Truck Stop Cafe

Happy 2013 to you, world!  Isn't it going to be great when we look back and tell the kids about how many apocalypses we've survived?  It almost sounds like a new t-shirt to me.

The end of the world aside, I figured that I'd start this year off by going for breakfast at a place that I've been meaning to go to since I started this blog (aka, for a few years!).  Located on the corner of Clark Drive and Napier Street (1046 Clark Drive), the Truck Stop Cafe has been in business for quite a number of years.  It's been the same family operating it, I believe.  I used to always walk past it and say, "Boy, that looks like quite the greasy spoon.  I should go in there."  Alas, I was always in a hurry, not hungry or just plain not in the mood for diner food.  Today, though, this was the day.  My coworkers and I started hitting up the Truck Stop for lunch some days, since they have some decent burgers and clubhouse sandwiches for a good price.  Plus, the people running it have always been really nice to us.  The three of us decided on two things differently today, though:

1) We were going to dine-in.
2) We were having breakfast.

So, we flipped our menus over and perused the breakfast menu.  There's an all-day breakfast special for $4.50 (2 eggs, 2 bacon or sausage, potatoes and toast).  Me, I went straight to the point and ordered the Trucker Special (3 pancakes, 3 eggs, 3 bacon, 3 sausage) and a coffee.  We all ordered and went to idle conversation about work and other mundane things.  We were also brought our waters and my coffee, which tasted as I expected from a diner, a bit watery but not offensive.  Anywho, I guess I can take a moment to describe the interior of this place for you.  It's quite plain and homey.  A few obligatory pictures of big rigs and the like to justify the name "Truck Stop Cafe", a few paper signs describing specials, etc.  A few booths, a few tables and 4 stools at a little counter, with the kitchen open and visible to the rest of the place.  Overall, just a good, little place.

So, somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes passed and we were brought our food...

Trucker Special

As you can see, they didn't skimp on the portions!  The bacon was actually pretty good, as were the eggs.  The pancakes were quite tasty, not gonna lie... probably some of the best diner pancakes that I've experienced in a long time.  Meanwhile, the sausages were big, but a bit on the bland side.  A bit of syrup definitely went a long way in helping them.  The other two seemed to enjoy their food, judging by how quickly they cleared their plates.  With my final bill coming to $9.07 (including taxes), I couldn't complain in the slightest with the meal.  I mean, not the greatest quality, but hell, for under $10 you're lucky to get a coffee and some toast at a lot of places these days.  Plus, once again, the service is great!  Overall, I have to give 3 Bacons to the Truck Stop Cafe.  Affordable, friendly and not greasy enough to kill you in one sitting.  In addition, I will say that their burgers and clubs are tasty, so don't be afraid to grab one of those either!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Kenny and Zuke's Delicatessen

Greetings one and all!  This week, I'm going to bring you a few American reviews, since work decided to give me some (well-deserved?) time off.  I ended up going down the West Coast a bit, and so that means a few "exotic" places were hit along the way!  Cam and I have the same job, and thus similar schedules, (time off!) so we decided to hit up Portland for a few days.  He kept going on about a deli that he and Hilary and gone to and loved on previous visits.  So, of course we went there on the last day that I was in the city.  Located on the corner of Stark St and SW 11th Ave (1038 Stark St), Kenny and Zuke's has been open for a couple of years, serving up pastrami in all sorts of way.  Yes, these guys take pastrami very seriously, apparently!

It was just before 11am when Cam and I arrived, so the place was already quite busy.  There were spots outside, but apparently they don't seat anyone outside until around noon, when another server gets on shift.  Regardless, we were given about a 15 minute wait time for a spot to sit ourselves down.  The interior of the place is very plain and open, not in a bad way mind you.  Finally, we were seated and given a couple of menus to peruse.  We had just missed the cutoff for the breakfast menu, but that didn't really matter, since there's a few all-day breakfast items to choose from.  I decided upon a pastrami & swiss omelette, while Cam went with the Big Shot Breakfast Sandwich, because he's a high-roller, y'know.  It was at this time that we noticed a lack of, well, a few things.  Coffee, water.... a server?  I swore that we had seen a server with coffee going from table to table earlier on.  Did we happen to sit at the "plague table" or something?  No wait, the people that were seated after us (and next to us) didn't have anything either.  That was a good(?) sign, I guess.  Finally, after about 15 minutes of sitting and waiting for service, the server came by.... and started taking the other table's order.  The man said to her, "Um, I think that you should help these guys that were here first."  So, she turned around and took our orders.  We were brought coffee and water after a few more minutes, then our food arrived a bit after that.

