Tag Archives: Samuel’s Coffee House

Four Great Places for Breakfast on Prince Edward Island

Given a choice of which meal of the day to eat out, hands down, I’ll choose breakfast every time! I love eating breakfast out and sipping on that first cup of coffee as the tantalizing scents of breakfast preparation waft through the air in the dining room.

Coffee
French-Press Coffee

When I choose a restaurant for breakfast, I’m not looking for greasy diner fare. I’m looking for places that:

  • have a selection of breakfast menu items that extend beyond the standard/usual run-of-the-mill bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and toast (although, admittedly, that’s sometimes exactly what I crave!);
  • cater to a gluten-free diet since one in our party follows this diet;
  • offer a dining experience which is to say the restaurant has some kind of ambiance – that could be energy and vibrancy, scenery, décor, etc;
  • support local food producers and use fresh, locally-produced ingredients;
  • provide consistency which is to say their food and service are consistently good over several visits; and
  • put some effort into food presentation.

Right out of the gate, I’ll tell you this is not a sponsored post and I wasn’t paid to do it. In fact, the restaurants I’m about to tell you about have no idea I was checking out their restaurants and writing about them on my food blog. So, what follows are my own personal impressions of four (4) great places on PEI that I choose for breakfast and we travel from Summerside to Murray Harbour to find them.

Barbara’s Choices:

  • Samuels Coffee House, Summerside
  • #5 Café, Murray Harbour
  • PEI Preserve Company, New Glasgow
  • Kettle Black, Charlottetown

Samuel’s Coffee House, 4 Queen Street, Summerside

Price Range: $2 – $10  (at time of writing)

I seriously love this place that opened in 2011 and I personally think they have the best coffee on the Island! Their coffee house is small and quaint (yes, you can even eat in the little vault!) but they pack big flavor in their light fare menu items and desserts.

Samuel's of Summerside, PEI
Samuel’s Coffee House, Summerside, PEI

Housed in the former, and now refurbished, Journal-Pioneer building, the large windows allow lots of natural light to permeate the dining area. This is casual style dining. You place your order at the counter, receive a table number and, when the food is ready, a server delivers it to your table. Complimentary Wifi is available.

A good selection of coffee types are available that include espresso, café mocha, café latte, espresso macchiato, cappuccino, and americano. They also, in my view, make the best paninis on the Island using local ingredients. These are perfect for brunch or a light lunch. If you check out their menu board, they’ll often list the food producer’s name by the ingredients they use so you know you are getting good, fresh, local fare.

Breakfast Sandwich
Breakfast Sam at Samuel’s Coffee House, Summerside, PEI

Their “Breakfast Sam” is a great breakfast or brunch choice and it is available in a gluten-free version as well (shown in the photo above).  With eggs, cheddar, ham, tomato, and spinach on a cheese bun (gluten version only with this particular bun; gluten-free is on toasted bread), this is simply a lovely way to start the day. Other breakfast items include their own house-made granola, homemade bread for toast, muffins and cinnamon rolls, and oatmeal.

In the summer months, Samuel’s also operates a coffee house at Avonlea Village in the resort municipality of Cavendish.

Samuel's in Cavendish, PEI
Samuel’s Coffee House Cavendish Location at Avonlea Village

#5 Café, 5 Church Street, Murray Harbour

Price Point: $9 – $11.50 (at time of writing)

Oh, this is a real little gem in the picturesque fishing village of Murray Harbour and absolutely worth the drive to eastern PEI.

#5 Cafe, Murray Harbour, PEI
#5 Cafe, Murray Harbour, PEI

Located in a decommissioned and repurposed church, the owner has kept much of the ambiance of the former church including the matched board walls and ceiling.  The small open- concept kitchen (seen in the photo below) now takes up the former altar and choir loft.

#5 Cafe, Murray Harbour, PEI
Open-concept Kitchen at #5 Cafe, Murray Harbour, PEI

The focus of food preparation at #5 Café is very much on the concept of clean food that is not full of additives and preservatives and that is made from scratch in their own kitchen.

