Savour these Saskatchewan Food and Drink Spots worth a Road Trip

BY LYNDA SEA

Aroad trip across Saskatchewan will have you seeing the prairies in a whole new light – endless horizons, expansive skies, natural wonders and a culinary scene that’s bursting with hidden gems and world-class dining.

Creative chefs, bakers, brewers and distillers are all getting buzz and hype for their farm-to-table freshness and innovative cultural influences. Saskatoon is known as the Paris of the Prairies and Regina has hidden gems for gourmands galore. Here are just some reasons why you need to make a foodie road trip to Saskatchewan this summer.

Black Fox Farm & Distillery (Saskatoon)

Just a five-minute drive south of Saskatoon, owners Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote and John Cote are making award-winning gin and Canadian whisky at this beautiful farm and craft distillery. These fifthgeneration grain farmers grow 90 percent of the ingredients that go into their spirits and liqueurs. Black Fox’s Oaked Gin was crowned the World’s Best Cask Gin at the World Gin Awards in London, England in 2017. Their Canadian Gin is a staple that has a layered finish and flavour of 15 fruits, spices and flowers. Topping the World Whisky Matters, SE Eleven Single Grain Whisky is aged in new American oak barrels which gives it a smooth and fresh finish. Nearly 95 percent of the Black Fox property’s water is reused and the spent grains and fruit is returned to the orchards and flower fields as compost fertilizer. Take a distillery tour, gin tasting, or cocktail class or simply enjoy a whisky flight on the patio while listening to live music. They also offer U-pick flowers and pumpkins in season.

Odd Couple (Saskatoon)

This beloved Asian-fusion restaurant in Saskatoon’s hip Riversdale District is run by the Yuen family. Andy and Rachel Yuen and his parents Sam and Jane immigrated from Hong Kong in 1996 and opened Odd Couple in 2014. Known for traditional Asian dishes with a Canadian twist, Odd Couple’s menu showcases ingredients and cooking techniques inspired by Cantonese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Malaysian cuisines. A crowd pleaser is the bacon fried rice which features maple-glazed cherrywood smoked bacon, mince pork, and a sunnyside egg on top of fried jasmine rice. Don’t miss the crab rangoon, a fried dumpling with cream cheese, blue crab and shrimp in pineapple sweet and sour sauce. A new menu item is the lime green curry shrimp pasta. The always flavourful dishes incorporate local ingredients where possible, use no MSG, and it’s a menu that offers plenty of vegan and vegetarian options.

Hearth Restaurant (Saskatoon)

2022 marked a big year for this delightful Saskatoon gem which is all about seasonally focused prairie cooking. It was named #62 in Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, and it relocated from its original location downtown into the Remai Modern with a great view of the South Saskatchewan river. Run by Beth Rogers and Thayne Robstad, Hearth is all about modern, elevated home-cooked dishes. The menu is ever-changing but you can expect highlights like their roasted and pickled beets salad with horseradish crème fraîche, rye crumbs with herbs and microgreens in a sherry vinaigrette, or the roasted pork belly with marinated navy beans and charred carrots. Get the popcorn-infused polenta fries with parmesan and honey or the mushrooms in Mornay sauce with their house ciabattayou won’t be disappointed. The morels and chanterelles have been foraged from across Saskatchewan and all the dishes are served on the couple’s beautiful collection of mix and match antique China dinnerware.

Thirteen Pies Pizza + Bar (Saskatoon)

Locals and tourists all rave about this pizza joint and its delicious Brooklyn style pizza, appetizers and Tiki-inspired cocktails. The secret? It’s the perfect texture and crunch of their sourdough crust. Through a 48-hour process of feeding and fermentation, Thirteen Pies’ pizza dough began from a 40-year-old starter that came from a family friend of owner Blair Voth Miller. Every week, they also get fresh spelt flour from the local bakery, Night Oven. As the name indicates, the menu simply has 13 pizza flavours you can order in large or small, and do add-ons or dipping sauces but that’s it. Each has a fun name like The White Walker (roasted mushroom, provolone, mozzarella, whipped ricotta, white sauce and truffle oil) and The Midnight Meat Train (made with sausage, meatball, bacon, provolone, mozzarella, jalapenos and tomato sauce). At the end of 2023, Thirteen Pies moved into the historic Birks Building downtown. It now boasts a separate takeout and delivery space and a larger, sleeker dining room that can hold up to 75 people.

Darkside Donuts (Saskatoon)

These donuts have an almost cult-like following in Saskatoon and with right reason. Baker Bryn Rawlyk makes all the donuts fresh everyday using a blend of Saskatchewan organic flour and heritage grain flour. His other venture is another much-lauded Saskatoon favourite - The Night Oven Bakery. At the trendy Darkside Donuts, Rawlyk makes a variety of cake and yeast donuts where flavours rotate daily. Mainstays are the honey dip, a brioche glazed honey donut made with Kitako Lake Honey or a vegan chocolate cake variety. But you can also find flavours like apple cinnamon fritter and Boston cream and in the fall, seasonal options like blueberry streusel and pumpkin cheesecake. Its next door neighbour is Fable Ice Cream which has been known to do a doughnut-infused ice cream collaboration before. A lot of the flavours sell out daily and there’s always a special “Sunday Funday” creation that you can only order that day of the week.

