sidewalk citizen bakery

after reading many positive reviews, my wife and i went to citizens for brunch last sunday and decided to stay despite a very long line up.

after waiting 15min, we ordered fried egg sandwiches but were told breakfast was no longer available (1145am) as they were switching to the lunch menu (12noon); we then tried to order tuna melt but were told it would take at least 20min to accommodate this complicated & onerous menu switch.
however, we could purchase prepared sandwiches and salad—which we reluctantly decided to do.

we wanted to coffees with our sandwiches but were told we had to go line up again at phil and sebastian at front of restaurant to purchase our coffees. totally frustrated, we left.

apparently a non-culinary luddite like me fails to appreciate the grueling, logistical differences between putting an egg on toastedbreadvs. melting tuna on untoasted bread-- which has so far eluded lesser mortals like my dim witted neighbor or folks who have repeatedly failed to carry this out at macdonalds.

this is 1st review i have ever written about any restaurant.

i pray to white jezus (the real one from utah) for calgary entrepreneurs to open more restaurants (preferably in east village) and through competition—pressure poorly managed restaurants to develop some common sense.

pro: selection, taste, atmosphere, location

con: price, service

sidewalk citizen is a bakery/cafe in eastvillage, simmon's building.

i like their pastries and i go there very very often.

the best part about them is the taste/flavor. pie-ish pastries such as croissant and stuff are beautifully done. their plain croissant is the best in calgary in my opinion! also, other kinds ofbreadis awesome! i have never tried cake, i'd like to try someday. i have never tried their breakfast or lunch menu either. next time!

second, the place is so nice! the simmon's building is such a cool building with bricks and inside is pretty nice too. there are coffee shop located in the same building as well. it's phill and sebastian coffee(not my favorite coffee store though) so you can grab a cup of coffee and your favorite bread.

the neighborhood is very nice, it's right by bow river and there are nice parks around. it's great place for walk or enjoy sunshine on benches:)

however, their products are very expensive. the reason why i have never tried cake is it is way too over priced. a small cheese cake 7-8 bucks...it is pretty steep to try! my favorite, almond croissant is almost 6 bucks per one. to me, it definitely isn't something you want to buy every morning or feed to your entire family. but again, it does taste good so it's good to have for your treat.

also, especially weekend it gets very very crowded. however, they only have one casher. so you need to wait in line since you order till you pay for so long. i really wish they opened two registers on weekend.

overall, i love their product and if definitely recommend you to check out, but it isn't cheap either.

i am lucky enough to live in less than a minute away from the simmons building which houses charbar, phil and sebastian and sidewalk citizen bakery. the bakery is always busy, especially on weekends. the pastries and desserts, though pricey, are delicious. my favourite is thebreadpudding. i have yet to try the sandwiches/salads, but know i will soon!

i had to go here 3 times before i was able to catch them not sold out of everything. on a weekend, make sure to get here before 1/2 if you want to get any baked goods! i had the focacciabreadwith cherry tomatoes and feta which was amazing. we also got the lamb pizza and every bite was bursting with flavour. the baguette was probably the best i've had in calgary. the place is very busy and the line up is long but it doesn't matter if you can't get a sit in table because you can sit outside on the benches with a river view. i enjoyed my time and i will definitely be back.

wow!breadpudding was to die for. cheesecake was the best cheesecake i've ever had. great little spot to catch up with friends and have some freshly baked goods

a part of the hipster utopia in the simmons building. i visited twice, and enjoyed the food both times. as constructive criticism, i would offer the following:

1. the littlebreadboards that are used as plates are awkward, and i wouldn't be surprised if 10% of diners drop their food on the floor as it slides off the wax paper. i almost lost my breakfast sandwich this way.
2. the breakfast sandwich was very interesting and delicious, but the mechanics of the hard boiled egg halves were awkward. there has to be a more effective way to incorporate the egg?
3. the shakshuka was tasty for sure, but i would caution the chef to go easier on the cumin and coriander seeds. i found their abundance off-putting. i'd suggest to use 1/4 of what you did use, and augment with a pinch of fresh ground roasted cumin and coriander to kick up the flavor while finishing the dish. the extreme quantity of spice seeds could be a barrier to the dish gaining word of mouth popularity in my humble opinion. i offer these comments as constructive criticism only, based on my experiences with cooking and the like. i hope they are helpful.