This be Cam's Food

This be my food

I have to admit, the food was quite tasty.  Even for a guy that just had his wisdom teeth pulled about a week earlier, it was good.  They did have some good pastrami, for sure.  The potatoes had a lovely group of spicing on them, and the omelette had a bunch of filling and flavour.  Cam kind of sucked his plate up like a vacuum cleaner, which I take as a good thing.  No, seriously, he actually sucked the entire plate up.  Kind of like a cartoon, but with less awkward sound effects.  Anywho, yes, we were both pleased with our food, especially in terms of portions vs price.  I have to say though, the coffee wasn't all that good, and the lack of service put me off.  I think that the conversation that the couple next to us had with the server sums up my feelings on the service:

"Is it possible to still order from the breakfast menu?"
"No, we stopped serving it at 11."
"Well, we were seated before then, and had to wait 15 minutes for you to take our order."

"That's too bad, I can't help it."

Maybe it was an off-day for the server?  Maybe it was busy and she was running behind?  Maybe she's just not a good server?   Either way, it leads me to give 4 Bacons for food and affordability, but only 2 Bacons for service.  I mean, c'mon, it's not that hard to at least take people's drink orders within 15 minutes of them sitting down.  I might go back to Kenny & Zuke's again, when it's less-busy... or when I have a tonne of time to burn.

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse

Sorry Babushka

Well, hello there!  It's been entirely too long, hasn't it?  To be honest, I had a backlog of about 4 entries from the past half a year, but I never did get around to them.  Instead of thinking back and writing sub-par reviews of those places, I decided to flush them all and start with a clean slate.  On that note, Cam and I went to Sorry Babushka today for their breakfast.  I've had it a few times, so I think that I can give a fairly solid review of the place!

Located at the corner of Commercial and 5th Avenue (2095 Commercial Drive), Sorry Babushka opened up about a year ago.  While a prime location on The Drive for a business, this is the third restaurant that I've seen in the location over the past 6 years.  I've generally found it a pretty good place to stop in for a drink ($3.25 beer specials and whatnot), and my Ukrainian friends said that the borscht was actually quite close to authentic.  Otherwise, I've found the dinner to be pretty standard.  Nothing too crazy, nothing too terrible.  Anywho, I'm here to tell you about breakfast, not drinking and dinner!

Cam and I arrived at about 9:30am, which is nice and early for a weekday in Vancouver.  We were given our choice of a spot to sit at, and so we chose a booth along the pony wall.  The server brought us a couple of menus, which are printed on newsprint and are made to look like newspapers.  We each ordered a coffee (about $2, free refills) and perused the menu.  I decided on a Western scramble ($8.95?), with a side of sour cream ($.75), while Cam went with a Farmer's Omelette, since it comes with "loads of fresh fruit".

It only took about 10 minutes max for our food to arrive...

As you can see, Cam did get a bunch of fresh fruit!  My food was the expected mash-up of cheese, peppers, eggs, onions and ham.  It was actually quite flavourful, considering my usual complaint of bland omelettes and scrambles in restaurants.  The potatoes were quite nice, as well.  Crispy, but not overdone.  Same goes for the toast.

I'd have to say that both of us were pleased with our food, especially for under $10.  At the same time, it wasn't anything special.  I do also know that from previous visits that the food can be hit and miss.  With that, I think that we'll have to give a total of 3 Bacons out of 5!  Portions and price, along with average food quality makes me give it just above average for the total score.  If you want something cheap-ish, but filling, I'd suggest Sorry Babushka.  I have yet to try the $2.99 breakfast ($4.99 on weekends/holidays), but I just might one of these days.

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse

Heidi's Cafe

After being on the road for the past month, Vancouver seems like such a small and familiar place. That being said, there's still plenty of new breakfasts to be discovered in this city! Within a week of returning, Kimmy invited me out for some breakfast at a little place that she's mentioned before. Located around Fraser Street and East 43 Avenue (5945 Fraser Street), Heidi's Cafe has an interesting setup. The majority of the place is a cafe/coffee bar, while the front corner is a convenience store. Strange, no? Kimmy and I found it interesting, and couldn't really come up with a good reason for there to be a convenience store inside of a cafe. Maybe the building was owned by the parents and the kids took it over? I don't know!

Anywho, due to Heidi's being more of a coffee bar, we went up to the counter to order our food and drinks. I decided upon a standard eggs/meat/toast kind of breakfast and a coffee, while Kimmy chose an omelette and a coffee, as well. The total came out to about $15, so you really couldn't complain about that part. We chose a table right by the window and sat down. The interior was very bright and clean, and the music was at a pleasant level, as well. It was less than 10 minutes before our food arrived...


The food looked and smelled quite lovely. Kimmy maintained that the hash browns were the best that she'd ever come across. They were pretty good, but I don't know if I'd say that they were the best. The rest of the food was also quite good. Nothing too special, but it wasn't bad either. I finished my plate and was full, so I'd consider it a win. The coffee was also really tasty. I'd give Heidi's Cafe 3 Bacons for affordability'/food quality and 3 Bacons for service.

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Las Vegas

I'm so completely behind on these updates. Let's face it, I just never had the time on the road to update about all of the food we had, especially with the number of places that we went in LA. So, here I am, in my room in Vancouver, trying to power through the second half of the trip! Luckily, we only had a couple of meals Las Vegas, so this should be a quick update.

On our first day/evening in Las Vegas, Cam and I were hungry and didn't know where there was a grocery store, so we headed out onto the Fremont Strip in search of some affordable food. The casinos advertised cheap food, but they were all deals for the "members", so yeah, no go for us. Finally, we decided upon the first place that we had walked by that advertised a special...

Hennessey's Tavern

The interior of this place was, well, a pub/restaurant. We were immediately seated and made aware of the specials. Each of us ordered a 24oz "pint" of beer, since they were on special and browsed the menu. The steaks were on special, so I went for that, while Cam went with a pasta of sorts. The server was really pleasant, and the noise level wasn't all that bad, so it made for a fair experience. Our food came up in under 10 minutes and both of our dishes were done well. For the price, neither of us could complain. They even got my steak done right (blue rare), which is a... well... rarity! hahahah. Anyway, yeah, for the money it was probably worth it, though the beers were a bit on the pricey-side. No worries, I mean, we're in Vegas, right?

El Cortez

On our second day in the city, Cam and I decided that it would be a good idea to find some real breakfast, since we were growing weary of pancakes. We had read/heard references to El Cortez, a hotel down on Fremont and 6th Ave (600 Fremont Street) that served a good and affordable breakfast. Who were we to argue? So, we headed off to check out this spoken-of breakfast.

Being in Vegas, is was a given that we had to walk through a posh hotel, followed by a casino in order to find the restaurant area of the place. It didn't take long, though, and so we walked up to the sign that said, "Please wait to be seated. Dress code in effect." Cam and I looked at ourselves and wondered if they'd let two beat-up looking guys in ratty clothes eat here.... and an answer came quickly as the lady walked up and took us to a table. Amazing! So, we sat down, with our menus, and checked out the specials that were on. The breakfast special (eggs, meat, pancakes, etc, along with coffee and juice) was under 10 bucks, so we couldn't turn it down. Our server, an older lady, was a complete dear to us, and took our orders as soon as our menus were closed. In a matter of minutes, our food arrived....
As you see, we got what we paid for. Everything tasted great! The bacon was done just right, as were the eggs, sausage, hash browns and pancakes. Plus, we got strawberries! Fresh fruit always warms my heart. The coffee was also quite good, along with the juice. This meal was just what we needed on this day. So yeah, if you find yourself on the Fremont Strip in Vegas, and need some breakfast, I'd suggest the El Cortez wholeheartedly. 3 Bacons!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Two Parrots

I'm keeping everyone on their toes by not updating on a specific day anymore, it seems. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just happen to be going for breakfast on some crazy days, whenever people are free. On that note, I managed to get myself, Cam, Bobby and Hilbot together on a Tuesday morning. This was mostly because Cam and Bobby were waiting to catch a flight in the early afternoon, so they needed something to do close to a Skytrain station. So, the four of us headed downtown to a little place on Granville and Davie (1202 Granville Street) known as Two Parrots Perch and Grill, which serves breakfast from 7 - 11am. I actually went to Two Parrots for breakfast about 3 years ago, after a long night of drinking, so I didn't remember the quality of the food. I figured that it was about time to head back and see about that.

Hilbot and I met up with Cam and Bobby at Two Parrots, so there was already a table for us when I arrived. It wasn't busy at all, a whole 2 other tables of people, along with a single guy up at the bar. The interior of Two Parrots is meant to be tropical, tiki, bamboo and the like lining the walls and bars. They pull the feeling off quite well, I must admit, as it slightly reminded me of the bar that I used to work at in Thailand. Anyway, we sat down with Bobby and Cam and the server immediately came to the table with a menu for me. The prices were reasonable and the options were varied enough, from egg/toast specials to pancakes to french toast. Hilbot, Cam and Bobby all went with the eggs/bacon/toast/hash specials, while I opted for a Lumberjack (yes, just like other places, lots of meat, 3 eggs and two pancakes) and also took a cup of coffee ($2.25 with refills). With my coffee in-hand, we took to waiting for our food by engaging in our usual, retarded banter. One of these days I'll record a video and you can all know what I'm talking about.

It wasn't long before our food arrived, clocking in at around 7 minutes. A refill of coffee also came along with it, so double the fun for us! All of the food looked and smelled like breakfast should, at least in my mind. (I should also note that I'm waiting on a battery charger for my camera, once that's here, I'll be taking pictures of breakfast again.) So, we all took to our breakfasts and shut our mouths. I did notice that the hash browns were the shredded grits, so that's an instant minus one for Cam. Otherwise, it all seemed to be in order for everyone. Everything on my plate was scrumptious, from the scrambled eggs to the big slice of ham, it was all cooked to perfection and tasted awesome. It seemed to be the consensus amongst the other 3 that the food was great, especially for the price (less than $10). All of us even cleared our plates!

Now, considering that Two Parrots is technically a bar/pub, located along the party strip of Vancouver, it really does a great job on breakfast. At the same time, it doesn't charge the ridiculous tourist-based prices that a number of places like to charge for food. I'd have to give the whole place an overall 3 Bacons! Yes, that's for service, food quality, affordability and ambiance. If you find yourself hungry, and aren't craving the smart-ass behaviour of The Elbow Room (which is located two blocks south), I would suggest Two Parrots to you.

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Choppers

I swear that 2010 is going to be over before we even notice it. Yes, it's already May, and thus, the first entry of Eat My Brains for the 5th month of the year! There were actually a couple of choices for breakfast joints this morning, one of which I wanted to save for a full Team day, and the other was closed, so I did some quick-thinking and set my sights on a little place that's located literally half a block away from Bon's, on the other side of Broadway, known as Choppers (2559 Nanaimo Street). This week pretty much everyone was busy and/or unavailable, so I was joined only by Vienna.

I've been told me a number of people over the past several months that I have to visit Choppers and that it's an amazing place. On those suggestions alone, I can generally be assured that I'm in for a good breakfast. On the other hand, having a place hyped-up also has the potential for severe disappointment. As we walked in, we were greeted by a server and offered a table immediately. Vienna had to step out around the corner to get some money out of the bank, since we realized that Choppers is cash-only, so I sat down at the table alone, ordered a coffee ($2, with refills) and started looking at the menu. I also took some time to look around and take in my surroundings. The interior of Choppers was simple and straightforward. Plain tables with a few mismatched chairs, a a few random pictures hanging on wood-paneled walls and the like. Overall, very welcoming and quaint, like a grandparents house or something.

Anywho, Vienna came back, sat down and started looking at the menu. It was a small, and fairly limited menu, so it didn't take long to make our decisions. Another server came by and asked if we were ready to order. Vienna ordered a hot chocolate and a traditional Eggs Benny. Meanwhile, I went with the French Toast (served with fresh fruit and hash browns), since I wasn't really in the mood for a standard eggs/toast type breakfast. Only about 30 seconds after the server left with our orders, she was back with some bad news. They were all out of whipped cream to top the hot chocolate and French Toast with! For shame! Ah well, it wasn't the end of the world for us. Vienna was quite giddy over the fact that her hot chocolate was frothy (since they apparently make their hot chocolates like lattes), so she wasn't bothered by the lack of whipped cream.

It was literally only 2 or 3 minutes before our plates came out. In terms of speed, Choppers is up there with cheetahs and how quickly my paycheques disappear. The food also looked quite scrumptious, so we took no time to start digging in. They gave me butter-flavoured syrup!! Anyone that knows me knows that butter-flavoured syrup is one of my favourite condiments of all time. The first thing that Vienna brought up was how tasty the hash browns were, so of course I started eating them first. I must say, they were damn tasty and reminded me of the kind of hash browns that I would make, in terms of seasoning and the like. The French toast was also delicious and done just right for me. The fresh fruit was actually fresh and very flavourful, as well, and for $6.25, I can't complain at all. Vienna, even though she began to get full about 3/4 of the way through, still managed to finish her benny, so I take that as a sign that it was tasty!

