Tag Archives: breakfast

Pig On The Street

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Their slogan on the side of the brightly wrapped van couldn’t be more correct.  I had a achin’ for bacon and the Pig On The Street Food Truck will fill your bacon loving needs.

The Pig On The Street is one of the new food cart additions that is serving up thick cut, bacon sandwiches in homemade flat bread and they even offer a vegetarian option as well!  When I made my visit they were on the Hornby side of the Vancouver Art gallery but they are usually on the Howe Street side, also you can find them at local farmers markets and festivals.  All there bacon is from Gelderman Farms and they proudly say that on the van so you know you getting a quality product.

I placed my order for a Pig LT, instead of giving you a number while you wait you get a pink pig and they all have unique names-a funny touch.

My Pig LT was full of double smoke and thick cut bacon, fresh arugula, avocado, tomato, farmhouse cheddar and a bacon and maple mayo.  All there sandwiches are $8.95 tax included.  I loved everything about this, I’m a personal fan of bacon and avocado sandwiches-there a perfect pairing.  The bacon was nice and meaty, cooked perfectly.  The arugula it added another flavor dimension that helped cut the richness of the sandwich.  I will say that it was a bit messy to eat but I managed to get most of it in my hungry tummy.

I’m definitely heading back to the Pig On The Street to try the rest of their delicious bacon filled sandwiches.

Pig on the Street on Urbanspoon

Catch 122 Cafe Bistro

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The area around the old Woodward’s building is definitely going through a change.  New business are moving in and reclaiming space that has been vacant and in need of a facelift for years now.

I stopped in for a late lunch and was greeted by the friendly staff.  With a nice selection of breakfast and brunch items, lunch is rounded out with a some salads and sandwiches.  Kid’s aren’t forgotten either with their own section on the menu.  The cafe also has a full selection of dishes that are packaged and frozen for you to enjoy at home, prices are really reasonable for the items I saw and everything is preservative free.

I started with a beet salad with goat cheese and pickled fennel for $11.  The greens for the salad are arugula and the goat cheese is crusted in a maple nut crust and the salad is dressed in a citrus vinaigrette.  The was good and the pickled fennel was a nice touch.  The goat cheese was nice and warm and the maple nut crust was a great flavor contrast to the creamy cheese.  While the flavors and ingredients were great the 2 things that were negatives for me were the size of the beets-they were too small and rounds would be easier to eat and the plate it was on was missing edges so eating the salad was awkward sometimes.

I ordered there Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese with a side of soup and for some reason a pulled pork sandwich was brought to me.  The soup was an odd and surprisingly great pairing of pear and zucchini.  It was cream and rich but not heavy on the palate, I thought it would be too sweet from the pear but it wasn’t at all.  The pulled pork sandwich for me was good but it lacked smokiness and the pear coleslaw was on the sweet side.  The meat on the other hand had the right texture and was melt in your mouth tender.

After taxes my meal came to $25.76 and I’d definitely come back for brunch and to try that grilled cheese.  It’s comfort food with a french twist and I think Catch 122 is another good dining option in the ever-changing Downtown East Side.

Catch 122 Cafe Bistro on Urbanspoon

I Went Dutch

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So I’m born and raised here in Vancouver and for the life of me I can’t remember ever visiting the De Dutch Pannekoek House and since there is one that is close to my place and I’m trying to eat breakfast in the area more I felt like I should give it a try.  The location on Robson Street is newly renovated and the space is bright and comfortable with booths lining the wall and some tables and chairs making up the rest of the seating.

What’s a Pannekoek?~pan_ne_koek (pãn-ne-kõõk), n. genuine Dutch pancake, tasting similar to the traditional North American pancake and is slightly thicker than a crepe. It has a circumference of 37″, a diameter of 12″ and if you cut it into square inch pieces you will enjoy 113 bites. Simply delightful any way you like, but the customary way is to roll it up and cut off bite-size pieces.

