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

Twisted Fork Bistro

Greetings and a good day to you all.  It's that time once again, where we go on a little trip to a (hopefully) delicious place for breakfast!  This week(end), Eliza suggested a little place in the heart of downtown for her,  Tomas and myself to have brunch at, known as the Twisted Fork Bistro.  Located along Granville, halfway between Helmcken Street and Davie Street (1147 Granville St), Twisted Fork is normally a dinner venue, except on weekends.  During the weekend, it's open for brunch, only from 10am until 2pm.  Because of this small window of time, the lineup for this place can be quite daunting.  Eliza had tried it once before and assured us that it would be worth the wait, if there was one.  

We attempted to arrive at Twisted Fork just before 10am, but ended up being a couple of minutes late.  We walked in and were greeted by a man at the counter.  We had literally just missed the last available table, so the wait was pegged at about 45 minutes to an hour.  Luckily, none of us were overly-hungry, so we decided to go for a little jaunt to the pawn shop next door to kill time.  When we returned 45 minutes later, there was still a bit of a wait, so we just stood and waited our turn.  I admired the pleasant and warm interior of the place.  Simple, yet lovely colours and decor complimented one another throughout the interior.

Finally, we were seated at a booth towards the rear of the restaurant.  A friendly, young lady immediately came to the table, handed us a copy of the menu and took our drink orders (coffee and water for us all).  We were brought three mugs and a French Press full of coffee. (Bottomless, $4 per person).  The coffee was quite delicious, for sure.  With our coffees in-hand, we each looked at our menus.  The nice thing that I noticed was that all of the items were the same price ($13.50, taxes included), so that took the whole "I'd like that, but it's three bucks more than that other dish" part of the decision-making process.  I was instantly caught by the Bacon, Caramelized Onion and Brie Frittata filled with plum tomatoes and fresh Basil, served with fresh greens and sweet corn relish.  My eyes also caught sight of a cocktail that happened to have absinthe ($9), so I ordered one of those as well.  Meanwhile, Eliza chose the scrambled eggs, along with a plate of fresh fruit.  Tomas was all traditional with an Eggs Benedict.  With our orders in, we drank as much coffee as we could (four bucks a person makes you want to get your moneys-worth!) and I sipped on my cocktail, which was also delicious.  After about 15 minutes or so, our food arrived....

Bacon, Caramelized Onion and Brie Frittata filled with plum tomatoes and fresh Basil, served with fresh greens and sweet corn relish

Sauteed Mixed wild mushroom scrambled eggs served with toasted sourdough and housemade jam, roasted roma tomatoes, rosti and sauteed spinach

Eggs Benny with toasted brioche, poached eggs, hollandaise and served
with sauteed spinach, rosti and baked beans

Holy crap.  That's really all that I can say about the food.  The salad had a mild garlic dressing on it, which was perfect.  The eggs were cooked just right, and the ingredients each came out in their own way when I took my first bite.  Along with the sweet relish, it was just plain delicious.  I tried some of Elizas toast, along with the apple jam (which really turned the toast into what tasted like apple pie).  Tomas commented on how perfectly the eggs we poached, as well.  All in all, the three of us agreed that our food kicked a whole lot of ass.  The only slip-up was that Eliza ordered her toast dry, but it came out with butter on it.  Whether the server forgot to request it, or the cooks didn't heed the request is a mystery... but really, with how good everything was we couldn't really complain, could we?  That said, I give Twisted Fork Bistro a solid 5 Bacons.  Realistically, the price isn't all that high, especially when you take the sheer quality of the food into account.  Plus, the service was fantastic.  If you're up nice and early, or have some time to kill while you wait, I whole-heartedly suggest the Twisted Fork Bistro.  You won't be disappointed!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

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

Tangent Cafe

Greetings to you all, and welcome back to another day of breakfast in Vancouver.  It's my only day off this week, so I decided to go out and get some things done.  Along the way, I figured that I'd stop for some breakfast while I was on The Drive.  Because it was before 10am on a Saturday, not many places were open for me to eat at, so I opted for a newly-opened place called the Tangent Cafe.  Now, I use the term "newly-opened" fairly loosely, since Tangent Cafe is actually in the exact same spot that Sorry Babushka used to be.  Basically, S.B. closed for a couple of weeks, renovated a bit, then reopened with a new name.  Anywho, I decided to go for it.

So, the serving staff seemed to be quite unchanged from before.  The decor has at least been updated this time around, so I couldn't complain about that.  Otherwise, it seemed much the same as when it was Sorry Babushka.  I sat down and was brought a menu and a coffee ($2.50).  Compared to before, the menu has been greatly condensed and the prices went up by a few bucks.  I decided to go with the special, which was a smoked salmon benny.  The server took my menu and I began the wait for my food...

It actually didn't take long at all for my food to arrive...