#5 Café offers a wide variety of casual fare items on their menu but, bar none, their omelette is the best I’ve ever had!  Toast is made with their own homemade bread and you’ll often find locals dropping in to buy some of the bread to take home.  Gluten-free bread, though not made in-house, is also available with breakfast items.

Omelette at #5 Cafe, Murray Harbour, PEI
Omelette at #5 Cafe, Murray Harbour, PEI

Regardless the time of day, I’ll bet you can’t leave without checking out their dessert case and large glass jars filled with delectable cookies and other sweets! You just might find some homemade fudge in that dessert case as a sweet ending to breakfast or brunch!

#5 Café, Murray Harbour, PEI
#5 Café, Murray Harbour, PEI

Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, 2841 New Glasgow Road, New Glasgow

Price Point: $6 – $11 (at time of writing)

In operation since 1985, this restaurant is the “go-to” place for many Islanders (including me) for breakie on weekend mornings. You know the old saying “Go where the locals go and you’ll find good food”. Breakfast is served daily until 11:00am.

Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, New Glasgow, PEI
Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, New Glasgow, PEI

Open seasonally from the end of May to early October, be sure to look through the windows to the right as you enter the front doors. Here, most days, you can see the preserve-making process in action. This company is well-known for its production of preserves and spreads and many breakfast menu items are served with their own house-made preserves.

Breakfast Frittata, Prince Edward Island Preserve Company
Breakfast Frittata, Prince Edward Island Preserve Company

The bright open-concept dining room is surrounded by windows. Boasting a phenomenal view of the River Clyde, try to snag a table by the window so you can watch the many different birds at the feeders and fluttering amongst the beautiful flowers of the nearby Gardens of Hope. Complimentary Wifi is available in the dining room.

Breakfast Time!
It’s Breakfast Time for Everybody at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, New Glasgow, PEI
View from the window of the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company Restaurant alongside the River Clyde
View from the window of the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company Restaurant alongside the River Clyde
Traditional Country Breakfast
Traditional Country Breakfast at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, New Glasgow, PEI

This full-service restaurant has a great menu selection for breakfast and I’ve sampled most of them!

French Toast
French Toast, Prince Edward Island Preserve Company

Many items can be prepared gluten-free or vegetarian. Items range from granola to the standard country breakfast to French toast, pancakes, Belgian waffles, egg croissant to the breakfast frittata which is seriously the best I’ve ever had. Served in an au gratin dish, it’s filled with peppers, green onions, mushrooms, and three cheeses.  Served with sautéed potatoes and toast, this is the full meal deal and you won’t need to eat for the rest of the day!

Breakfast Frittata
Breakfast Frittata at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, PEI

Kettle Black, 45 Queen Street, Charlottetown

Price Point: $3.50 – $12 (at time of writing)

Located not far from the Charlottetown waterfront, this independently-owned coffee shop is housed in a refurbished historic building. Look for the bright sunflower yellow store front.

Inside, the exposed brick walls and high ceilings lend a European look and feel. A variety of seating options is available – tables, padded benches, bar stool and counter, and easy chairs.  This is casual dining where you place your order at the register, pick up your beverage, find a table, and a server will then deliver your order to your table. Complimentary Wifi is available.

Breakfast is served all day! Breakfast items range from bagels, Belgian-style waffle, homemade granola and yogurt, and frittata.  Known especially for their types of coffees, they roast organic coffee beans in-house and you can get your lattés, cappuccinos and mochaccinos as well as standard americano coffees here.

My choice at Kettle Black is the frittata that is served with a tasty side salad and toast (gluten-free bread is available).

Breakfast Frittata
Breakfast Frittata at Kettle Black, Charlottetown, PEI

Together, these four establishments offer a wide variety of tasty breakfast fare.

Four Great Places on PEI for Breakfast

 

Beef and Blues 2014 – A PEI Fall Flavours Signature Event

Please Note: Due to low lighting conditions at this event venue, it was very difficult to capture quality photos for this posting.

Several of the “signature” events of PEI’s Fall Flavours Festival focus on certain foods.  The recent “Beef and Blues” event in Summerside was all about Island beef.

Food Network’s Corbin Tomaszeski was the celebrity guest chef who hosted the evening.  You may recognize him from Food Network’s shows “Dinner Party Wars“, “Restaurant Makeover” and “Restaurant Takeover“.  On this night, however, Chef Corbin was found “working the crowd” in the lobby of Credit Union Place before the event venue was open.

Chef Corbin Tomaszeski
Chef Corbin Tomaszeski

The ice surface of Credit Union Place was transformed into a blues-themed venue for the sold-out event.

The evening began with Joe MacMillan providing blues music to set the tone for the evening.

Joe MacMillan
Joe MacMillan

 

“Beef and Blues” was structured differently from other signature events of the Fall Flavours Festival that I have attended which, typically, have chefs from the Culinary Institute of Canada or a particular restaurant preparing the food. In the case of “Beef and Blues”, 12 Island restaurants each had stations at which they featured a dish prepared with Island Beef. Island restaurants participating were: Island Stone Pub, Gentleman Jim’s, Sims Corner Steakhouse & Oyster Bar, Rodd Mill River Resort, The Landing, The Catch, Anson’s Restaurant & Bar, Brother’s 2, Five Eleven West, The Big Orange Lunchbox, the Lobster House Restaurant & Oyster Bar, and Pendergast’s PEI Food. In addition, three restaurants or local food producers provided desserts: Sweet Things, Samuel’s Coffee House, and Five Eleven West.

Here’s a small sampling of some of the featured dishes.

The Brother’s 2 Restaurant in Summerside featured the hushpuppy and meatball skewer.

"Hushpuppy & Meatball Skewer" from the Brother's 2 Restaurant in Summerside
“Hushpuppy & Meatball Skewer” from the Brother’s 2 Restaurant in Summerside

 

This buttermilk chicken fried steak with tomato and corn salsa came from Anson’s Restaurant & Bar in Summerside.

"Buttermilk Chicken Fried Steak with Tomato & Corn Salsa" from Anson's Restaurant & Bar
“Buttermilk Chicken Fried Steak with Tomato & Corn Salsa” from Anson’s Restaurant & Bar

Guests were free to circulate, in any order they wished, amongst the stations to sample their offerings.  At each placesetting at the tables, was a “Passport to Taste”.

"Passport to Taste"
“Passport to Taste”

Guests carried their “passport” as they visited the stations and checked off each sample they tried.  At the end of the evening, guests could drop their “passports” into a ballot box for a draw for a three-course dinner prepared by PEI’s Chef Illona Daniel.

The Big Orange Lunchbox from Charlottetown featured dry roast beef ribs with waffle chips and marshmallow dip (yes, marshmallow dip!)

The Big Orange Lunchbox from Charlottetown featured dry roast beef ribs with waffle chips and marshmallow dip
“Dry Roast Beef Ribs with Waffle Chips and Marshmallow Dip from the Big Orange Lunchbox

 

Events such as these put consumers in direct touch with local chefs whom they would probably not see at a restaurant.

No event would be complete without something for the sweet tooth!   Christine Gallant from Sweet Treats in Summerside offered these delectable peach cobbler tartlets.

Peach Cobbler Tartlets from Sweet Treats
Peach Cobbler Tartlets from Sweet Treats

 

The table from Samuel’s Coffee House in Summerside was also a busy spot as the whoppie pies proved to be a popular item.

Whoppie Pies from Samuel's Coffee House
Whoppie Pies from Samuel’s Coffee House

 

This event offered the opportunity for local chefs to be extra creative with Island beef and gave patrons a good sampling of the many delicious ways in which Island beef can be prepared.

——————————-

PEI Shellfish Festival (2012):
Farm Day in the City (2012):
Savour Victoria (2012):
Toes, Taps, and Taters (2013)
Lobster Party on the Beach (2013)
Applelicious (2013)

The Great Island Grilled Cheese Challenge (2013)
Feast of the Fathers (2014)
Lamb Luau at Crowbush Cove (2014)

Feast and Frolic Dinner (PEI Int’l Shellfish Festival) (2014)

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