As I checked out the menu I started with some coffee, the menu is pretty big with lots of different breakfast and lunch options~there only open for breakfast and lunch.  The coffee was pretty meh but did job, also my server kept my cup topped up.

I went with a choice that fellow blogger The food Queen loves and recently blogged about on her recent visit,you can check out her visit by clicking here, the Hash with choice of meat served on a pannekoek for $12.50.  It’s hash browns, mushrooms, onions, cheddar, peppers, your choice of meat, topped with hollandaise sauce, for my meat I went with the debakon~I think they spell it deweird!.

You get a choice of condiments including a couple of types of tabasco, ketchup and maple syrup~I stuck with the maple syrup for my meal.

The hash was pretty good and flavored well from the veggies but the hollandaise sauce was a fail for me~it looked split but it tasted OK, the debakon was nice and smoky and reminded me of back bacon.  The pannekoek was like a cross between a pancake with the thinness of a crepe with a slight sweetness to it.  I will say that by the end of my meal I was stuffed to my surprise and I’ve realized that Dale Mackay has spoiled me hollandaise sauce wise because ever since I’ve had his at Ensemble Tap nothing else has compared.

After takes and tip my meal came out to around $17 bucks, it was a decent breakfast but I think it was on the pricey side I think.  There a new franchisee I’ve been told by a friend who has eaten there before~hence the new renovation and facelift, they have had some crappy Urbanspoon reviews posted for the location when it was under old ownership but my visit thankfully was good and my service friendly and prompt with the new owners.

De Dutch Pannekoek House (Robson) on Urbanspoon

Wikipedia: At or in this place: Stop here for a rest. →

Brunch at Ensemble Tap

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Not only does Ensemble Tap and Dale MacKay serve up a kick butt lunch and dinner but now he’s taking it one step further by offering up weekend brunch!

the menu

I was invited by the Ensemble Tap team to check out the new brunch menu on the inaugural weekend and I couldn’t have been happier to oblige so I brought @MaryInVancity along with me, the menu is varied with benny’s and other egg dishes, pancakes, a couple burgers and classics like steak and eggs, so without further a due~let’s brunch!

fresh brewed coffee,$3

Guava Mimosa~Fresh squeezed Guava juice with Cava,$6

We started off with some a couple of cups of Casa Del Cafe coffee, it was a nice medium roast and our cups were kept topped up through out our meal.  Also we checked out the guava mimosa, price at $6 each it’s a great value and a nice twist with the guava juice instead of the traditional orange juice.

I went with the Crispy Bacon Pancakes with Maple Butter and Caramelized Apples for $11.  These aren’t your mom’s pancakes, they were light and fluffy and the bacon that is mixed into the batter was a perfect touch~bacon and maple in every bite!  The caramelized apple topping served on the side was a nice touch and worked well with all the flavors.

Mary chose the Brisket Benny, two poached eggs, hollandaise, home fries
and mixed greens for $13.  The sign of a perfectly cooked egg is this:

perfect runny yolks on the eggs is what is prized in this dish and it sure didn’t disappoint, the hollandaise sauce was tangy and rich so if you get this bad boy make sure to order some toast so wipe up all that yummy egg goodness!  The brisket is more like a Jewish braised brisket so when you bite in think of the flavor of Montreal Smoked Meat and not Texas BBQ.

We had a great time dining on the great brunch creations on the menu at Ensemble Tap and I’m already looking forward to my next meal~they have a pulled pork, baked bean and poached egg dish that sounds delish so if you’re looking for something new or different from your regular brunch spot be sure to check out Ensemble Tap’s weekend Brunch from 11am-2pm and get your eat on!

**Disclosure~Myself and Mary were guests of Ensemble Tap and our meals and drinks were courtesy of Ensemble Tap but or experience and opinions are completely our own.**

Ensemble Tap on Urbanspoon

The Templeton-Quality Food,Snappy Service!

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One place that packs them in every day is The Templeton Cafe on Granville Street.  The Templeton has occupied the space since the mid ’90′s but it’s been a diner since 1939 so the old school fixtures and vibe inside is totally authentic.

The place usually dies down around 1:30-2pm on the weekdays so it was a great time to visit and grab one of my favorite things and snap some pictures.

The shakes here are not to be missed, there made with hand scooped hard ice cream and whole milk, served in the mixing tin but glasses are available if you ask.  There thick and rich just like they were made back in the 50′s.

They also make custom made sodas as well, in the summer I’ve had many a cherry limeade made with fresh limes and cherry syrup and soda~crisp and refreshing it’s a diner classic.

This is the 777 Burger Platter, it’s a 100% certified lean organic beef on a sesame kaiser bun, all burgers come with mayo, lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickle and your choice of soup or mixed organic greens or house chipped fries or garlic mashed potatoes,  For $10.50 it’s a solid choice if you’re a burger lover.

The burgers here are really juicy and the organic beef is a great choice.

Fries here are classic skin on, thick cut chips, crisp and seasoned with some pepper as well as salt, you get a nice portion of them and they aren’t greasy.

If you find yourself downtown you should definitely check out The Templeton, it’s totally kid friendly and your sure to find something to satisfy your appetite with the varied menu that goes from breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The Templeton on Urbanspoon

Le Bistro De Paris-Comme ci, comme ça

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Le Bistro De Paris is has been on Denman Street for quite a few years now and became famous for all the wrong reasons-the previous owner went missing one night after closing up never to be seen or heard from again, his family searched for him but ended up selling the business and it’s under the ownership of the same person who owns the Italian place at the end of the block.

The room is bright and it definitely feels like a French bistro, at night the room is very romantic and lit with candles and low lit lanterns.  I’ve heard really good things about this place so I was looking forward to trying what they had to offer.

This post is a combination of 2 visits-one weekend brunch and one weekday lunch, they offer some nice brunch specials for $12 and some nice lunch specials for $14, on my brunch visit the room was packed on the Sunday morning that I went, it was a mix of tourists and local regulars that the servers knew by name, I was seated in promptly and snagged a window seat.

I started with a coffee, for $3 you get free refills and the servers were on top of keeping your cup full.

Every table gets a complementary bread basket, it’s a classic French baguette but the butter served with the bread is fresh outta the fridge so spreading was not happening unfortunately also the bread is room temp so it doesn’t aid in the buttering of the bread-sometimes the small things stick out to me.

For my main I really wanted to have the Quiche Lorraine but I was informed when I was seated that they had everything BUT that!, I was really looking forward to trying but I decided on this:

The Omelet Du Jour, in this case it was roasted red peppers, spinach, tomato and brie cheese.

The omelet was OK, the peppers weren’t roasted but rather sautéed with the spinach and the brie melted and was a puddle around the outside of my omelet, on the plus side the omelet was fluffy.

With every brunch plate you get a side salad in a ramekin, it’s a spring greens mix and the dressing is light and tart, I have an issue with salads in dishes like this~all the dressing collects in the bottom of the dish and makes for a wilty mess if your salad sits around, I suspect that the portions of salad are proportioned-the greens didn’t look freshly washed and then the dressing is put on as needed-kind of forgettable if you ask me.

The other item every plate comes with is a fruit skewer, the fruit was fresh and it was a nice light way to finish the meal normally-but not in my case!, I think a bit of Follow Me Foodie is getting into me and I had to see the dessert menu!

The Chocolate Mousse for $9

It was  a nice presentation but it was really boozy with Grand Mariner and the mousse had the consistency that would indicate some kind of gelatin-it was a light mousse but not creamy like I’ve had and made before, for $9 I’ve had better desserts.

This is my next visit during the week for lunch, they offer a  À la carte menu with some lunch specials for $14 that are listed on the sign outside, the one that stood out to me and what I’ve heard great things about was the Steak Friets-they also had Mussels listed on the sign-the other thing that I really wanted again was the Quiche-Iasked my server and she said “NOPE it’s only on the weekend at brunch” even tho it’s listed on the websites menu-I’ve given up on the Quiche and went with the Steak and Frites that I saw on the menu board outside.  Again I was served a basket of bread and the fresh from the fridge cold butter.

I did have a starter of French Onion Soup for $9

It was a solid French Onion soup and the crouton was the same bread served in the baskets, the broth was full bodied and the Gruyere was plentiful, the table bread came in handy after I finished the crouton that it came with.  I was a great soup and something I would order again.

This was the main attraction for me, it looked great and also smelled delish so I was looking forward to chowing down.

The side vegetable was sautéed haricoverts and a piece of grilled red pepper was forgettable and the beans were over seasoned with salt and the red pepper was there more for color I think.

The frites were delicious, they had a double fried or maybe even baked taste and texture to them-crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside, they were seasoned properly and I didn’t need to add salt.

The steak was cooked to my liking-medium but I will say it was on the thin side, the pepper corn sauce was nice and not to spicy.  It was an OK dish but I will say that the soup and the frites were the best part of the meal.

There was a problem though when the bill came, I noticed I was charge overcharged for my steak and not given the $14 lunch special price that is on the menu board outside, the server got SUPER defensive saying that they didn’t carry that cut of meat used in the special and now have this cut and its À la carte price of $19, when I informed her of the sign outside I was told to pay up and that’s that!-I won’t be coming back and if you’re a tourist coming to Vancouver I wouldn’t recommend this to you or anyone I know-there’s better restaurants in the area with awesome service and accurate menu pricing.

Le Bistro de Paris on Urbanspoon

Acacia Fillo Bar-A Hidden Gem In A Foodies Paradise

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Hidden away in Denman Street between Delaney’s Coffee Shop and Fatburger is Acacia Fillo Bar. I’ve walked by here a million times not knowing the hidden gem that was right beneath my eyes.

Opened in 2005 by Vera and Ziggy, Vera is bringing traditional Bulgarian baking and comes from a family in the restaurant business and she a owned a successful restaurant and catering company in her home country before coming to Canada.

The service here is warm and friendly, the staff are ready to answer any questions you might have, it’s a comfortable, relaxing place to enjoy breakfast and read the paper with your coffee and a lot of the locals seem to believe that we well-it was constantly busy on both of my visits and pretty much everyone I saw eat the compliment the chef of how good everything was and I totally agree with them!

The signature dish here is the Banitza, it’s like a layered phyllo pie but the layers are end to end instead of on top of each other~it’s totally delicious and a must try for your 1st visit.

This is the spinach and feta banitza, all of the banitza’s have eggs in them but you state the other fillings more than the egg, the feta used here is from Bulgaria and all the phyllo here is made from scratch, what really got me was this~from a photographers point of view

the individual compartments of flavor and layers of phyllo and how they translate in a  picture~OK now back to the food!, I loved this dish!

It was served with a small spinach salad with balsamic dressing and a side of plain yogurt with pepper~both the salad dressing and yoghurt help cut the richness of the banitza, for $8.50 it was a great meal and a solid value.

Next up is the leek, feta and egg banitza, just like the spinach but leek this time, the flavor on this one was more savory because of the leek and the feta stood out more on this one as well~again another delicious dish and the same price as the spinach and feta banitza.

Lastly I tried something else on the menu~a filled Phyllo, this one was mushrooms and spinach

This was made fresh because they were out at the time, the filling was simple~just spinach and sautéed mushrooms, it was ok but I enjoyed the other items I had more, there were also 2 different sides with this main

a simple salad like with my other meals

and roasted potatoes and yams, these I really liked, the yams were nicely seasoned and so were the potatoes.  This meal was a  bit more than what I had before-$16 and change including a can of pop.

At the end of the day I enjoyed my visits here and am definitely going to make it a regular breakfast spot, if you find yourself in the area and want to try something a little different check Acacia Fillo Bar out, they are also open for dinner and have a selection desserts made in-house as well as catering services available.

Acacia Fillo Bar on Urbanspoon

The Red Umbrella Cafe

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The Red Umbrella cafe is one of those neighborhood greasy spoons that specialize in all day breakfasts and it just so happens that the Red Umbrella is that place in my neighborhood.

I can remember it being packed with weekend bruncher’s in the late 90′s till right before I moved down to the neighborhood in 2006, then it changed ownership but kept the name still but that’s about it. I say this because back then the owners had some awesome cooks and the new owners tried to keep up that same menu but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. The menu consists now of a full list of specialty coffees, a sheet of your typical greasy spoon breakfast plates and omelets, some burgers and a sandwich sheet as well as some pastas~I’ve tried the pasta when they were launching it and lets just say that pasta isn’t their strong suit, other than that its a solid choice if you’re looking for no frills and good quality eats.

The room is bright and very homey, there some outdoor seating available on nice days and in the summer everyday. Just off to the left in this picture is a sofa if you want to relax with a coffee and your food and they also have one of those artificial fireplaces to throw some nice heat on those cold rainy Vancouver days.

The coffee is good and they are attentive on free refills, it’s also cheap at under $2.

As for the egg dishes I went with one of their omelets, they call this one the works. It had ham, cheddar cheese, mixed veggies including eggplant, mushrooms, peppers and onions, also it comes with your choice of toast~rye in my case and for $10 it’s an OK deal. I will say that my eggs were well come and kind of tough but they were well seasoned, the veggie mix I think was a frozen mix (Mediterranean type) that I’ve bought before for pasta sauce~it’s a quality product but I’d prefer fresh veggies.

I’ve had this here since the first time I came here, the quality of the bread has changed~they used to have homemade whole grain bread before but the amount of nice turkey made up for this.

For $10 it’s a moderately priced sandwich for just coming by its self, some fires would have been nice but I don’t think they have a deep fryer here and only offer pan fries for $2.50 extra and the some of the day is only one choice so your outta luck if you don’t like it. At the end of the day it was a solid turkey club and the bacon was cooked perfectly crisp without being cremated.

The Red Umbrella is a decent choice for food in the area if you’re looking for a basic no frills meal, They are open 6 days a week till roughly 5pm and are closed on Mondays.

Red Umbrella Cafe on Urbanspoon

Frankie’s Italian Kitchen

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I was lucky enough to recently to have won a prize package from the Georgian Court Hotel to the 2011 Grey Cup that included a stay at the hotel as well as dinner at the in-house restaurant Frankie’s Italian Kitchen. Frankie’s is a new addition to the hotel replacing the William Tell restaurant that served Vancouver for many years.

By the time I got in for dinner it was quite late so the room was pretty dark, as you can see it’s a pretty big room with a private dining room in the back and a big bar out front, the seating is really comfortable where I was seated with nice large comfortable arm chairs and large round tables.

I started out with a beer, they have a nice selection if drinks and I went with a Grolsch and cruised over the menu, they have all the standard items a good Italian place should have.

I started with the Caprese salad, on the menu it was described like this-bocconcini mozzarella, heirloom vine ripened tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano and extra virgin olive oil.  I’m a real fan of caprese salad and this one sounded great on the menu but this one was a bit off for me for 2 reasons, the tomatoes were not heirloom and the addition of the dried oregano really over powered the dish, other than that the balsamic was great and the cheese was nice.

For my main I went with the classic spaghetti and meatballs, at $14 it was a good bowl of pasta.  The meatballs are made from a combination of meats including pork and beef tenderloin trimmings from when their butcher portions out the steaks and other cuts of meat, the meatballs were flavorful and you could definitely taste they were not made with just ground beef.  The addition of the aged ricotta was nice but it was one of those cheeses that didn’t melt.  The sauce was OK for the pasta but could have used some more garlic and onion and also the pasta was cooked perfectly.  At the end of the day it was a solid bowl of pasta and I would order it again.

