Comfort fusion

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This article was published 25/04/2019 (2593 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Things are looking bullish on Wall Street, with a new addition to the West End strip that’s home to Barn Hammer Brewing and Sleepy Owl Bread.

Red Ember Common, the popular Neapolitan pizza joint at The Forks, is opening a small dine-in/takeout pizza shop called Wall Street Slice, next to Sleepy Owl at 753 Wall St. Serving New York-style ’za by the slice or a whole 18-inch pie, the restaurant hopes to be open by the end of April.

Red Ember also operates a food truck that can be found on Broadway Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and at St. Norbert Farmers Market on Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

As with Red Ember’s other operations, which focus on ingredients from such purveyors as Archie’s Meats, Zinn Farms and Nature’s Farm, Wall Street Slice will stress local, ethically raised products.

Another bonus to the location: customers at Barn Hammer’s taproom can pop out and bring back a slice or a pie to wash down with a local brew.

 

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Another new venture in an area underserved by local businesses, Junction 59 Roadhouse officially opened its doors on April 23 at 1615 Regent Ave. W. (a former Moxie’s location; the general manager is Kris Irvine, a longtime Moxie’s GM).

A spokesman for the restaurant calls it a combination of American roadhouse, Mexican cocina and Winnipeg diner, with a menu of comfort food that includes cast-iron corn bread, bucket nachos, homemade chicken fingers, grilled street corn and the city’s only molcajete bowl — a mixed grill served in a traditional Mexican basalt stone mortar that’s been heated in the oven.

The licensed diner — which is not part of a chain — will feature several offerings from Winnipeg craft brewers. The decor features Manitoba-inspired murals by Pat Lazo and live-edge wooden harvest tables by BeardBrothers Woodworking. KB Bake Shop will be providing a rotating gluten-free dessert to the menu.

Junction 59’s hours are 11 a.m. to midnight, Monday to Thursday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday.

 

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It’s officially patio season — Instagram is overflowing with pictures of happy folks enjoying outdoor beverages everywhere from Langside Grocery and Stone Angel to the dog-friendly decks at One Great City and Little Brown Jug — but the Downtown BIZ’s Patio Crawl tour doesn’t get underway until June 7. Part of its series of culinary/historical/beverage walking/biking tours, this one hits a variety of hot spots that may include Carbone Coal Fired Pizza, Earls, Rudy’s Eat & Drink, the Keg, the Met or Moxie’s Restaurant & Lounge.

You won’t have to worry about the weather on the May 10 Cocktail Crawl. This instalment of the downtown beverage tour focuses on the caesar, with an excursion that uses the Winnipeg Walkway system to sample three or four examples of the classic Canadian cocktail without ever going outside. The tour runs 5:30-10 p.m.; tickets are $40.

The other available tours and their next available dates are: The Breakfast Club ($40, April 28); Tap In (beer-focused, $40, May 24); A Moveable Feast (bike tour, $50, June 18); Winnipeg Wine ($85 for one, or $285 for two people with hotel stay, June 21); and Downtown Flashback (free noon-hour Viewmaster historical tour).

For more information, including possible restaurants/bars and times, see downtownwinnipegtours.com or call 204-958-4640.

The Exchange District’s food tours — Savour the Exchanges, Decadence in the District and Comfort Tours — don’t get underway until July, but you can book now at exchangedistrict.org/tours/food-tours.

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dedaumier