Jennie's Diner & Bakery

His ankle bracelet means he was under bouncy house arrest.

I am a sucker for charm.

Bonnyville, Alberta is what some folks like to coin as "the next town over". This is true, it is a little more than 30 mins drive from St. Paul. It is roughly the same size as St. Paul, approximately 6, 000 vs. 5,000. And much like towns close to eachother, the people living in each boast whose is better.

People from St. Paul have said regarding Bonnyville, "They are running a gigantic deficet from that new rec centre". Or -"There are a lot of drugs there so that is why they have $$ (sidenote: crime rate for St. Paul is 4x the national average vs. Bonnyville at 1.5x).

People from Bonnyville say- "There is nothing to do here in Bonnyville. St. Paul is happening with their bowling alley and movie theatre."

So I guess what I am saying is, the grass may seem greener on the other side but we need to be happy with what we have and utilize other communities facilities. Or something? Or that people from Bonnyville are generally nicer? Ha ha.

Bonnyville has a large, new recreation centre (C2 centre) which houses an indoor track, large stadium-like room, ice rinks, climbing wall, dance studios, fitness centre and has weekly indoor Farmers Markets/family events.

To spice things up, our family likes to visit the C2 centre. This past weekend for the Children's Festival and today, for a community garage sale (with bouncy houses set up for the kiddos).

Bonnyville also has different/more restaurants than St. Paul. They have a Pita Pit, Sushi restaurant, Dairy Queen and Jennie's Diner & Bakery.

Oh Jennie's Diner! I really like this place. Such a cool vibe. I love the 1950s (minus the overt sexism and racism).

The owners take a lot of pride in this place. When you park your car and walk towards the building, outdoor speakers play the tunes of yester-years. The neon lights outside the diner make this place pop out of the ordinary and demands the attention of passing cars.

As a young family we greatly appreciate the small booths full of Mega blocks and Mr. Potato Head toys, making the wait for the food seem like a breeze.

The food is decent. It IS diner food so don't expect gourmet. My only complaint is that they do not offer veggie patties for their burgers.

What do you get when you get a blonde, a red-head and a brunette at a diner? Instant Friends!

They have hopped on the trend of baking their fries (which I prefer) instead of deep frying, it is more of a dry crispy-ness. I got fish n' chips, Big Dragon got some type of burger with thick cut bacon in it, Little Dragon got a hot dog and Honey Badger got whatever scraps were thrown at him.

We tried their homemade cabbage soup and MAN was it good. Yum!

Even the crapper had charm.

  I love supporting local businesses. Especially restaurants. And even more especially ones that wish I owned.