Cafe Regalade

                                       Voulez-vous manger une superbe brunch aujourd'hui?

                         (translation: Do you want to eat a superb brunch today? lol!

                                       Just wanted to throw some French in there!)

Food:

Pork Confit Sandwich:  This was one of the specials of the day.  While waiting, I saw that someone had ordered it and it looked too darn good to pass up.  Luckily, I had persuayed one of my d.c's to order it and boy, did it not disappoint! The sandwich was beautifully presented - thick slices of tender seasoned pork laid diagonally atop a bed of cooked sauteed creamed spinach (?)  and garnished with finely-chopped cilantro.  The baguette was perfectly toasted and very fresh.  It was also served with a side of nicely-dressed salad and house-made (?) potato chips.

Basque Breakfast: 2 sunnyside up eggs, piperade, chorizo, aioli sauce.  A rather heavy, but flavourful and decadent breakfast.  What I loved most was that 2 (of the 5) accompanying slices of baguette were spread generously with a (seemingly yolk-based) aioli sauce.  The sauce and bread went so well together and though it is not the healthiest thing one can eat, it paired superbly well with the eggs, choirzo and piperade.  This was also served with salad and wonderfully-seasoned potatoes on the side.

Lyon Breakfast: 2 poached eggs, mushrooms, bacon, pearl onions, spinach, potatoes, red wine sauce.  Another well-executed breakfast entree.  I had only sampled a bit of this but I loved dipping and soaking the baguette in the sauce.

Fresh Pancake with Blueberries:  First five words that were overheard after a bite was taken out of this pancake: "Omg, TRY THIS!"  At first, we were a bit puzzled by the seemingly lack of blueberries; but low and behold, they were all nestled in the middle of the pancake.  This was the most delicious pancake any of us had ever experienced.  First off, not only was the thing as ginormous as a pancake can be, but it was thick. And dense...and moist...and simply irresistable.

just a fraction of the (most delicious) pancake (ever)

Service:

We arrived to a full house on a Wednesday at about 1 pm only to be greeted with a rather rude welcome (and this was after us having to flag down a server/host).  After telling the server that we had been standing at the front entrance for quite a while (with no greeting or acknowledgement), the server replied with, "well, we're full" in quite an unpleasant, standoffish manner.  Well, one of my dining companions is certainly one to not take any of this rubbish, so to speak. She immediately turned around to inform me of the server's blunt dismeanor.  We later suspected that the server had overheard us, for her attitude and demeanor had changed 180 degrees!

All in all, we didnt' receive (or expect) the best service but it was satisfactory.

Value:

Unbelievably reasonable - $3.95 for the pancake, brunch entrees range from $10-14

Ambience:

Loved the colorful hog statues and masks dispersed throughout the cafe, limited seating

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Overall:  9/10

Yay: Where (I mean, WHERE?) else, in Vancouver, can you find a place that serves an excellently-executed (key words) French breakfast, brunch (...lunch and dinner?) Prices are also ridiculously reasonable

Nay:  Not the greatest service, and I can envision the place being super busy come prime brunch and dinner periods

**Interesting fact: Sibling bistro to the ever-so-loved La Regalade in West Van.  No words necessary. Both bistros are two peas in a (perfect gastronomical) pod. Yup, I said it!

Whistler Eats!

This past weekend was spent up in the gloriously beautiful snowy slopes in Whistler in celebration of a dear friend's birthday.  It is one of the world's top ski resorts and a venue host to the 2010 Winter Olympic games (also, it was the destination where Seal proposed to Heidi Klum in a custom-fitted igloo).  Whistler is the perfect spot for your winter getaway, summer getaway (ziptrekking, anybody?) as well as home to fine culinary spots for tourists and non-tourists alike (hello, remember Hell's Kitchen being filmed at Araxi? Yeahh, thought so!)

best. brunch. ever.

Though no visits to fancy restaurants were planned or expected (Araxi will have to wait), a memorable brunch was had, indeed.  Conveniently located in the Summit Lodge and Spa, right in the Whistler village, Elements was nowhere near a disappoint.  It was here where I had the most perfect brunch ever- a Sauteed Spinach and Goat Cheese Eggs Benedict topped off with a sundried tomato hollandaise.  The eggs were perfectly poached and runny, there was a generous amount of spinach and goat cheese and I loved the sundried tomato touch to the perfectly-composed hollandaise sauce.  Throw in their signature potato tartlet with a dollop of their chive creme fraiche as well as a shooter-size sample of their breakfast smoothie - this meal had my tummy and appetite beaming for the rest of the trip! 

Elements' Classic Breakfast

My dining companion opted for the Classic Breakfast which was fully equipped with two free run (scrambled) eggs, duck sausage, honey ham, 2 slices of their artisan bread and paired with once again, their signature potato tartlet and a smoothie shooter - a standard but healtheir and fancier version of the classic breakfast!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings
in a garlic butter hot sauce

In the evening, we visited the Whistler Brewhouse - a sibling restaurant to Yaletown Brewing Co. in Yaletown here in Vancouver.  It was exactly how I expected it to be - a loud, enormously spacious, dual (or multi) level restaurant fit for small and large parties, as well as the perfect venue to catch a hockey game.  As a starter, we shared the Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings in a garlic butter hot sauce.  The batter was thick and crispy and served as a nice, flaming start to the meal.  For my entree, I went for the Bang-Bang Chicken Salad with romaine lettuce, oriental vegetables (loved the shitake mushrooms!), roasted cashews and dressed in a sesame-soy vinegarette.  I loved the crunchiness of the romaine lettuce and cashews paired with the sweet flavours of the sesame dressing. 

Bang Bang Chicken Salad

Though not very many culinary destinations were explored on this quick mini getaway.  The food aspect of it was definitely satisfying and is to be continued until my next Whistler adventure!

Hub Restaurant and Lounge

a 'hub' of a good deal...

Food:

Arrived here on a Saturday afternoon hungry for some nice, runny, savoury egg benedicts! (Okay fine, probably wasn't expecting them to be 'savoury', but rather, 'decent').  Without much hesitation, I opted for the Shrimp and Crab Benny, while my dining companion ordered a (rather naked) Eggs Benny with the Hollandaise sauce on the side.

Shrimp and Crab Benny

When our plates arrived, the first thought that came to my mind was: "Wow! They were quite skimpy on the amount of roasted potatoes!" My d.c had the same initial reaction.  The eggs themselves were well poached, with the yolk being of a darker yellow hue. (Okay, I just googled why this is so - found out that the colour of the yolk is dependent upon a chicken's diet! The more yellow the yolk = the healther the chicken's diet :)). The amount of the shrimp and crab was sufficient and tasty.  The best part of the eggs benedict served here at Hub is that they are served on a (rather atypical) toasted crumpet as opposed to the generic English muffin.  The crumpet was chewy and very reminiscent of a pancake, which I enjoyed.  I also tasted a bit of pesto in my eggs benny, which was nothing but a bonus!  I should also add that in addition to the roasted potatoes there were served alongside the benny, there was also an accompaniment of a small greens salad.  Both sides were good.

(A rather naked) Eggs Benny...
with hollandaise sauce on the side

Service:

Ok - nothing to boast nor complain about

Value:

Being an avid follower of many of the popular local restaurants in Vancouver, I was able to snatch up and catch a recent tweet by Hub promoting a coupon for $10 off your order (thank you, Twitter! :)).  The promotion was in celebration of their "birthday week" and so, the value I received today was more than pleasant. 

The value of the food itself (sans coupon) was decent ($13 for a Benny).

Ambience:

Very reminiscent of your typical Cactus Club type of restaurant.  It was super dark in there and even seemingly moreso because we arrived on a Saturday morning at about 1 pm (felt a little weird, too).  The booths are comfy and spacious with black leathery seating.  It was very quiet for a Sat morning (about 20% full at most).

Overall:  7.1/10

Yay: Come here for a relaxed and "casual sophisticated" experience - a good alternative to your typical Cactus Club, Joeys, Earls abode. Also, they offer $6 appies offered daily from 4-6 pm!

Nay: Yaletown (parking)




Posted by: J

Locus

great brunch joint on Main...with a ~spooky~ feel

Food:

Excellenttt brunch.  Both my dining companions (and I) enjoyed our dishes very much.  On this morning, I opted for the Venison Benny (with mushrooms and homemade-herb ricotta cheese).  The hollandaise sauce was very good - not too yolk-y or runny.  The venison flank was grilled to perfection and was of marvelous texture. I loved the accompanying fingerling potatoes (felt so much healthier as opposed to the usual deep fried hashbrowns/potatoes) and the paired fruit was good too (a slice watermelon, honey dew, pineapple and orange).

We also were served delicious bread (focaccia and a raisin bread) with even more appealing types of butter: spicy and a raisin rum butter (which was sweet).  The butter was light and fluffy (which I loved) and it paired extremely well with the bread.  Oddly, the bread was served the same time as when our food arrived.

My smoothie wasn't too thick and was a great boost for the morning.  Weird thing was that it was served a huge wine (?) glass and the other downside was the price: $6.95! It wasn't worth it but I really didn't feel like having tea or anything else, lol.

