Restaurant Review: Old Country Inn
BARB & ERNIE'S OLD COUNTRY INN 9906 72nd Avenue | oldcountryinnedmonton.com Twitter: @oldcountryinn Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew
This restaurant might be called the "Old Country Inn" but literally everyone in Edmonton knows it as Barb & Ernie's. Barb and Ernie Feuchter are the original owners of this German-comfort breakfast restaurant, which opened in 1975. Many people (such as myself) have fond memories of crawling in to Barb & Ernie's during the 2000s on weekend mornings after a wild night out on the town. (I was in my 20s, after all!) The best part was always Ernie's signature surly attitude - super sweet to the ladies and quick to dismiss the gents. I would line up all the way outside the door just to get my hands on their smoked salmon eggs benedict - which I believed to be the height of breakfast luxury at the time. This is a great example of what restaurants can do: they create and capture memories. Barb and Ernie officially retired in 2011 and the restaurant was taken over by their son Thomas. Even though the Old Country Inn has been around for 47 years it is still a beloved institution that receives regular accolades. Edmonton Journal named them Best German Restaurant 2020, Best German Restaurant 2021, and Favourite German Restaurant 2022, as well as Best Overall Restaurant 2021. I hadn't visited myself in many, many years and looked forward to a nostalgic return. Said visit took place on a Sunday morning, and not much had changed in the fact that the earlier that you arrive, the better. (Unless waiting in line is your thing.) There is a small parking area in front of the Ritchie establishment but the spots are in high demand. You couldn't possibly miss the restaurant itself - not only is it located in a fairly desolate industrial part of the city but it's kinda hard to ignore an entire two storey Bavarian-style chalet just sitting there on 99th Street. The building is very distinct and a definite focal point of the landscape in the area. Crammed into the small entrance vestibule, I was transported back to age 25 and it was a good feeling. It can be nice when things don't change too much and seem to be just the way that you left them. We arrived not long after opening and there were still vacant tables available. This didn't last for long. However, we were luckily seated right away. The restaurant is somewhat large, comprising of two separate dining rooms with the kitchen sandwiched in between both of them. The inside is very homey and comfortable, much like the food itself. There isn't much flash but you will see paintings of grassy German fields and other scenery, wood paneling on the walls, and the odd beer stein here and there. Seated in the second (or south) dining room by a window, I couldn't help but smile. A sunny classic breakfast just feels right. Barb & Ernie's is only open for breakfast and lunch so you can expect to find a menu that focuses on all of your breakfast favourites with a German twist. You will not find avocado toast on this menu. I decided to order the "fanciest" coffee on the menu, the Mocha ($4.50).
This beverage, while pretty small in size for the price, was a delight. It tasted like coffee and hot chocolate and I was good with that. The whipped cream added a little extra that made the drink feel special. Although the restaurant was busy, our server was very prompt and friendly. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time and as usual, the portions were massive. Barb & Ernie's claim to serve the best eggs benedict, and like I previously mentioned, their smoked salmon version used to be a staple of mine. However, there are SIXTEEN different types available, from meat-centric versions to seafood to vegetarian options. For this visit only one version seemed to be correct: The Old Country Inn Eggs Benedict ($19.95). If something is named after the restaurant itself, the general rule of thumb is that you should order that.
All of the eggs benedicts are served with two poached eggs (cooked to order, I requested medium) on an English muffin with homemade white wine hollandaise sauce and hashbrowns. (You can also get tomatoes or baked beans as your side instead.) I have recently come to the realization that fried salami for breakfast is absolutely my jam, so this eggs benedict fit the bill. Heaping with meat (the meat value is certainly good), I dug into this benedict meat mountain. I always remembered the hollandaise to be especially memorable at Barb & Ernie's and was happy to taste it once again. Super creamy, you really get the flavour of the white wine. My eggs were poached to the correct medium doneness. I'm sure that there was an English muffin under there somewhere. The meat was the star of this dish. The ham was good, the corned beef was very tender and felt like a special treat, and the salami was delicious. Cured meats are the best. Think of a charcuterie board except in eggs benedict form - that's what this was. My only issue was that my butter knife was not appropriate for the thick-cut salami. I needed a steak knife, which was not provided. The hashbrowns aren't anything special but you don't come to this restaurant for the hashbrowns (although, the crispy bits were quite enjoyable). There are a bunch of condiments on the table and I did find a housemade ketchup that was very good and I covered my hashbrowns liberally with it. (I believe it was a curry ketchup, like the kind that is served with currywurst.) In conclusion, this dish gave me the meat sweats but I wasn't mad about it. There are other items on the menu beyond the eggs benedict. I've never personally ordered them, but they're there; meat n' potato breakfasts, omelettes, and also hotcakes. I was pretty intrigued by the German Bacon Pancake ($8.00 for a single) and needed to see it for myself.
This thing was HUGE!!! I can't imagine needing to order more than just one! The menu recommends that it is eaten with syrup and butter, and I happily obliged. This pancake is like a cross between a traditional pancake and a crepe - it's not quite either of them but a hybrid of both. It's very eggy and glutenous. Plus there are slices of bacon in there because if they can pack more meat into something, they will. I liked this a lot and enjoyed trying something that seemed uniquely German. While my food tastes have grown and matured since I was in my 20s, Barb & Ernie's have kept their time-honoured traditions alive. It was great to visit them once again with new eyes and to try different things beyond what I would have chosen in the past. The next time that I'm there I will absolutely be ordering the potato pancakes with smoked salmon - I'm sure that they make a mean potato pancake. If you haven't visited in a long time you won't be disappointed by the trip down memory lane that awaits you.
Comments