Anchoress

Wasn't there a discussion a few months ago that the reason Vancouver pizza sucks is because of the soft water?

I haven't been there in ages, but Savary Island had the best (by a N. Van mile) grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever eaten. Oooh, my arteries are shivering at the memory. ;-)

@BCinBC: Oh yay, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! That tom, avo & cc benny is a spot hitter, I find. I wouldn't be too worried about gulletising them, they have been doing very brisk business over the past few months, so they're getting used to it. Maybe they were having a staffing issue, usually they have two or even three servers on during peak hours. And that gal, she's a good server, and has great taste in lipstick. ;-) *hoping to look that good at her age* I should also mention that I tried one of the other items on the menu that had been on my list, the carrot, pistachio and blue cheese omelette, and found it not up to expectations. The flavours were great, but the textures, not so much. I've discovered that I'm not so keen on doing a lot of chewing when I eat an omelette, it seems anathema.

Well this is my new spot, but I've only ever had breakfasts until today. I had a craving for creamy soup and salad, and luckily they had cream of spinach soup, and I tried their salad of mixed greens with almonds, feta, and dates. I really couldn't find fault with the salad if I were paid to, although it's not a terribly original combo. I think what makes it seem so great is that all the ingredients are high quality. The salad was really big, meal size, the greens were a bit fresher than they are sometimes at brekky. The almonds were very fresh, I'm picky about nuts. The best thing about the dates was that there weren't too many of them, but they were tender and not too sticky. The feta was really top quality, soft, creamy. The salad had red onion and shredded carrot, and it came with the dressing on the side in a cute little container (I got my meal to go). Just olive oil and vinegar, it was sweet like balsamic but it didn't look like it. I added some salt and pepper at home. The soup was good too. I am not an expert on spinach soup, but I'm picky about cream soups. I like them either very lightly spiced or not at all, and very fine texture. This passed on both counts. The salad came with two pieces of toast, all in all it was a huge meal.

I've been dining in my 'hood lately. I had sushi at Toby's Terryaki Bowl (nice place), another brekkie at Roundel (see my review a couple of months ago) and a hot dog at Frenchies, without a doubt the worst hot dog I have ever had. Fries were good tho.

If garlic breath in the afternoon isn't an issue, Tio Pepe's. North of first, East side of the street, don't remember exactly where. Yucatan Mexican.

@canucklehead: I'm so glad you liked it! The folks there seem super nice, I really hope they make a go of it. @mooshmouse: They're open 9-5 weekdays, 8-5 sat & sun. And service is very fast when they aren't swamped. :-)

Just an FYI: I know the stuff about what's broken on GI is old news by now, but I thought folks might be interested in THIS SITE, where in November, 2004, Granville Island Public Market was named the best neighbourhood in North America by the non-profit, international, PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES organisation.

Yeah I hope to see you there, Deborah. And I realised after I posted that I didn't give a general impression of the food. I think part of the reason is because it's kind of hard to categorise. When I say it's a bit Commercial Drive-y, I mean more Wazzuubee (sp?) than Cafe Deux Soleil. It's not quite West Coast Casual (although it's close), but it's definitely not hippie food (not casting aspersions on CDS). The menu items I didn't go into (like the salads, burgers etc) are quite original-sounding, with fresh and dried fruits, nuts and seeds, and interesting-sounding cheeses. But I haven't tried them yet, so I can't describe them. :-) Most of the entrees are between $7 and $9.

Hi everyone; ‘long time no speakez vous’ (sic), to quote a friend of mine. I'm posting to review a restaurant in my neighbourhood, The Roundel Cafe at 2465 East Hastings Street (just east of Nanaimo, north side of the street). Apparently the little hole-in-the-wall diner has been at that location for 40 years, but this family-owned restaurant recently passed to a new generation, and it’s been spiffy-ed up a bit and given a classic Commercial Drive-esque West Coast Breakfast Menu™. I’ve been four times so far (yeah, I like the place). The owners live in the neighbourhood with their son (she is the head chef and menu developer, he works up front), and while they’re just open for brekky and lunch right now, they’re planning on adding a dinner menu and staying open in the evenings. Don’t know their exact open hours, but I think it’s from 8-5 or so daily. The restaurant is small and still retains the diner feel, but it’s fairly comfortable and not pretentiously diner-y. About eight tables and 10 or so counter seats. They’re still working out the bugs and things get a bit hectic when it’s really busy, so do yourself and them a favour if you decide to visit them on the weekend, and go early or late. Anyways, to the food. First visit was a slice of home-made apple pie, which I asked for with a slice of cheddar. Both were delicious, and the coffee was great. Second time, had the cream cheese, tomato and avocado benny. The eggs were delicious, they seem free range or organic (by the colour of the yolks); the hollandaise was good, hot, nice and lemony, among the best I’ve had in a restaurant; the cc, avo and tom were a nice (if conservative) combo, although the fact that they were all cold meant the eggs and muffin didn’t have a chance, really, even though the dish was served to me piping hot. When I order it again I’m going to ask them to heat the tomato under the broiler for a few seconds to take the chill off. Coffee was good. Third and fourth times I had omelettes: the three cheese (I think it was cheddar, provolone and parmesan, although it might have been fontina instead of provolone), and then cheese and mushroom. The omelettes are nicely-done, fluffy, not greasy, and that teensy bit crispy in places on the outside. Loaded with fillings. Coffee a little stale, but I was there on off-hours. I'm sure they'd have made me a fresh pot if I'd asked. Breakfasts are served with nice organic greens (dressed with good salad quality EVOO the first two times; I could smell it from a few feet away), and with EVOO and balsamic the third. Breakfasts (and burgers) also come with what’s described as roasted potatoes, but it’s actually potatoes and yams (so far). They’ve been here and there – the chefs seem to be still getting the hang of cooking and serving them in an appetizing yet healthy way. The first two servings seemed to have been baked in small pieces, and they were quite dry. The third time they’d maybe been boiled in chunks and then lightly fried, they were a bit nicer. But I ate ‘em all up! Yams are really good for you. This place is definitely NOT a greasy spoon, they seem to make an effort not to go overboard with the fat. The omelettes come with toast; I’m not super-impressed with their bread so far. I don’t know if it’s home-made or store-bought, but IMO it would benefit from being better-toasted, and buttered while it’s hot. Nothing like getting a plate of cold toast with gobs of un-melted butter on it. But that’s a small criticism, I could barely fit the toast in me after the rest of the meal. On my list to try are the French toast, carrot pistachio and blue cheese omelette, huevos rancheros, tofu scramble, and all three of the salads (which don’t have names and are too complex to describe). They are obviously being consciously vegetarian- and vegan-friendly, but not to the exclusion of meat eaters. They have a small burger, sandwich and tortilla wrap section, and besides the apple pie, I was served a kind of amuse bouche of bread pudding with nuggets of caramel (Halloween leftovers? I don’t care, it was yummy.) Prices are very reasonable for the type and quantity of food, they have lots of kid-friendly stuff like boosters, high chairs and crayons, and as far as I can see (and hear) they take CCs and debit. No alcohol, but a large beverage selection. Kids menu too. Service is friendly and earnest. I read about a year ago that my neighbourhood (Hastings-Sunrise) is the new Commercial Drive. This restaurant is maybe being a bit ambitious with their menu given their competition (meaning, the competition is mostly genuine greasy spoons with $2.99 breakfasts), but hopefully they’ll stick around and be at the vanguard of a new wave of coolness and healthy dining. Details: The Roundel Cafe 2465 East Hastings Street (just east of Nanaimo, north side of the street) 604-253-2522 Parking? How would I know? I live practically across the street CC yes, debit probably $ No alcohol, no patio Open for breakfast and lunch

I don't like them either, but it *is* a lot more understandable to be driving around Costa Rica in one than N America, lol.

