What do you say when your editor suggests setting you up on a blind date and then have you write about it? First, I said yes—as I’m always up for a challenge. Second, I googled Max to see what I could find out but only because he didn’t seem too fond of my serious (yet funny) suggestion to both wear crazy hats so we knew who each other were.

Turns out that I was going to be sharing my beautiful city with a fresh import from Canada’s West coast.

First Reaction

No, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. In fact, it was anything but, given the coarseness, in both her appearance and behaviour, to which I’m neither accustomed nor inclined. But, as the date unfolded, I began to see her charms, and opened up to the possibilities that they presented.

I’m not talking about my date, mind you. I’m talking about Edmonton itself, a place with whom I’m in the earliest stages of a relationship, having moved here from Vancouver in early May. 

And while I’ve tried to embrace Edmonton’s charms over the last few months, it’s been a rocky introduction, so I was looking forward to a native Edmontonian’s introduction.

Breakfast at the New York Bagel Cafe

As the local in this adventure, I had numerous ideas floating through my head. My favourite first-date spot is Edmonton’s beautiful river valley and the expertly manicured grounds of the Alberta Legislature—but none of that could be done on an empty stomach. 

Our outing began with a hearty breakfast at the New York Bagel Cafe.

New York Bagel Cafe’s Menu

Our first stop, the New York Bagel Café on Gateway Boulevard, was a promising start. Given the name, I was half-expecting a cheesy chain-style restaurant that traded in kitschy clichés about New York and featured a menu full of thick, doughy calorie bombs. 

Instead, it’s a charmingly eclectic room, full of personality and quirk, and it’s ably complemented by one of the nicest patios I’ve encountered so far in Edmonton. The food was equally impressive, with a menu that’s anchored by their various interpretations and presentations of eggs Benedict but also features the usual breakfast offerings. 

One caveat: you get what you pay for here, with some dishes exceeding $20 and premium coffees coming at premium prices, such as the $7 iced latte.

Conversation Over Coffee and Bagels

Sipping on my coffee it struck me that my biggest fear when heading into a blind date isn’t worrying about what my prince may think of me; rather, it’s that I’ll be sharing my time with a toad.

Especially in the lush green setting provided on New York Bagel Cafe’s quaint and cozy patio. After my third sip of coffee, I was feeling less than impressed with the conversation happening at my table—it was clear that Max and I strum to the beat of different drums. 

Thankfully, the uncomfortable silences in our strained exchanges lead to one of my favourite pastimes—people watching. If only the table of musicians in the corner were close enough for me to hear what they were saying.

Stuffed with eggs, bagels, and coffee, it was time for Max and I to get on with the show. Plus, I was ready for Edmonton to fill the gaps in conversation.

Take the Streetcar

We strolled a mere block or so over to the old-school streetcar, otherwise known as Edmonton’s High Level Bridge streetcar; only a $4 round-trip ticket (for riders aged 6+) to glide from one side of Edmonton’s river valley to the other—history lesson included.

The streetcar conductors—volunteers from the Edmonton Radial Rail Society—did double duty introducing passengers to historical tidbits about Edmonton and it’s earlier days.

This particular street car was built in 1947 and came to Edmonton by way of Melbourne, Australia to take passengers across one of the highest street car crossings in the world at 58 meters above the North Saskatchewan!

Perils of Blind Dates

As Kristi and the streetcar introduced me to parts of the city I’d never encountered, it reminded me about the perils of so-called blind dates with which I’m only too familiar.

Chief among those is the curious emotional blend of humiliation and disappointment that such encounters tend to produce, and barely 10 minutes after we met I was positively drowning in it. Her worldly optimism—I might have said naïveté—and my hard-boiled cynicism—she’d probably say curmudgeonly bitterness—weren’t mixing as well as you might expect.

While the human chemistry wasn’t there, I found myself knocked nearly off my feet by the city. As the car trundled past the community gardens off Whyte Avenue, through a graffiti-saturated tunnel, and across the High Level Bride itself, we were treated to a different view of the city, both of its past and its present. 

Alberta Legislature Building

We hopped off near the Grandin LRT Station, although the full trip runs down to Jasper Avenue. I’d driven past the legislature buildings a number of times—and even seen them lit up at night from the bleachers at Telus Field—but I’d never bothered to approach them on foot. My mistake.

The legislature grounds are Edmonton’s hidden jewel, a delightful combination of historical monuments and well-manicured parkland. The water fountain and wading pool that sits below the legislature building’s front steps are downright European, and on a hot summer’s day there’s nowhere in the city I’d rather be. 

The free tours of the legislature, which are available to the public from 9 am to 4 pm every day of the week between May 1 and October 15 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays during the rest of the year, are a worthwhile experience. 

All in all, the tour was an enjoyable and light-hearted history lesson. I learned, for example, that Alberta was almost named “Louiseland” (before its namesake, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, mercifully insisted upon naming the province after her surname).

Date Finale: Ice Cream!

After lounging on the soft lawn of the Legislature grounds and getting cooled off from the unusual fall heat by the mist coming from one of the Legislature’s many outdoor fountains, it was time to hop back on our Melbourne trolley and travel back to Whyte Avenue to indulge in some delicious ice cream—or in my case, some low-fat strawberry-vanilla frozen yogurt with an excessive amount of sprinkles. 

While the date was pretty much a bust, I was successful in working on my tan and even got some exercise with all the strolling around. Best of all though? I got to share my favourite warm-weather chill spot in Edmonton with a newbie—just don’t expect to see us there again together.

No Love Connection, but a Successful Experience

Given that my record on blind dates—and, sadly, it is an extensive one—is conspicuously short on success stories, I wasn’t expecting much out of this latest one. 

But while I didn’t meet the girl of my dreams, I did get to see a side of my new city that I had almost given up on. I’m not quite ready to call it love just yet, but it might just be the beginning of an interesting relationship.

*Breakfast photo by Mack Male.