So, coming back to the hype that I mentioned originally, I'd have to say that Choppers did fairly well in keeping up with its reputation. The food quality and service gets 3 Bacons, while the portion size gets 2.5 Bacons and affordability gets 3.5 Bacons (While my French toast was quite cheap, Viennas Benny cost about $11, which is a bit of a stretch for a plain benny to me)! Well-done, Choppers.

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

The Hurricane

Hey everyone! Welcome to the second installment of Eat My Brains in Seattle! As opposed to Saturday morning, this Sunday morning was decided upon and thought out by Cam and I. On previous trips to Seattle (actually, the first time I came to the city) I've eaten at The Hurricane, as has Cam. We've taken to referring to it as "The more pricey, American cousin of Bon's", both because of it's reputation and because of the place itself. Located on the corner of 7th and Bell (2230 7th Avenue), The Hurricane is well-known, and considered a bit of a mainstay in the Seattle greasy spoon world. Cam and I can both attest to it keeping up with the reputation that has been equated to the place, and thus why we love it so much.

As previously mentioned, The Hurricane is much like Bon's, though maybe a bit more spacious. At the same time, the vibe is to match, rows of beaten-up booths, hip-looking workers, 90's music on in the background and walls plastered with various pictures and such. As Cam and I walked in, a girl (who, for the record looked/acted a lot like a friend of ours who happens to work at Bon's) walked up and took us to a booth, which happened to be the same booth that we had sat in on our last Seattle trip. After a moment, another server came up and got us a couple of coffees and cream for it. As we looked over the menu, it became apparent that the decision would be a tough one on this day. So many options... tasty tasty options. I was expecting Cam to grab a benny, but I was wrong as he ordered a Typhoon scrambler. I opted for my standard pancakes, bacon and egg combo, since I have no personality like that, y'know.

As we sat, waiting for our food to arrive, we were brought coffee a number of times, one of which I told the girl to just pour it in my lap, since that'd wake me up a whole lot faster. This is one of the big reasons that we love The Hurricane, the service and the people providing it. Not only are they good at their jobs, but they're entertaining as hell. It feels like we're regulars, even though we only come to this place once every couple of months, and that's a great feeling.

Anywho, our food finally arrived after a short amount of time and our coffees were refilled, once again. The food all looked pretty damn great, honestly. As Cam dug into his scrambler, he said, and I quote, "Holy shit, this is the best breakfast I've ever had." Yes, Cam had finally found the breakfast that he had been looking for, after all these years of searching. I must admit, his breakfast did look really good. Not to say that my breakfast wasn't any good, but it wasn't the one for me. The pancakes were big and fluffy, the bacon was soft and tasty and the eggs were done just right. Overall, just damn tasty.

With a bill coming out just over $20, it was a bit pricey, but hell, it was worth it. From Cam's statement alone, we can give The Hurricane 3 Bacons for food quality and service, while the affordability gets 4 Bacons! Tasty!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Joe's Grill

A few steps from Sophie's Cosmic Cafe, you can find this week's spot, Joe's Grill. I've heard much about it, but I've never been, so here was my chance. It's a small team this week, just Cam, Hilbot and I.

A simple and clean little interior greeted us as we stepped in from the gloomy morning. The place was bustling with people and so we had to wait about 5 minutes to be seated. When we were shown to a comfortable booth, I ordered a coffee and Hilbot ordered an Earl Grey tea as we awaited Cam's arrival. I had already made my choice for breakfast, since one of the specials on the board was "The Sampler" (Farmer's sausage, ham, 2 bacons, hash browns and toast for $10.25). Cam arrived not long after we sat down and ordered himself a coffee. After a quick look at the menu, we all decided upon our choices. Both Cam and I went with The Sampler, while Hilbot went with a simple breakfast of eggs, hash browns, meat and toast. I was expecting a fair bit of a wait, considering how busy the place was, but I was very wrong.

Less than 10 minutes after placing our orders, the food was already upon us. What was more impressive was the fact that the server carried all 6 plates (the toast came on separate plates from the rest of the meals) at once. The portions on the plates were big, and they all looked very appetizing. We even got peanut butter AND jam with our toast. It's not very often that you get both in one go. In terms of taste, the bacon was probably the best restaurant bacon that I've had in a long time. The only complaint that I, and the others, had was that the hash browns were undercooked. Nothing like undercooked hash browns to put a damper on things. All of the rest of the food was amazing, though. Very flavourful and delicious. I wasn't feeling all-too well this morning, so I wasn't able to even finish my whole meal. Actually, only Cam managed to clear his plate today.

