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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
Welcome back to yet another breakfast adventure with the Eat My Brains team. Today, Cam and I were joined by Bobby, Alicia and Vienna, all of whom you've been previously introduced to. The target for the day was Seb's Market and Cafe, located on the corner of East Broadway and Carolina Street (592 East Broadway).
I had heard a fair amount of raving about this place, so it seemed like a good choice. We made the mistake of holding off breakfast until 11am, so when we arrived, there was a long wait-time for a table. We were told 20 minutes, but that changed into about 45 minutes. As we stood outside, tonnes of people went in, but almost no one came out. At least we knew that there were enough people that loved Seb's that we probably weren't going to be disappointed with our breakfasts. We were finally seated after the previously-mentioned 45 minutes and the place was packed. Four of us ordered coffees ($2.65 each with refills), while Vienna went with a big glass of their freshly-squeezed orange juice. With those on the way, we all began looking at the menu, which was full of delicious sounding (and exotic) breakfast options, including Elk Medallion Eggs Benny and Roast Duck & Dried Cranberry omelettes. The server returned at lightning speed and took our orders. As always, Cam went with Eggs Benny (with the Havarti cream sauce, as opposed to the curry pineapple or chipotle-wild berry ones), as did Bobby and Vienna. I went with a turkey sausage/cheddar omelette and Alicia went with a scrambled egg plate. With that, we took to (what we thought would be) another long wait.
A mere five minutes later, all of our food came out! This was one of those rare experiences where the wait-time to sit down was exceptionally longer than the wait time for the food to be served. As the plates were placed in front of us, we became aware of just how great this breakfast was going to taste. It reminded me somewhat of The Well, in terms of the fresh fruit and pan fries, along with freshly-baked toast. The first bite of my omelette melted in my mouth like an explosion of deliciousness. The pan fries were cooked to perfection, the fruit was juicy and the toast was amazing. All of us sucked back our food like brand new Hoovers in a bad 70's commercial. It was agreed that, yes, this was one of the tastiest breakfasts that any of us had had in the last while.
With my total bill coming to $16.21, after tip, this wasn't the most expensive breakfast for me. At the same time, it was utterly amazing, so in terms of cost-to-quality, Seb's scores big on my scale.
Stay sharp, kids
Jesse
Ah, what better way to kick off this blog than with a Japaribbean (Yes, that would be Japanese/Caribbean) breakfast joint. I was joined by my two friends, Kimmy and Rozalyn for this adventure. Expect them to pop up a fair bit in this blog.
Anywho, yes, The Lion's Den Cafe is located on Fraser and Kingsway (651 E. 15th Ave., to be exact), and actually just celebrated it's 10th anniversary in September. To top it off, yes, there is actually a real stuffed lion that hangs out on a shelf. His name is/was Junior, and he was donated by Ken's (the Jamaican owner) friend from Winnipeg that raised and lived with Junior all of his life. Ken told us the story personally, as it was our first time at the cafe.
When we entered the cafe, which is a small, cozy hole-in-the-wall, we were greeted by Ken, who was doing a little dance at that very moment. "It's cook your own meal day, guys!" he exclaimed. "You all know how to cook, right?"
"Actually, no. My friend here has managed to burn a house down while making a salad," I replied, pointing towards Kimmy. (No, she hasn't actually managed to do that... yet.) That ended with laughter, us choosing a spot and the menus coming out. It ranged from the standard eggs/meat/grits/toast special to jerk chicken to Japanese pizza. I opted for the breakfast special (scrambled eggs, bacon, pan fries and brown toast, with marmalade) and a Jamaican patty (mixed vegetable), as I was craving plain ol' breakfast with a twist. Kimmy chose a cheese/veggie omelette with pan fries and Rozalyn went with a sauteed veggie sub with a salad.
Considering that it's just Ken and his wife doing all of the work, the service was awesome. Nice, big mugs of coffee to start things off, along with my Jamaican patty. The coffee was perfect and the patty was warm, spicy and delicious. I've never had a Jamaican patty before, but if this is what they're always like, I'm sold.
The main course(s) came about 10 minutes later, and they were well-worth the wait. Kimmy's omelette was huge, Rozy's sandwich was mad-crazy big/tasty and my special was delightful. I could've used more bacon, but then again, I always need more bacon. The toast was THICK and covered in marmalade, which made my heart melt. My only qualm would be that the potatoes were a bit squishy, but hell, they still tasted amazing. There were self-serve coffee refills that were based on the Honour System, which is lovely in my books. All the while, Ken would stop by to see how things were and be just a generally jovial guy with us and the new guests that would come in. It really felt like home.
Overall, The Lion's Den is A+ in my books. (Both of my teammates agree) Great service, tasty food, good portions, friendly atmosphere and good prices. My meal (breakfast special, Jamaican patty and coffee) was $9.23 in total. I suggest this place to anyone and everyone, and yes, I will be returning.... hopefully for jerk chicken and Japanese pizza!
Stay sharp, kids.
Jesse