went there to get brunch, but they had a hard stop right at 11 so missed that boat. would highly recommend for those eating there to secure a seat first as those are hard to come by. although the line seems long at first it actually does move quickly and the food if not expedited then and there does get to you in a reasonable amount of time.
friends suggested to try thebreadpudding... you cannot go wrong there, it was delicious.
even though they had breakfast, the menu is very limited. i ended up ordering their meat pizza, fantastic crust and great flavours. but not at the point where i would have to get it again...
overall, great little spot. ok service. great place for deserts to go along with your coffee!!, but don't expect to much from their menu outside of deserts.

we went to the east village location for lunch. they start lunch at 11am and when we got there there were no more sandwich options left but grill cheese ?! and a veggie pita option. seriously? we decided we'd try the veggie pita. the line took forever, the service is so slow, and it was just over $12 for what was a mostly pita, and a few veggies! bland at best.
i noticed others were have a "salad with a slice ofbreadfor $9.75 , the salad portion was roughly 100 grams! calgary have we become this gullible? there was no value , quality or service here. i hope people will get tired of the crappy food experiences that exist and simply don't frequent these places until they can offer the consumer a fair product for their dollar.

5/5 for the absolute most deliciousbreadpudding i have ever tasted. sandwiches are amazing but i still say that our daily brett has the best sandwiches in calgary. but i would make a trip to calgary, if i weren't already blessed to live here, for thatbreadpudding. oh, and the brownie with maldon salt. dear lord. two things i wish to be buried with.

simmons is an absolute treasure- even before one soul has moved into the condos in east village, this magnificent structure has completely transformed the neighbourhood- before, i repeat, before the condos have seen move-ins. east village is going to out-pearl-district portland's pearl district.

found the new location to be busy and the lineup slow. overall thebreadand pastries are pretty good, not the best ever or anything. i was disappointed that they are no longer making fresh sandwiches, only the pita was fresh and it wasn't that good and very overpriced. i'm not sure what it is about this company that i don't like, is it the over the top hipster vibe or the miserable looking staff? not sure i'll be back any time soon.

sidewalk citizen is where it is at for artisanal baked goods. and whether you want a pain au chocolat or a rustic loaf ofbread(all leavened with sourdough starter), they have variety (make sure you go on friday or saturday for the best selection). danishes, cookies, muffins, scones, you name it. they even make sandwiches and pizza at lunch time. their brownies are also divine. rich and fudgy, none of that cakey brownie crap.

good heavens that's good!. just stopped in for the first time and ordered a pepper salami sandwich. i decided to be adventurous and try something new, one of the best sandwiches i've ever had.

i know, you're thinking "sandwich?". oh, but a good sandwich is so much more than two pieces ofbreadwith some filling in it. this was soooo good, the salty salami with a black olive salad, the mozzarella was so creamy and tangy....the combination of ingredients was so delicious. the portion size was generous too. seriously worth the drive. i will be back.

wow, wow, wow.. i like sandwiches. i know my sandwiches. these are some ... okay the best sandwiches in calgary. unpretentious. simple. fresh. everything you want. go early, or you might be disappointed that the sandwich is sold out (got the last meat sandwiches today). freshly bakedbreadis the key - it's perfect. haven't tried their pizza, but it sure looked good. got scones to go - again, absolutely delicious. we will be back again and again.

beautiful offerings from aviv and chef colin!. often we arrange our timing to include a stop at sidewalk citizen for lunch, and honestly, we are rarely disappointed. chef colin and aviv team up beautifully to create interesting sandwiches and pizza (fri/sat) for a fair price ($8.50 per sandwich; $16 for a large pizza). thebreadis the star of the show, but the toppings whether it be lamb, pulled pork, or poached egg have all been lovely. i speak only for those that we have tried as the pork belly and roast beef didn't make the cut.

of note in the pastry department are aviv's cheese sticks (oh my!), and dark chocolate brownies. personally, i don't recommend his chocolate chip cookies as i find them to be quite overdone, but perhaps that's just me!

all in all, lovin' sidewalk citizen!

great scones!!. i'm usually not a big fan ofbreador pastries, but i must say these scones rock and the cheese sticks are to die for!!! can't wait to go back!!!