The total bill amongst the three of us came out to around $30, so about $10 each, which you can't complain about, especially in Kits. At the same time, besides the hash browns, the food was well-worth the food too. The service was also amazing, in terms of speed and attentiveness. This place gets a solid 3 Bacons!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Bon's Off Broadway

Since I started writing this blog, I made the promise to myself that I wouldn't go to Bon's, or that I'd at least leave it til a bit later on. Well, here we are a few months into things and I've given into the pressure and tempation! It's also the last Monday Breakfast, due to Cam and I taking on new work schedules that won't allow them anymore. We're still in talks as to what day will work for The Team, so hopefully that gets figured out soon. Anywho, this week The Team (minus Cam) welcomes back our little friend, Amber, who you may remember from The Argo.

Bon's Off Broadway is possibly the best-known greasy spoon in all of Vancouver. Located just off of Broadway on Nanaimo Street (2451 Nanaimo Street), you can bet that there will be a gaggle of hippies, longboarders, hipsters, seniors and plain ol' people hanging outside of this place most hours of the day. Renowned for it's $2.95 all-day breakfast special, Bon's is the perfect place for people still hurting from a long night out and those who need a quick and cheap pick-me-up meal before heading off for a long day. The $1 coffee with endless refills is also a big plus, especially since it's actually good coffee, as opposed to the kind of stuff you get at Deacon's or The Skylight. Of course, with these kinds of positives, you have to expect a couple of negatives to come with them. In this case, it's a matter of time. By that I mean that you usually have to wait a good 10 to 20 minutes to get a table, then another 10 minutes to get served, then another 20 to 45 minutes for your food to arrive. (This is when I speak of peak hours, and weekends, of course. Otherwise, the times can be greatly reduced.) If you come to Bon's expecting constant refills on your coffee and water, you'll be sorely disappointed. My advice to you is to be proactive and get these refills for yourself. The servers will love you a whole lot more if you do and it makes for a better experience for everyone.

On this particular day, Kimmy and I only had to wait for a table for about 5 minutes. We had arrived before the usual morning rush that I spoke of earlier. Once a booth opened up, we immediately sat down and waited for Rozi and Amber to arrive. To make things easier, I had got them to tell me what they wanted for breakfast so that I could order it for them and have everything closer to coming along when they arrived. Unfortunately, we also had the rotten luck of getting the most forgetful server (this I know from experience) so that tactic proved fairly useless. About 3 minutes before Rozi and Amber arrived, we finally put in our orders. Three of us ordered The Special, while Kimmy stuck with her usual Eggs Benny.

The Special - 2 eggs, bacon/ham/sausage/tomatoes, white/brown/rye toast and pan fries.

Eggs Benny - Served with Hashbrowns.

After about 20 minutes and 4 cups of coffee, our food arrived. As per usual, the portions were huge and the food was greasy, just the way that we like it. The bacon was a bit cold, but you can expect it due to the sheer volume of food that passes through this place at any given time. Otherwise, everything was up to snuff, as far as Bon's goes. The eggs were cooked well and even the pan fries we quite evenly-cooked. Besides the lack of service, this Bon's experience was a solid one. Hell, just the coffee before work was worth it for me.

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Bert's Restaurant

Happy New Year to you all from The Team! Hopefully you're all in good health and are ready to take on yet another year on this Earth. I know that myself and the rest of The Team are looking forward to things, namely breakfast! On that note, we started off 2010 with a little diner on Main Street and 14th Ave (2904 Main Street) called Bert's Restaurant. Established under its current name in 1948, Bert's has been a mainstay of the Main Street community for over 60 years. My roommate insisted on trying it out, as she maintains that they have the best pancakes ever, and I'm a big fan of pancakes!

