If you haven’t noticed there’s a great vibe downtown right now. Carefree crowds amble around cafes and boutiques, mild temps encourage chatty strolls, new shops tempt curious shoppers, and when it’s time to relax and replenish, Kelowna’s favourite bruncheteria, Krafty Kitchen is here for us.
You know their laid back weekend hip hop brunch and killer cocktails no doubt, but what you may not know is that they actually serve it up all week long until 3pm. For serious. Not just a lunch menu with an all-day breakfast on it, but a full-on hollandaise-y, cured meaty, avo-lovin’, vegan-friendly, fried chicken ’n’ griddle goodness, creative af brunch. Brunch is a good idea every darn day and Krafty gets that.
If you’re familiar with Krafty for their farm-to-table approach, home-cured goodies, or their plant-based inclusiveness, you’ll be happy to find this doesn’t get lost in a sea of home fries and hollandaise. Brunch is all about a warm bundle of comforting comestibles, food for lazing and hanging out – but if you wanna be good to hangout with, you gotta be interesting and fun right? No problem here: many exciting options, the most enticing are offered as a Benny or as a Bowl. Well-balanced combinations of creaminess, protein, and acidity and zing are the backbone of each. Tired of the ole ham and hollandaise? Try duck confit, cured fish, pork belly instead. Vegan? How does avocado, caramelized onion, shrooms and cashew tahini grab you? Also, bonus points for that grainy sourdough rather than a meh white foodstuff supporting the business.
While the bennies offer great variety and fun with ingredients, we think we found a new favourite brunch go-to: the Bowl. Not as virtuistic as you might think – although our lone vegan diner enjoyed choosing between two quinoa and greens based versions – these bad boys sit atop smashed fried potatoes. This is a strong approach. First you won’t stuff yourself on the potatoes from the get-go, and second, they soak up all the juices and sauces from the dish and so yah maybe you will stuff yourself (but they’ll taste better!).
I almost always get the same thing every time I brunch there (Westcoast Benny), but this time around we all tried something new, and in the spirit of the holidays, decadent. The Big Boy Bowl (poached eggs, duck confit, ham, pork belly, mushrooms, cheese curds, hollandaise) went down like a classic indulgent English fry-up (w/ a slight French Canadian twist), the zesty homemade ketchup subbing in nicely for brown sauce. The SO actually bypassed the Fried Chicken and Pancakes this time, in favour of the Buffalo Bowl. Not many spins on the classic Buffalo wing work for me, but this bowl topped with buttermilk fried chicken, buttery and slightly sweet hot sauce, blue cheese and crunchy lil julienned carrots was no Nathan Peterman (for those of you unacquainted with this year’s Buffalo Bills that is to say, a total success).
Vegans will appreciate that the options go way beyond that sole mandatory one, with several tempting options that range from refreshing all the way to downright indulgent. To wit, my friend, a fried tofu connoisseur, was duly impressed by the Vegan Thai Bowl and its tasty pad thai vibes – with squash noodles, crispy sprouts and a coconut cashew crumb providing the texture offset to the fried tofu puffs and potatoes.
While we’re writing here mainly to share the awesome everyday brunch option, downtown 9-5ers dining way past the egg-zone can still enjoy burgers, sandwiches and salads. My lunch tastes go towards fun takes on the classic salads like their upgraded Wedge, and the vegan Caesar (THAT dressing – oooomami), but the trendy and wholesome kale, beets, avo and grains are in the house too, don’t worry.
For my money, a day downtown, with our warmer than average climate, festive vibes, boutique shopping, hanging with friends or long-lunching with colleagues (their Caesars have the best pickle-y thingies) and a bowl of creative comfort food from Krafty beats stressing at the mall with a double-pump matcha soy juniper latte and parking lot rage any day.
You’re probably going to do a bunch of indulgent things over the next couple weeks, do yourself a solid and make sure one of them is a Krafty #brunchbowl.
Brunch is served from 10:30am to 3pm every day.
Full disclosure: Krafty Kitchen + Bar is a client of our “real job” web design and dev outfit, Stewart & Weill, however fwiw this is not a paid advertisement.