Hometown Diner (Saskatoon)

Riversdale is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Saskatoon near downtown. There are lots of great shops and restaurants along 20th Street including the modern Hometown Diner. Here, Chef Cole Dobranski and his team cook up allday breakfast and lunch where each dish showcases seasonal ingredients and local suppliers. Try the Ukrainian Brekkie which comes loaded with sausage, ham and a sunnyside-up egg and served with sour cream, carmelized onion and sauerkraut topped with lemon zest and grana padano. A favourite among diners is the fried chicken and pancakes which features a sriracha spiced crispy chicken served with three blueberry buttermilk pancakes. The place is always busy and there are lineups but it’s worth the wait and has a great bustling atmosphere once you’re inside. Pair your food with a mimosa, milkshake or beer and if you’re hankering for dessert, there are rotating donut flavours as well as a peanut butter banana pie.

Beppi’s Gelato (Saskatoon)

Beppi’s is a lifesaver stop on your shopping stroll on a hot sweltering summer day. This cute European-style cafe spot on Broadway Avenue is the place to go for small-batch handmade gelato and sorbetto. Since it opened in 2019, they’ve crafted over 150 different gelato flavours including classic Italian flavours like hazelnut and pistachio. The signature “Big Dog” flavour is a salted caramel gelato finished with chocolate chunks. And another Beppi’s favourite you shouldn’t pass up is the tangy and refreshing Lemon Sorbetto. They rotate their flavours and there are a few staples, while feature flavours can include options like the Saskatoon Mud Pie, a dark chocolate gelato with homemade cookie crumble. Choose a biodegradable cup or a plain or chocolate waffle cone but we recommend the charcoal option - black waffle cone - that’s just a visual and yummy treat. The tiny shop also sells Italian grocery items like spices, sauces, pastas, and imported confections from Italy.

District Brewing (Regina)

This small craft brewery in Regina’s Warehouse district makes ales, lagers, stouts and non-alcoholic beers in a variety of styles. One of their top beers is the Englishish IPA which took home the gold medal at the 2020 Canadian Brewing Awards. It’s a lighter and unfiltered refreshing take on an English IPA. Or try the malt-forward Bavarian Dark Lager which has notes of toffee, raisin and chocolate. For a true taste of summer, try the Lemon Ginger Radler, which has District’s Charm Pale Ale as its base but is blended with Sicilian lemon and ginger juices and local honey from Prairie Bee Meadery. You’ll quickly see why it won bronze for fruit beer in the 2018 Canadian Brewing Awards. District’s laidback atmosphere on its spacious patio or lowkey tasting room makes it the place to chill on a summer day.

Brewed Awakening Coffee Lounge (Regina)

There are currently three Brewed Awakening locations in Regina and the local coffee shop continues to grow and expand. Lisa and Ken MacMurchy first opened the original location in 2011 and are adding a new drive-thru location this year. No matter which location you visit, it’s a cozy spot to stop in for an iced latte, matcha latte, American or regular cup of coffee. Two years ago, they opened BRWD Bagel Co at the Woodhams location which brought bagels, sandwiches and all-day breakfast bagels, made fresh to order, into the mix. Try the Cali which is an egg, melted cheddar, tomato, and avocado smash on your bagel of choice. But the highlight is the Super Club, a Montreal smoked turkey breast with grilled back bacon, melted cheese with tomato, cucumber, red onion with mayo and grainy mustard. If you’re looking for a warm, inviting unpretentious coffee spot in Regina, this is the place.

Takeaway Gourmet (Regina)

Aleana Young started this wonderful little cheese shop in Regina to bring the fine fromages and food she missed from Montreal. It truly offers some of the best cheese in Saskatchewan and stocks cured meats, gourmet groceries (you can buy a bag of the world-famous St-Viateur Montreal bagels here) and sells charcuterie boards too. She stocks all sorts of specialty cheeses from pre-packaged slices of Old Amsterdam Dutch Gouda to more unique flavours. Look for gems like the Keens, an English cave-aged clothbound cheddar or the bestselling Murcia al Vino (drunken goat cheese), a Spanish wine-soaked cheese with a smooth and tart flavour. If you’re stopping by for a haul or wanting to pick up goodies for a picnic, the knowledgeable staff are helpful with service and advice and there are always free samples to try.

Pile O' Bones Brewing (Regina)

Named for a common nickname for Regina, this Metis-owned brewery takes its name from the anglicised version of the original Cree name for the city: oskana ka-asastēki (often shortened to Wascana or Oskana). Co-owners Josh Morrsion, Brent Babyak, Nathan Kary, and Glenn Valgardson, opened it in 2016 and it is now Saskatchewan’s largest craft brewery by volume. Its most popular beer and bestselling creation is the White IPA, which has a bold citrus and fruity hop flavour. It’s brewed with American Hops on top of a bready malt base made of 50 percent wheat malt. Another crowd pleaser is the crisp Prairie Pilsner which uses 100 percent local ingredients like malted barley from Maker’s Malt and hops from JGL ShepHerd Farms. The taproom features a menu provided by OxPecker, a sister restaurant to Swift Current’s Nightjar Diner.