Smoked Salmon Benny

So, what can I say?  The salmon looked a lot like ham.  I know that it wasn't ham, but it certainly looked like the salmon-in-a-box that you buy at those tourist stores in Gastown.  It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't all that visually appealing.  The sauce was quite good, but there was nothing really notable otherwise.  Meanwhile, the potatoes were the standard from-frozen ones with no seasoning and the fruit was from a can.  I also only managed to get one refill of coffee, which was a bit disappointing considering that there were 5 servers working and the place wasn't full.  So, all in all, I can't say that I was dazzled or really overly-impressed with the Tangent Cafe.  Was it worth $15.50 plus tax?  Nope.  You would think if a place jacked its prices up by a few bucks, the food quality would increase as well.  Alas, the food quality was about the same (if not a bit less) as it was when the place was Sorry Babushka.  The service was decent, but once again, could have been better.  I have to say that Tangent Cafe gets 2 Bacons from me.  You can definitely find better/cheaper food in the area.

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse

El Camino's

Greetings and salutations to you all!  It's been another long span since my last update, hasn't it?  It seems like I'm more interested in eating rather than writing or something.  To be honest, I've just been going to a number of places that I've already reviewed, so updates have been sparse.  Lucky for us, yesterday included going for breakfast at a place that I've never been!  I'd like to introduce you to El Camino's, a Latin American-flavoured joint located just off of 16th Avenue, on Main Street. (3250 Main Street)

I remember Cam telling me about El Camino's back a few months ago, but promptly forgot about it.  It's a fairly new place, from my understanding, so it makes sense that I haven't committed it to memory before.  Much like many of the new cafes/restaurants that have been opening in Vancouver, it's fairly small and straight-forward.  A bar with a few seats greets you at the door, while the opposite wall is lined with tables for 2-4 people each.  A group of a few booths are also located in the back of the place.  Cam and I arrived before our friends Devon and Sam, and the place was already packed, so we chose to sit at the bar.  Unlike many people, we don't find it totally necessary to sit at a table when eating.  Plus, you ever notice how long people will wait in line to sit down, even when there's spots open at the bar?  I guess they're just not in a hurry or something, which I can relate to.  So yeah, we sat at the bar, ordered a couple of coffees and began looking over the menu.  El Camino's touts itself as a provider of "Latin American Street Food", and the menu doesn't disappoint.  Beans, salsa(s) and spicy ingredients pepper the menu (did you like that pun?  Yes you did!) items, making it tough for someone to pick just one thing.  I finally decided upon a Spicy Shrimp Scramble, while Cam went with The Hangover (to match how he was feeling that day).  I also ordered a classic mimosa, simply because I wasn't hungover and felt like it would be a good thing to have on this rainy Sunday morning.

The servers (only two working at the time) were slammed almost immediately after we arrived, so the service was a bit slow.  At the same time, as I said to one of them when she apologized for the wait, "If people were in a hurry, they wouldn't come into a place like this.  They'd hit McDonald's."  That's kind of my take on most restaurants/cafes/etc, though.  The people that come walking into a place, order food and immediately follow it with a mention of what a hurry their in, or something to that effect.  If you're so strapped for time, what are you doing sitting down at a restaurant?  Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent, so back to breakfast!

It wasn't a relatively long time to wait for our food, and when it did arrive, we were ready for it...

Spicy Shrimp Scramble

The Hangover

Holy crap, the potatoes were awesome!  As we all know, I like to eat them first, and generally judge a place on its potatoes, and El Camino's did not disappoint!  The toast was also quite tasty, I must say.  Most of all, the scramble was just the right amount of spicy.  Not so much that it masks the flavour (or lack thereof), but enough to make you want to have a drink.  Speaking of drinks, my mimosa had a bit of orange juice in it, to colour the champagne of course.  If you like a stiff drink at brunch, this is the place to be.  Meanwhile, Cam made short work of his Hangover and enjoyed every bit of it.  I tried some of the tortilla chips and they were also lovely.  With the bill coming in at about $24, taxes in, it was a bit pricey but totally worth it.  Plus, I could have easily saved $7.50 by not having the mimosa, so yeah, can't really complain about the price, especially considering not only food and coffee quality, but also the quality of the service.  The servers did their best to keep an eye on everyone and keep a smile on their faces even with how packed the place was this morning.  Kudos!  For that, El Camino's scores 4 Bacons from the Team!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

Greenroom Diner

To cap off our trip to Tofino, Eliza and I picked a little diner that had recently opened up.  We had seen the menu and an ad for it at the camp site that we stayed at for the last two days, so we figured that it could be a fun time!  Let me introduce you to the Greenroom Diner.  Located on the right-hand side of the road as you're entering town, tucked away a bit along the water (approximately 634 Campbell Street), it doesn't just jump out of you.  But, maybe that was part of the draw for us.

The view was quite nice, and the interior was plain and clean.  One of the two very pleasant servers seated us at a booth and gave us menus, while getting us each a coffee ($2.25 w/ refills).  Apparently it was the first day of their new menu, so score for us!  It was a collection of the usual breakfast suspects, along with a couple of specialties.

