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Editorial Review

Reviewed in the Aug/Sept '05 issue of Ciao! magazine

Its emphasis on both regional and global dishes makes Prairie Ink (located within McNally Robinson’s booksellers) a delightful and rather unexpected treat. The cafe is an open concept so you eat directly across from people browsing for books. This, along with the floor to ceiling windows, creates a feeling of open space for what is actually a small seating area—a dozen or so tightly packed tables.

Walls at the Grant Park location are bright and bold, mainly shades of blue, and all tables have a view of the partially open kitchen area, which is graced by an overhanging chalkboard menu. Prairie Ink brought the juice bar to Winnipeg masses, and it is still popular, offering delicious combinations of everything from beet and carrot to apple and mango.

The menu itself has gone through several iterations in recent years, but recently Chef Kelly Johnson has provided some stability, balancing the diverse needs of an all-day crowd. He has light fare, salads, soups, sandwiches and entrées: almost all well prepared and tastefully presented. Light fare choices include the ubiquitous quesadillas and Thai spring roll as well as some more distinctive choices. There are some lovely crab cakes, rare for Winnipeg. They are prepared with shredded crab meat brought to life with the zest of fresh lemon and some garlic and green onions. The slightly bigger-than-bite-size patties are dusted with breading, lightly fried and served with a choice of sauces—including a sharp aioli—which provides a nice contrast to the mild sweetness of the crab. There is also a clever interpretation of the Indian samosa, a mixture of potatoes and peas with turmeric, garam marala and a hint of hot chile wrapped in an almost phyllo-like pastry shell and fried to crispy perfection.

The salads are fresh and tasty and serve as the perfect light meal, especially the spinach McNally, which includes baby spinach and assorted greens tossed with red onion, grapefruit, oranges and almonds. Grapefruit works very well here, its tart flavour in nice contrast to the sweetness of the orange and red onion. The juice adds a curious intensity to the vinaigrette dressing, which also includes the spicy kick of fresh ginger. Salads are easily paired with soups or sandwiches for a more substantial meal.

Two soups change weekly, always with one vegetarian option. They can include a mild, creamy curried carrot and lentil, and a hearty beef, potato and barley soup, infused with the heady fragrance of fresh rosemary.

Entrées include a selection of oven-baked pizzas, prepared Mediterranean style on thin crusts and topped with a fragrant marinara sauce of olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. There is also a series of pasta and stir fry dishes.

One of the newer pasta creations is cavateppi, consisting of chicken, smoky bacon, mushrooms and red onions in a garlic cream sauce; a decadent combination. This dish has a rich headiness to it that is sure to please. The stir fries include a global mix of choices, including ginger beef, where the spinach salad vinaigrette is modified slightly and used as a marinade for strips of beef.

Prairie Ink draws crowds throughout the day and night for its sweets, with a stable of housemade desserts that are extremely popular. This includes a dense and flavourful carrot cake with maple-flavoured icing. The key lime pie is about as good as you’ll get outside of Florida—not over-sweetened, as is often the case. The gentle tang of fresh key limes is perfectly heightened. Rich, multi-layered chocolate cake is dark, moist and delectable; the portion size perfect for sharing.

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