Working Man’s Breakfast | Blackfoot Truck Stop Diner | $8.95

[twitter]“There’s not one single woman in here,” remarked the woman as she walked past me to slide into a well worn booth. “Well there is now.”

She wasn’t totally correct. In the room of about 30 patrons, there were about half a dozen women. 3 servers, the other 3 dotted about tables filled with big beards, bright construction clothes, and baseball hats.

I don’t know how to describe the allure of a classic, old school Truck Stop diner, but it has a magnetism. There’s an honest simplicity to it. There’s no pretense or flashiness. It’s regular people, regular food, in a regular atmosphere. That’s what The Blackfoot Truck Stop Diner has in spades. Kitschy candies and trinkets for sale at the cash. A veteran staff who call you “sweetie” and look after you with the same love your grandmother would share.

I ordered the Working Man’s Breakfast with a pancake, 3 sausages, some eggs, and toast. All the menu items carry hearty blue collar names from Trucker’s Breakfast to Farmer’s Breakfast to the CPR special. Even the mini breakfast boast a pork chop and eggs – that’s not mini.  Served with house made syrup and constantly refilled coffee, it was a wonderfully relaxing way to start the morning.

The Blackfoot Truck Stop Diner holds a special place in Calgary because of Edna Taylor. When I walked in the door, I saw a memorial sign for her and then, when I got the bill, there was her name again.

Edna bought the diner in 1956 and ran it with love and energy that made her, not just her restaurant, a Calgary classic. She passed away in July 2011, but her touches are everywhere. The moment you walk through the door you are greeted with a sign dedicating the place to her memory, and although I never met her, the entire diner experience tells me her spirit lives on.

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