This is not a story about avocado toast. You won’t find any recommendations for eggs Benedict, here. You won’t find rosemary scones or waffles with berries you’d never heard of before.
This is a story about a basic breakfast; sausages, eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. A breakfast that came to the table about five minutes after I ordered it.
Actually, this story is not about that, either. It’s about a sense of place.
Even though the sign on the door happily displays that the Red Goose Restaurant has been open since 1955, this is the first time I’ve walked into this Hazeldean spot. Bright red booths are lined up against wood-paneled walls that remind you of how your parents finished the basement. And, the restaurant is filled with toys, found objects, paintings and photographs that have accumulated over the years.
A stuffed Spider-Man clings to the window, near the Lego crane. There are characters from Toy Story in the party, too. There’s a couple of vintage typewriters in the restaurant, almost daring you to begin that great novel you promised yourself that you’d start. On the walls are photographs from around the world, plus Polaroids of customers past, sitting in the booths. Faces from breakfasts past look at you through the reassuring gloss that only Polaroids can offer.
This is a repository of a community’s history. It feels like a place that deserves a historic designation of some kind.
And as I eat my perfectly capable, diner breakfast, I am glad that there are still places like this.
Hazeldean | 9625 66 Ave, Edmonton | 780.435.8661