After mulling over our options, we came to our decisions.  Eliza decided upon a "Benny Gone Green", since she's one for the ol' veggie options.  Meanwhile, I had a serious desire for some pancakes, probably due to low blood-sugar or something.  The server asked whether I wanted my bacon crispy, to which I replied, "No please, I like mine a bit soft."  She laughed because she had just had a conversation with the cook about how everyone orders their bacon crispy.  I'm just going against the grain, apparently.  Anyway, we placed out orders and conversed about whatever happened to be on our minds that day.  We were brought regular coffee refills and the server stopped a couple of times for a bit of conversation.  It's always a nice touch when servers are genuinely interested in talking, as opposed to just rehashing the same crap about the weather, etc.  Regardless, it wasn't long until our food arrived...

Pancakes, topped with fruit and lemon cream-cheese, with bacon ($12)

Benny Gone Green (can't remember exact toppings), with fruit ($13)

The bacon was soft, just like I asked!  The pancakes were also and awesome mash of flavours, and were done just right.  On the other side of the table, Eliza voiced her pleasure with her benny.  (She gets the sauce on the side, thus the lack of it in the picture.)  The eggs were cooked well and looked quite fluffy to me.  The plates did lack a bit in the presentation department, what with the amount of empty space on them.  At the same time, the quality of the food outweighed the quantity, so it'd be silly to complain too much.  Overall, the Greenroom gets a whole 4 Bacons from me!  It's got good vegetarian options, and the food in general is good.  The service is also awesome, as is the coffee!

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse

Caffe Vincente

 Greetings once again!  I'm going on quite the spree of updates these days, aren't I?   For the next two entries, I'm going to tell you a bit about breakfast in Tofino, BC.  Eliza and I decided to take a short holiday on Vancouver Island, soak in some hot springs and just plain relax.  Now, you have to remember that Tofino is a tiny town on the coast of The Island.  By tiny, I mean that it's literally one main strip with a couple of four-way stops.  There are a tonne of tourists though, so there is a fair bit around, in terms of business.  You know what this means.... yep, there's breakfast joints!  The first of two is Caffe Vincente.  Located along the main drag, on the left-hand side as you enter the town (441 Campbell St), this place came off more as a coffee shop than a restaurant.  But, it looked like it had some good eats, so Eliza and I went for it.

As I said, Caffe Vincente appears to be a small-ish coffee shop from the outside.  As you step inside, you'll find that, yes, it is a coffee shop of sorts, but that there's also a bustling kitchen immediately behind the counter.  You grab (or are given) a menu as you stand in line, then order from the counter before sitting down.  There's a small dining room to the right, or seating outside, the latter of which we chose.  Who wants to sit indoors when the sun is shining anyway?  Oh, did I mention that Eliza went with a light, salad-driven option with a couple of eggs, while I went all traditional (eggs, toast, ham)?  Now I did!  The price was right on both too, aka, under $10, along with some coffee.  

We were warned that there would be a bit of a wait for our food, since it was quite busy this morning.  This wasn't a concern to either of us really, being on holiday and all.  After about 10 minutes, Eliza's plate of food arrived...

We both figured that mine would be on its way shortly, since it had the ham and toast, so Eliza elected to wait for my food to arrive.  The clock ticked by... minute by minute.  We began to notice people that had arrived after us receiving their food (some being the same meal that I ordered) already.  After about another 10 minutes I decided to see what was going on with my food.  Eliza's food wasn't really getting cold per se, since the sun was blazing, but it was still just sitting there.  I went up to the counter and asked about my plate.

"What was the order?"

"Just a traditional breakfast."
"Oh, it's coming up next."

"No worries, I was just confused since my girlfriend's food has been at our table for 10 minutes, so I thought you might have forgotten me."

"Oh, did you two order separately?"

"We sure did."

"Oh, that's the problem then.  So sorry!"

"No worries.  Thanks."

So yeah, word of caution, be sure to order food with your party or face the prospect of being leapfrogged by other people.  I went back out to our table and told Eliza what the score was.  About a minute after, one of the ladies came out with a plate of ham.  She apologized for the mix up and said that the extra ham was on the house.  Only a few more minutes went by until the brought my plate, with an additional bowl of fruit as an extra apology.

The food was quite delicious.  The ham was just sliced from a roll, which was a little disappointing, but it was still good nonetheless.  My eggs were cooked just right and the toast was full of grains.  The fruit was also flavourful.  Eliza was also pleased with her food.  I don't remember her complaining, at least.  So, I'd have to give this place 3.5 Bacons overall.  The mix-up with my food missing was inconvenient, but at least there was some sort of excuse behind it.  Plus, the fact that they were willing to provide me with several dollars-worth of compensation for it helped out.  The service was lovely (we ended up getting into a conversation with the one cook, as her dog was tied up outside by us) and the price was right, so really, how could I complain much more?

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse