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| - Pow Wow Cafe, opened recently in the Kensington Market in Toronto, brings Indigenous foods to an already eclectic food scene in the market. The cafe has a patio outside and limited seating inside. The small but efficient kitchen is open so you can see the food being prepared.
Pow Wow uses Ojibway bannock, or fry-bread as the base for the majority of their menu items. Fry-bread has a long history in First Nations communities where it traces to the rations Indigenous people were given when they were removed from their territory by settlers.
The food at Pow Wow is certainly different from what I had many years ago while living in an Ojibway community in northern Ontario, Canada. The brunch menu is printed on a plank of cedar. Pow Wow brings a modern touch to fried bannock eaten in many First Nation people in Canada. While bannock could be heavy and dense when baked, the version Pow Wow serves is light, fluffy and fried golden brown.
Although the menu offers beef chili, veggie chili, pork or jerk chicken on fry-bread taco, we ordered off their brunch menu. We ordered smoked pork croquettes with poached eggs and tomato salsa, and poached eggs on fry-bread with smoked salmon and goat cheese. The smoked salmon dish we ordered had perfectly poached eggs that topped the fry-bread accompanied by a perfectly balanced creamy sauce. The pork croquettes were nicely seasoned and eggs were poached perfectly Both items were really good and came with fruit, salad and peppery home fries.
Pow Wow has a limited choice of non-alcoholic beverages. We had cedar soda. While the drink was refreshing, I find it lacked enough cedar flavor. The service was fast, friendly and attentive. They only accept cash; I found that this somewhat annoying because I hardly carry cash. In my opinion, this cafe deserves affection.
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