So, like every Monday, The Team (minus Cam this week, as he just landed a new job) met up at Bert's around 10am. Rozi had already landed a table for us, though it wouldn't have been a concern considering the number of open tables that we had to choose from. As Kimmy and I sat down, we were immediately greeted by our server, an older lady, with menus and water along with an offering of coffee ($1.70 each with free refills), which we both happily accepted. With that, we got to scouring the menu for our Monday delights and were faced with an extensive selection to choose from. The coffee's arrived quickly and the server took our orders. Here's how breakfast shaped up for The Team:

Jesse - The "Classic" Breakfast. Two pancakes, two eggs (scrambled), three slices of bacon and toast. ($6.50 / Total bill: $8.20)

Kimmy - Eggs Benny. Tomatoes substituted for meat, with an order of pan fries. ($8.95 / Total bill: $10.65)

Rozi - Two eggs (over easy), rye toast and pan fries. ($5.75 / Total bill: $7.45)

With our orders placed, we took to drinking our coffees and having idle conversation with one another. It only took a few minutes for our food to arrive, and we took a moment to survey the situation. All of our plates looked and smelled delicious, though one of my pancakes looked a bit on the burnt side. Regardless, we all dug in and went silent for the next several minutes. I found the pancakes to be good, but a bit on the over-done side. Still, they were quite tasty, as was the rest of my meal. Rozi made short work of most of her plate and said that it was all tip-top. As for Kimmy, she commented, "It wasn't the best benny. It reminded me of an IHOP benny, and I don't mean that as a good thing."

Overall, Bert's Restaurant gets props from myself and The Team. I know that the pancakes being a bit overdone is subject to day-to-day circumstances, so I can't base my decision on such a situation. As for Kimmys benny, I guess that you may want to skip the eggs benny at Bert's. But, the service was amazing, and the food was quite good, especially for the price. If you're looking for a quiet, low-key place to have some breakfast in the area, I suggest Bert's whole-heartedly.

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Argo Cafe

Can you believe that it's already been a month since I started this little blog? Happy one month! In celebration of this day, The Team (from here on in, I figure that we can consider Kimmy, Rozalyn and myself as The Team) decided upon the Argo Cafe, which can be found on West 2nd Avenue and Ontario Street (1836 Ontario Street). It's open from 7am til 3pm, breakfast is served until 11am and then the lunch menu opens up afterwards. In addition to The Team, you can welcome back Cam, from last week, and a new friend, Amber.

The Argo has apparently been around for the past 60 years. When we walked into the place, you could certainly feel the old vibe of it. Small, comfy booths with coat trees, which is perfect during this time of year when we're bundled up in winter coats. One of the co-owners was making up the new menu boards at the front of the cafe, and greeted us warmly. It was also at this moment that Kimmy noticed the "cash only" sign and, as we all know, no one carries cash anymore! So, Kimmy and Amber headed out in search of an ATM, which the owner kindly pointed them to.

"You'll want to head up to the Brinks building, which is just up on 5th," he said.

"What about the gas station over on 2nd?" I asked.
"They don't have one anymore. Someone ran a stolen truck into the store, lassoed the ATM and drove off with it... twice! So yeah, they decided that they weren't going to replace it again," he explained.

With that dilemma out of the way, Rozi, Cam and I sat and drank our coffees ($1.50 with free refills, I believe. I didn't actually see the price) that our server brought us. This guy's deadpan humor and plain-spoken conversation was right up my alley. Y'know, the kind of talking that makes you laugh on the inside because it sounds so serious when you know that it's all a joke. Anyway, after about 10 minutes, Kimmy and Amber finally came back, cash in-hand. They sat down and we all examined the menu, which was simply written out on chalkboards on the wall. Hey, it's a good way to save money, avoiding physical menus and all. The menu was condensed, but still quite varied, with a selection of bacon & egg-type specials, french toast, omelettes, steak & eggs, etc. For some reason, I feel that ordering "off of the menu" would be a very viable option here, and I may just try it one of these days. Regardless, we all came to our decisions and the following ensemble is what came about:Me - "The Platter". A slice of French toast, two eggs scrambled, three slices of bacon, two slices of brown toast and pan fries. ($7.25)Rozalyn - Steak and Eggs. Ordered rare and sunny-side up, along with two slices of brown toast and pan fries. ($9.75)Kimmy - Cheese Omelette. Just a plain ol' omelette with two slices of brown toast and pan fries. ($6.25)Cam - "The Platter". French toast, over-easy eggs, bacon, brown toast and pan fries. ($7.25)Amber - "The Platter". French toast, over easy eggs, bacon, white toast and pan fries. ($7.25)

It only took a mere 5 minutes for the French toast to arrive, along with the butter and syrup for it. It was also right then that we realized that there was only one set of cutlery for 5 of us. Not a problem for the staff here, as it seems that they psychically heard us thinking it and 4 more sets of cutlery were placed upon the table. Kind of a shame, as I was hoping that Amber would just use the one set to feed all of us individually, kind of like a bird mom. (hahaha) Anywho, back to breakfast. The French toast looked and tasted amazing. It was done just right, not burnt and not soggy. After about another 3 minutes, the rest of the food arrived. All of the dishes looked quite lovely, and the portions were just the right size. The toast may have been slightly under-done, but definitely not bad at all. Rozi's steak was done to medium-rare, which was to be expected, since that's just how steaks are. It was actually why she ordered it rare, so yay for forethought! Otherwise, everything was tip-top and grade A. For the next 5 minutes or so, silence befell the table. Finally, Amber piped up, "I love it when the table goes silent."

