Brunch-a-Munch

The Deane House at Fort Calgary
806 9 Ave SE
www.fortcalgary.com/visiting/deane

Brunch this weekend with my mom and we decided to check out the Deane House at Fort Calgary. Built originally in 1906, the house was home to Captain Richard Deane. The final cost for the house was over budget (surprise surprise!) due to wage settlements and whatnot. It is interesting to note that where the house sits today is not where it was first erected. The house, originally built near the corner of 9th avenue and 6th street SE (West end of the Fort Calgary Historic Park), it was moved to the location of the current Interpretive Centre back in 1914 and again in 1929 across the Elbow River to it's current location. How do you move a house across the river you may ask, well let me tell you... Temporary pilings (probably a bridge type system) and a steam tractor were used to pull the house (on skids) across. Pretty crazy stuff. I'm a little surprise they didn't just build a new one. I would have thought it would be cheaper (back in 1929) to build a new one rather than build a billion other things and drag it across the river. The building has been designated as a Registered Historic Resource in 1978 so it's probably not going anywhere for a long time.

The house features a semi wrap around porch which has been enclosed to give it a outdoorsy-but-not-really feel. We were seated in the sunny south west corner so I can work on my sweet tan (around the neck area). I ordered the brioche french toast. It came with a bowl of fruit, buttermilk scones and a choice of sausages or bacon. The first to arrive was the bowl of fruit. Diced melon, pineapple and grapes were layered by a variety of berries and topped with a gooseberry. The sweetness of the fruit increased exponentially as you dug deeper into the bowl. The grapes were so sweet it was almost like eating sugar by itself.



The buttermilk scones arrived in a basket shortly after with some homemade jam and butter. The aroma of butter filled the air when I lifted the cloth. The scones were soooo fresh and soft. Rivals the memory foam focaccia bread at CHARCUT (Hard to believe I know). I ate two or three before finally pushing them away because my main dish have yet to arrive.

When my french toast finally arrived, I was probably 75% full. But I ate everything anyway. Omega 3 eggs coated the freshly baked brioche and topped with a saskatoon berry sauce and whipped cream. The saskatoon berries look very similar to blueberries. I'm not sure if these were treated but they felt a lot firmer than blueberries. The brioche was very soft and a little crispy on the outside from the toasted egg batter. The whipped cream provided a nice balance to the slightly sour berry sauce. 7 stars out of 10 for this gut bursting experience.