For dessert they have a nice selection of stuff and if you “Like” them of their Facebook page you can get yourself a free dessert~just show your server the redeemable coupon on the Facebook page on your smart phone.  I went with the classic Tiramisu and it totally didn’t disappoint!, it was light yet really creamy with the addition of the mascarpone cheese and whipped cream blend and the espresso dipped lady fingers were perfect and not too soggy.

To guild the lily a bit I went and had another dessert, this time it was the jasmine tea scented panna cotta served with an orange confit.  I really loved this as well, the panna cotta was lightly floral from the tea but creamy and smooth at the same time, the orange confit on top was a great touch and the confit process made the orange peel soft and a pleasure to eat with the panna cotta.  The dessert also came with a couple of pieces of what reminded me of German Stollen, they were also perfectly made and added a great texture in between bites of the panna cotta.  This was the dessert I chose for free from the coupon on their Facebook page.  Also both of these desserts are priced at $8 each on the menu.

I had a great meal here and the desserts made up for the disappointments of the starer I had.  As a part of my prize I received a $50 to pay for this meal with as part of my stay st the hotel and the contest I won and I wasn’t not expected or influenced to write a post of my experience.

Frankie's Italian Kitchen & Bar on Urbanspoon

 

The Four Seasons Vancouver YEW Restaurant and Bar

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If you’re looking for a treat meal one place to definitely keep in mind is YEW restaurant and bar in the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Vancouver.

The room is huge and beautifully decorated, the huge fireplace is a great divider between the open dining room and the bar/lounge area.  The service here is top-notch and your every need is taken care of effortlessly, the staff are very knowledgeable on the menu and take the time to answer any questions you could have.

Canadian chef Ned Bell came on board as the Executive Chef for YEW in August 2011 and the menu was completely reworked to what we have now, he brings his own food philosophy ‘Globally Inspired and Locally Created,’ – a process that begins with premium ingredients, sourcing the best of what is available locally and seasonally, and then focusing on flavor to the YEW space and to the menu and it totally shows.

I started with a Kronenbourg Blanc for $8 and glass, this is a favorite beer of mine.  It’s light and has a lavender floral note sightly, it was perfect to cut through the richness of my main and also works with a variety of different foods~if your new to drinking beer give this one a try.

This was my main and man did it hit the spot!, delicious lobster mac and cheese with corn and an amazing creamy sauce tied it all together nicely.

At $22 a bowl its on the high-end but it’s worth it if you’re looking for a treat, there was lobster chunks through out and the lobster was cooked perfectly, the tender buttery pieces of lobster melts in your mouth and its bathed in a rich buttery sauce that isn’t cheesy.  The sprinkling of bread crumbs on top were the perfect garnish.

For dessert I went with their dessert trio.  It features all three of their dessert tapas and for $8 it’s a great deal.  They also have fresh berry pies and fresh fruit crumble on the menu if that’s more of what you’re looking for and also they offer a cheese selection.

Duck egg custard tart was first up, it was a rich and creamy custard with hints of vanilla, the pastry for the tart was the perfect vessel for this yummy dessert.   The one thing i was concerned with when ordering this was the duck egg flavor and if it would be to intense but I didn’t taste any kind of eggy flavor in the dish.

This is a Australian Candied Sugar Cherry Ravioli in a young coconut pineapple consomme.  It’s molecular gastronomy and was a blast to eat, you take it like a shooter and when you squish the cherry ravioli it explodes in your mouth and you taste a flood of sweet cherry juice.  I could throw back 5 or 6 of these!

Finally we have the Espresso Banana Milk Chocolate Lollipop.  The espresso is in the homemade marshmallow that encapsulates the lollipop, inside the milk chocolate is semi soft and melts in your mouth, all of the flavors combined with a definite treat.

If your interested in checking out YEW feel free to visit there website here  and if you’re looking for a great hotel check out the Vancouver Four Seasons website here and follow them on Twitter @FSVancouver .

YEW Restaurant + Bar on Urbanspoon