"Well, that just means that we're all enjoying our food that much," I replied.

And it was true, the food definitely kept us all enthralled til the last of it was in our stomachs. This was another one of those situations where I ate all of my food without thinking twice. The same went for the rest of the team, as well. Yes, for the 5th week in a row, we chose another awesome breakfast joint. As per usual, I suggest the Argo to anyone and everyone, except for vegans and people who don't like a good breakfast. If you don't fall into either of those categories, then please, go to the Argo Cafe soon! I know that I'll be returning.

(From L-R: Jesse, Cam, Kimmy, Amber & Rozi)

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Sunshine Diner

In a quest to expand the area in which I try out breakfast joints, my team-mates and I pushed out into Kitsilano this week. Our destination was a little 50's-type diner called Sunshine Diner, located on West Broadway, between Stevens and Trafalgar Streets (2649 West Broadway). In addition to the usual suspects (Kimmy and Rozi), I was joined by my fine, feathered friends, Aaron and Cam.

For starters, I could pick out at least one reason that this place had the word "sunshine" in its name. The place was very, very bright without the use of much indoor lighting at all. Carved figurines of the likes of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean lined the tops of the pony walls, and old 50's artwork was all over the place. The booths and tables were also upholstered true to the vintage vibe of this diner. Also, I was informed by Rozi that the big draw of Sunshine Diner was their milkshakes. (Could anything scream 50's more than a tasty malt?)

As we sat down in a booth, we were greeted by a delightful, young lady. Considering that it was 10am on a Monday morning, she was more than chipper, which was a huge bonus. All five of us ordered coffees ($2.55 each with unlimited refills) and began looking at the menu. Let me just say, if you ever have a craving for an omelette, come to this place, as there was a very extensive selection of them on this menu. Additionally, there was a multitude of pancake/egg/benny specials, along with the regular burger/sandwich lunch specials. As we poured over the menu, the server brought us our coffees, which was delicious, along with a selection of cream and milk. (Options? Yes please!) After a couple of more minutes, we all made up our minds and our orders were taken. For the sake of convenience, I'll simply list the orders.
Me - Two pancake breakfast special. This consisted of two pancakes (surprise!), two eggs and three slices of bacon. (Total: $18.11)Rozalyn- 1/2 order of the "Romero" eggs benny, along with a side order of home fries. (Total: $15.75)Kimmy - Same as Rozalyn, except a full order instead of the half order. (Total: $14.96)
Cam - "Blackstone" eggs benny, home fries added, as well. (Total: $14.96)
Aaron - 1/2 order of the "Sunshine" eggs benny, with home fries. (Total: $15.75)

Now, I have to say, coffee refills were not an issue in this place. They continued to fill our cups faster than we could empty them. All-in-all, we had about 3 refills before our plates of food arrived, which clocked in at about 10 minutes. When it did arrive, we were not disappointed at all. My pancakes we golden and delicious, the bacon was cooked to near-perfection and what they called "2 eggs" looked more like 3 or 4 eggs. This applied to everyone's eggs benny's, as well. The home fries (a fancy name for pan fries) were done perfectly and the food just looked overall amazing. Everyone agreed that the food was delicious and that the portions were of exceptional size. Rozi, Aaron and I decided that we'd top it off with some of the famous milkshakes. Coming in at $4.75 each, we were given a number of choices/combinations of flavours. I chose a vanilla/espresso one, Rozi went with an almond/espresso and Aaron took a peanut butter/chocolate one. They were all amazing. My tongue was overcome with a tsunami of flavour from all three of the milkshakes. The almond/espresso one was a bit heavy, but it was still delicious.

With a final tally of $18.11, this was my most expensive breakfast to date. At the same time, it was excellent food, there was utterly amazing/happy service and the atmospere was first-rate. The entire team gives Sunshine Diner an A+, especially if you're willing to spend a few extra dollars. But hey, you have to treat yourself sometimes, don't you?

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse