Perch

Greetings and salutations to you all!  It's summer in Vancouver, which means that I have a lot of time off of work.  This, of course, means that I have more time to pick and choose with places that I go for breakfast!  Today, Kimmy and I hit up a joint in the DTES, just off of Gore Street, along East Hastings.  Some of you probably know it, but I'm going to tell you about Perch (337 East Hastings Street).

I'm not exactly sure how long Perch has been operating, but it seems fairly new to me.  It's hip, it's funky, and most of its' menu is gluten-free.  It's not necessarily a breakfast joint, as it opens at 11:30am and only has two breakfast items on the menu.  It's more known for the gluten-free pizza and burgers, from what I've been told.  Anywho, it was a Wednesday and it was "early", so Kimmy and I were able to seat ourselves.  We were immediately brought a couple of menus, which were shortly followed by coffees ($2.25ea) and waters.  As I said, there were only two breakfast options on the menu, so both of us went with the bacon (tofu for Kimmy) & eggs ($7 each).  I was tempted to get a burger, but I had just gotten back from Alberta where I had pretty much nothing but burgers, so yeah, breakfast!  During our short wait, I noticed how reasonable the drink prices were, as they were posted on the menu board across the restaurant.  $4.75 for domestic bottles, which included Blue Buck and Seed Spitter, and only $5.25 for imports, including Mirror Pond and Newcastle.  Not bad in this city, that's for sure.

Within 10 minutes, our food arrived....

As you can see, they weren't messing around with portion sizes!  I had the multigrain toast, while Kimmy had marble rye.  I started with the bacon, which was done just the way I like it, soft and not crispy.  The potatoes were also quite good, not too seasoned but not bland either.  The salad tasted pretty good, though I did get a couple of blackened leaves.  The toast was, well, toast.  The eggs were the part that threw me off a bit, though.  They were kind of over-done and rubbery, which is about the opposite that anyone wants their eggs done.  I also had a bit of Kimmy's tofu, which they had seasoned with what tasted like Montreal Steak Spice.  Not going to lie, it was actually a winning combination!  With all of that said, price-wise and food-wise, I'd have to give Perch 4 Bacons overall.  The service ruled, the coffee was good, the prices were decent and the food was mostly good.  I definitely want to give their burgers and pizza a try, though!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Roundel Cafe

Well, hello there folks! It's been a long time again, hasn't it? Apparently it's been a busy past month for me, so the breakfasts have been limited. Plus, the lack of extra cash, due to moving expenses, has put a dent in my ability to seek out new breakfasts. I'm hoping that that will change now that I'm all moved and settled in. On that note, I managed to make it to a new breakfast joint this past week. Say hello to The Roundel Cafe! Located on Hastings Street, just east of Nanaimo Street (2465 East Hastings Street), I've been meaning to hit this place for a fair while, and finally have!

Nestled amongst small clothing stores, pizza shops and coffee houses, the Roundel is one of the centre-points of East Vancouver for delicious food and decent prices. I've heard countless people mention it and how they swear by it. Also, an old friend of mine used to be a server at the Roundel, so I was constantly told to come in for a bite to eat. So, all of this coupled with Hilbot suggesting it because of a friend of hers working there that day, I finally broke down and went! It wasn't busy, which was a pleasant surprise since I was really hungry that morning and wasn't looking to wait. The server, an older lady, sat us down in the booth nearest to the door, handed us menus and grabbed the drinks (coffee: $2 with refills and tea: $2 with refills) for us. The breakfast options were simple, but diverse and extensive. I decided that I wanted something that I don't make at home, so I settled on a bacon eggs benny ($8.75), while Hilbot chose three pancakes topped with blueberries ($8). It wasn't long before a couple of plates were placed onto our table....
Holy.Crap. So much food! Considering the amount that we paid for it, I couldn't complain about the portions. My benny was delicious, and the pan fries were done just right. The salad, which I could tell was made from scratch as opposed to the usual bagged greens that we sell at my store, was also tasty. Hilbots pancakes were huge, and delicious, as she let me have a few bites. In fact, she couldn't even finish the other two pancakes. She ended up leaving one for her friend and taking one home for later. I'd have to give a solid 5 Bacons to The Roundel, service being great, food being absolutely delicious and the price being right. I'm sure that it helped that we went in when it wasn't busy, but still, I suggest it to anyone that feels the need for a good breakfast!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse