Probably one of the best known vegetarian cuisine-serving restaurants in Vancouver, The Naam has been around for about 30 years. Upon entering, we were greeted by a warm and cozy, wooden interior. After only a mere minute or two, we were seated at a round table, near the rear of the restaurant. The unfortunate part of sitting at this table was that it was right by the washrooms, and was in a narrow part of the place. Consequently, I had the joy of getting a(n) hand/arm/bag to the rear of me every so often. That being said, we were quickly served glasses of water and each of us ordered a mug of coffee ($2.50 each, with free refills). While I wasn't a huge fan of the coffee, my teammates seemed to agree that it was quite good. Within a couple of minutes, the server came to take each of our orders.
Jesse - #2 Super Special. 2 whole wheat pancakes, 2 eggs scrambled and 2 veggie sausages. ($4.99 // $8.40 total bill)
Kimmy - Croissant Witch Melt. Open-faced, organic croissant, topped with melted cheese, scrambled eggs and veggie sausages. ($4.99 // $8.40 total bill)
Rozi - Breakfast Quesadilla. Organic corn tortilla, stuffed with scrambled eggs, sambits, red onions, cilantro, jalapenos and cheese. ($8.50 // $12.02 total bill)
Cam - Tempeh Benny. Eggs benny, on top of a pita, topped with a Tempeh burger patty, spinach, melted cheese and miso gravy, along with a serving of home fries. ($9.95 // $13.39 total bill)With our orders placed, the four of us proceeded to read newspapers, converse and do crosswords. About 15 minutes and 2 coffee refills later, our plates of food arrived. All of the food looked delicious and appetizing. After Cam snapped a few pictures of the food, we all dug in. It was at this moment that I noticed that the server had forgotten the syrup for my pancakes. I chose to pick away at my eggs and sausages until our server came back around. I must say, as a man that loves meat, the veggie sausages were amazing. At the same time, I was disappointed to find that my eggs, which were scrambled, were runny and under-cooked. It may just be me, but I have a really hard time figuring out how someone screws up cooking scrambled eggs. Regardless, I continued munching on my meal until syrup arrived for my pancakes. Once again, I was met with disappointment, as I was served a meager amount of syrup; barely enough to flavour my two pancakes. This lack of syrup was a contributing factor to the relative dryness of them, as well. That being said, the pancakes were still quite tasty, and were of a good size, especially for the price.
Meanwhile, Kimmy and Cam both raged on about their dishes. From the looks of their food, I didn't blame them. "Are you sure that there's anything under all of that cheese?" I joked with Cam.
"Nope! Nothing but cheese and awesome in here!" he responded.
As for Rozi, she was quite pleased with her quesadilla, up until she got a big chunk of raw onion in her mouth. It stopped her dead in her tracks, as she tried to wash the taste out of her mouth. As she made her way through the rest of it, she came across a few more chunks of raw onion. As with my scrambled eggs, I really have to wonder how a person manages to cook half of the onions, but leave the other half raw, or mostly raw. I imagine that it was a matter of the cook being in a hurry to catch up on orders, as the restaurant was quite busy at this time in the morning. Either way, it was a bit disappointing to know that such minor things could be overlooked.
By the end of the meal, The Team was full and prepared to face the rest of the day. Overall, The Naam still gets props from The Team. While not A+, at least from my perspective, it was still much better than a number of places that I've been to. If you're in need of some tasty food at any hour of the day, I would still suggest The Naam to most anyone, vegans and vegetarians included.
Stay sharp, kids
Jesse
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