has a clear advantage due to the sheer number and the competition results in not only better food, but considerably better prices as well.

Sal's and Stella's are quite different, Sal's being more of a traditional blue-collar diner, with a menu largely unchanged from the 1930s, and competes more directly with Denny's and Perkins or even independents like the Red Top, and Stella's a more contemporary entry-level restaurant. Maybe it's just the location and the times that I have been, but I have found that Stella's customer base is not so much Millenials, but Gen X women who wish to be trendy, and like the multinational coffee chain whose name also starts with a "S", I found the place to be slightly and unnecessarily pretentious.

As for some of the others mentioned, my experience with Denny's has always been better in the U.S. than in Canada, I'm not a fan of Perkins and my experience with White Spot has almost always been okay food but coupled with horrendous service, which leaves me always disappointed.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

I was recently in Philadelphia.

Did you have one of those giant pretzels people sell by wandering through stopped traffic?