Service:

Great.  Our server was nice and chattable.  The owner (pretty sure) kept on checking up on us from time to time and was quite pleasant.

Value:

Strawberry, organge and banana smoothie - $6.95 (:S)

Ambience:

Very Main Street-esque.  The whole restaurant is clad in dark wooden tables and chairs, with imitation wooden trees throughout and canvas art for sale.  It's totally got a grungey feel to it and I felt like I was walking through a haunted house on my way to the washroom.  (edited: 'Eclectic' is the word that totally sums up this place!) Pretty cool.

Overall: 8/10

Yay: Yummy-in-my-tummy brunch.  Come here if your like the modern-grungey type of ambience :)

Nay: Looks kinda sketchy from the outside...but hey, hasn't your mom ever taught you to not 'judge a book by its cover'?

Posted by: J

Glowbal Grill & Satay Bar

brunch + shopping = a gooood morning!

Glowbal has been on my 'to try' list for gosh-knows-how-long.  I personally do quite enjoy the Glowbal restaurants - namely Sanafir, Italian Kitchen, Coast ( but Trattoria, not so much)).  I love Sanafir's concept of preparing different meats in tapas style portions, all different ways.  Their cocktails are also, in my opinion, one of the best in the city.  Italian Kitchen offers tasty pasta dishes, pizza and italian cuisine at a cost that won't rip too-big-of-a-hole in your wallet.  All in all, the Glowbal group restaurants are definitely a hit on my list :) 

I went into Glowbal with mediocore expectations - both service and food-wise.  Regardless, I've been holding out on trying it for so long.  In addition, I had read a recent tweet of theirs promoting their: Short Rib Frittata with Feta Cheese.  I quite like short ribs ...and the pairing of feta cheese was just too hard to give up!

Food:

It was a bit of a disappointment at first as I didn't see the Frittata feature on the menu, as their tweet had stated.  Maybe it was a good thing as I had been comtemplating (for hours) whether to order that or their Lobster Benedict, lol.  And so, it was on to my 2nd choice: Lobster Benedict. 

Upon first impression, I noticed that the portion of the benedict was significantly smaller than the usual egg benedicts that I've ordered in the past.  Taste-wise was fine though - although the lobster was a little salty.  The eggs also came atop a cheddar biscuit, rather than the traditional English muffin.  There was also an ample portion of crisp potatoes and a side of greens to accompany the dish.  All in all, it was satisfying (but not marvelous-tasting, as expected).

I had also sampled the Mushroom Frittata (which was a lot bigger portion, btw) and it was good.

We also received 2 complimentary brunch Belgian Waffle teasers (I had a coupon), in addition to several mini donuts (anologous to (if not better) the ones at the PNE) prior to our meal.

As for drinks, my dining companion and I both ordered the Blueberry Banana Smoothies and were not impressed with them.  At $5 each, the serving size was quite tiny.  Also, there was too much ice and lacked the 'smoothie' consistency-thumbs down!

Service:

Not too shabby!

Value:

Food value was fine, drinks value was not.

Ambience:

Bustlin' on a Sunday morning.  Be sure to make resos if you want a patio seat.

Overall: 7.6/10

Yay: Good brunch if you're in Yaletown. Complimentary donuts. Nice ambience.

Nay: I would say parking, but on a Sunday - it wasn't difficult at all to find a spot. Smoothies.





Posted by: J

Brunch a la Galerie (CLOSED)

brunch and art? i'll take it...!

Location: Vancouver (Kitsilano)

Food:

I opted for the Chorizo Pamplona Benny this time around (I had the Eggs Florentine Benny the 1st time).  It was described as natural chorizo salami, steamed poach eggs, with housemade basil pesto (a nice change to the typical Hollandaise sauce). It was splendid. The chorizo salami was nice and mildly spicy.  The sides included were: fresh fruit, roasted potatoes, and greens.

Service:

Our server was kind, genuine and serene.  No complaints there.

Value:

$13 (pretty sure) for the benny - pretty much standard brunch pricing.

Ambience:

Pleasant and peaceful. 

Overall: 8/10

Definitely a great go-to brunch joint if you're in (or even, out of) the area.  The Brioche French Toast is a stand-out, as well.

Yay: Great place for weekend brunch - the art is a bonus.  It doesn't get very busy either (even during peak brunch times.)

Nay: They didn't have KETCHUP this (2nd) visit!...How could you serve potatoes and not have ketchup? As well, if it does happen to get busy, waiting periods may be lengthy. Not the ideal place for large groups.

Posted by: J