Ask a Taoist wherein lies the key to happiness, and he would reply:  ‘what would you do without doing’?  It was a statement Peggy Addams heard when she was trying to figure out the next chapter in her life after a 17-year career in corporate management ended. Her friend, Kenny Darian, was wondering the same.  It didn’t take these two pals long to realize that working together in a food venture was what they needed to ‘do without doing’. It was their common thread; the effortless action that made them happy. Friends and family urged them for months to do something—anything—in the food business. When a space with an attractive lease rate became available in Strathearn, it seemed the stars had aligned, and the Juniper Cafe & Bistro was born.

Apparently, “How hard could it be?” is something that the energetic Addams is fond of saying. You want ketchup? She’ll make it—from scratch. Same with yoghurt, cheese, and even hoisin, “Because I don’t like foods that come in jars or cans”, she states. The pastries, cakes and scones are homemade as well.  If you, like me, have had a life-long aversion to scones because of their resemblance to dusty pucks, try Peggy’s—especially the ones with blueberry and rosemary. The only other scones in the city that compare are the ones made by uber-talented, Amy Nachtigall of Sugared and Spiced.

At Juniper, the menu is fresh and eclectic but it works because the list is also small.

Addams and Darian concentrate on quality, and that’s fine by me.  After the first visit, I came back two more times. In five days, I tried almost everything.

Winner winner! The Handheld Bennie $10
Poached egg with your choice of bacon, spicy pulled pork or roasted vegetables. Topped with arugula, homemade hollandaise and either chipotle or lemon-garlic aioli, served on a Portuguese bun. (Gluten-free add $1)

Waffle with warm berry compote, served with whipped vanilla cream and maple syrup $8

Soup of the Day (pictured, Chicken & corn chowder)

Juicy and tender: Pulled pork sandwich with purple pepita slaw $9

Salad: roasted beets with goat cheese $8

Hoisin duck with steamed buns $18

Spicy meatballs on creamy polenta $14

Weird, but it works: Roasted ‘spuds’ with Indian spices $8 (topped with smoked cheddar and duck gravy $2 extra)

Tuna tartare with chips $18

I have a few minor quibbles: 1) if you have a big appetite, you’ll need to order a couple (or more) items, 2) flavour-wise, the duck is fantastic and the steam buns are beautiful, but this dish could benefit from a few more toppings to make it texturally interesting and to ramp up the taste even more, and 3) the tuna was perfectly executed, but the potato chips felt out of place. I’d be tempted to swap out the wasabi for mango salsa and replace the potato chips with rice crackers.

Overall, this is a pretty good start for a couple of friends who are having fun and have the talent to feed the public with some heartfelt, homemade fixings. Juniper Cafe is a great place to grab a coffee and sit for a spell, or go for a full-out meal. Wine, beer and gin—yes, just gin—are available. Why only gin? “Because,” says Addams, pointing to Kenny and his wife, Enid, ” It’s our place, and we like gin.”

Nothing wrong with that.

For more detail on the dishes I tried, click here to listen to my on-air session with Mark Connolly on Edmonton AM; click here to read the web article on CBC.