Thank you, Jesus. God, what a dump. During my innocent teen years (in the 80s), whenever I went out on a date I couldn't wait to end, when he would say, 'Geez, I don't want this night to ever end,' I'd cross my fingers and hope he wouldn't continue with, 'We could always go to the Bread Garden?' So many wasted hours... Now those hapless boys will have to take their bored dates home, poor things.

Como Market in the 2400 block East Hastings sells organic coffee for $5.99 a pound.

There was a place I went to a couple of times in the '90s, off Kingsway in Burnaby, not too far from the Edmonds skytrain station. It was in a big old house I think, and it seemed pretty good. I also like the Ouzeria, mentioned above.

Heh, I came to this thread to post on that topic. It's Il Pulgarcito (or is it el?), in my building actually, 2500 block East Hastings on the south side of the street. It's Mark Laba who reviewed it, and I think it was today, or at least it's on Canada.com today. Oh oops, cancel that, it was last Thursday it appeared in print. I was wondering why Laba was off his usual day. Clickety-Click

Praise from Caesar!

I'm surprised that no-one's mentioned The Gasthaus in Peachland yet. It's a FD German restaurant that has operated very successfully for years, and recently expanded their floorspace by about 150% to accommodate a pub with casual dining. They have some spotty reviews on the net but no-one I've ever known to dine there has had a bad experience. My mum and I have had several Xmas dinners there, the food is fairly unique to my taste, but apparently very authentic (far from the Bavarian stereotype).

Hmmm... I was going to mention Woodlands but I thought it was gone?

What about Harte House? If it isn't 20 it's close. And Ducky, how sure are you about Seasons? If you're right, I can't believe The Quarry House is 20 years gone. Oh, and... The Old Spaghetti Factory.

The Water Street Cafe (I think), The Naam, The Amorous Oyster, The Best Neighbours, Cafe Madeleine (if it's still open), Dalilah's (I think).

Hah! Funny you should mention the Naam. I have to say that of all the family-owned restaurants I have worked at, the Naam is the only one that had a liberal (fair?) comping policy. Servers couldn't comp customers on their own, but unless it was obvious a server was just giving a bf or friend a freebie, floor managers comped for problems, spills, bad service, mix-ups etc no questions asked. When I was a FM (and this was back in 1989), I comped about $50 worth of food per shift. Which is good, considering - was it even Mr Maw who said this? - the Naam was a place where the servers meditated while serving. Other than that, I've found family-owned restos often refuse to pay for servers' mistakes. I actually paid a drycleaning bill for a customer to cover a server who'd compounded a messy error with rudeness, not realising when I offered to pay that the owners (and the server at fault, as it turns out) adamantly refused to pay for such things even when it was imminently called-for. Sorry for being OT, if this post needs to be removed I'm sorry.

And this is different from making a sandwich out of rice cakes how...? I know, I know, they're not the same thing. Just couldn't help myself.

Zuke, I think you already saw my post in the 'Main Street' thread about 'Best Quality Sweets and Restaurant' (all-vegetarian, south Main south of 49th), but for anyone else who hasn't seen it, HERE'S THE LINK. The only problem I have with the place after two tries is the decor. It's as much worse than the All India as the food is better. However it's still worth staying to eat, since it's only eating 'in' that you rrrrreeeeeeaaaalllllllly appreciate the superior freshness.

Yes, fantastic read. My only complaint is that I think it's extremely bad taste to bring Willy Pickton into the conversation. There's no way to make it funny, it's just awful and disgusting.

I don't know; I've only called, not dropped by. The brochure I called them from listed two locations: 1417 Commercial (just north of 1st) and 2440 Commercial (near Broadway). The brochure they left with the pizzas listed only the latter location. The 1417 address would be on the west side of the street, is Santa Barbara near there? I don't know Commercial at all.