Market Report: Chimney Cakes and Waffles

Twisted Café

It’s easy to get lost in the maze of Crossroads Market, but the unassuming café at the main entrance is not to be missed. Twisted Café is a longstanding institution at the market, and its newest owner Lili works together with her mother and husband to bring delicious, sweet and savory Hungarian snacks to marketgoers.

The unique chimney cake, or kürtőskalács, is a traditional Hungarian treat made of sweet, airy dough wrapped into a helix and baked to order in a rotating oven. It’s finished with a liberal dusting of cinnamon sugar, vanilla sugar, coconut flakes or walnuts. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, chimney cakes are fun to untwist and best when enjoyed fresh out of the oven. For an especially decadent treat, ask for your chimney cake with ice cream, Nutella, or whipped cream.

For cheese lovers, Lili serves up lángos, a chewy fried flatbread smothered in garlic sour cream and topped with heaps of shredded mozzarella. She says it is a popular snack in Budapest, and once you’ve tried one, it’s not hard to see why. The soft fried bread pairs perfectly with the tangy garlic sour cream and generous mozzarella topping.

Lili took over at Twisted Café right before the pandemic started, and acknowledges it has been a challenging time, especially with rising inflation. But her love of sharing authentic Hungarian food with new customers and regulars keeps her happy at the market. In the future, Lili hopes to experiment with savoury chimney cakes, new toppings for her lángos, and more Hungarian pastries. We can’t wait to try them!

Twisted Café | Crossroads Market | 1235 26th Ave. S.E. | 403.999.3121

Waffles & Chix

Waffles & Chix has been a part of Calgary’s food scene since 2012, when Iva Ivanova and Petar Ivanov launched their popular food truck. Since then, the pair has set up a permanent location at Fresh & Local Market + Kitchens serving up Southern fried chicken and an assortment of hearty buttermilk waffles. Iva says that most of their dishes have been on the menu for more than a decade, as they remain equally popular with regulars and first-timers alike.

Waffles and Chix’s cheezy waffles have been around since the start and showcase their signature Belgian-style waffles and crispy, lightly battered fried chicken strips. A handful of shredded cheddar cheese crisps up on the outside of the waffles and adds the perfect cheesy kick. Of course, chicken and waffles would be incomplete without sides, and Waffles & Chix finishes things off with their tasty homemade coleslaw and a drizzle of real maple syrup.

While fried chicken and waffles is traditionally an American dish, Iva and Petar’s menu also features a Canadian classic: poutine. Their loaded fried chicken poutine is a fusion masterpiece with a mound of piping hot French fries, melty cheese, and freshly fried chicken and bacon, all drenched in Southern white gravy and topped with a sunny-side-up egg.

With a bustling market stall, Iva and Petar say they are grateful to their loyal customers and have plans to expand to more locations in the future, making it that much easier for Calgarians to satisfy their chicken and waffles cravings.

Waffles & Chix | Fresh & Local Market + Kitchens | 12445 Lake Fraser Dr. S.E. | 403.681.1223 | wafflesandchix.com