The inside of the small cafe on Osborne is bright and busy as guests sip tea and eat waffles. The tea is poured from small, clear teacups into brightly coloured cups while the waffles sit on electric-green plates that sparkle with specks of bright blue.
The smell of waffle batter crisping into a solid fills my nose and my mouth and lungs and my stomach. The clean scent of fresh fruit follows shortly after. A group of young girls sit around a table and giggle loudly between slurps of neon-colored bubble tea.
The energy of Tea Story is exciting. A woman with bright white teeth and a retro haircut behind the front counter smiles as she scoops chocolate ice cream onto a waffle.
She offers me a menu and promises to be there when I’m ready to order.
The menu was clear and uncomplicated. I started with a hefty strawberry-mango smoothie. Even the extra-thick straw had trouble sucking up the drink, but when I did manage to taste some, it was worth the effort.
Ten minutes after my order is placed the energetic woman with the sparkling teeth floats over to my table to apologize. They are out of batter and needed to make more. She apologizes again.
I tell her it was alright, ten minutes is really not that long. She apologizes again and drifts back to her spot behind the counter.
Ten minutes after that, she brings the waffle sandwich I ordered. Yes, a waffle sandwich. As in a sandwich with two waffles instead of slices of bread. Waffles. Like, the breakfast food. Only this was for lunch. This is waffles for lunch but with sandwich filling between them. This is awesome.
Here’s what I had at Tea Story:
Spicy Cowboy: Grilled steak strips, mild cheddar, grilled red onions & mushrooms, romaine lettuce, spicy chipotle sauce. $9.59
Impressions: I don’t know if you noticed, but this sandwich is between two waffles. Objectively, that is awesome. However, the waffle wasn’t as crispy as I expected. It did little to hold the sandwich together and I was forced to eat the second half with a knife and fork. The strips of steak are thick and tender. So often with steak sandwiches the pieces slide out as you try and tear them with your teeth – these didn’t.
What made it? I’m a sucker for spicy chipotle sauce, and the one in this sandwich packed an especially powerful punch. The beautiful dark red sauce was thick and didn’t seep into the waffle and break it apart. It brought a smoky flavour to the steak that really insisted that this sandwich was, in now way, for breakfast.
Power Goes Out (to eat) 