Main Street

[Zucchini Mama]

Hatch Breakfast Parlour

My son and I went to the Hatch Breakfast Parlour for brunch on this Labour Day Monday. It was a cool, sunny morning that had heated up nicely by the time we arrived. We had about a fifteen minute wait to get seated, as they were full up. I had to spend that time trying to tame a temper tantrum. I finally managed to calm him down with promises of hot chocolate, then was horrified to find it was, of course not on the menu... Say what? A breakfast parlour without hot chocolate is like a service station without Wd40. It's like a temple without an altar. It's a home without a hearth. Anyhoo the hostess saved the day by suggesting steamed coconut milk with maple syrup which she brought forthwith and soothed the savage beast.

The crowd is Main Street hipster, which today means everyone is wearing a vintage t-shirt and blue jeans. I look down and even I am wearing an old t-shirt and blue jeans. It's insidious. The menu thew me for a loop. It's looking for a noncommital kind of relationship and is keeping its options open. You can mix and match groups of ingredients with cooking methods. I guess that's a good thing, but call me old fashioned, I like a type who knows what he wants and takes it all the way. If the options were written up in a less "hipster" kind of way would they be more appetizing? E.g.: quiche with phyllo on the down low... Um I guess that means crust? I guess I'm just a hipster imposter.

I was really impressed with the service-a Main Street hangout without the superior attitude? I'll take it. The music was loud, but today I really liked it. It went with my "bad girl" meal of high cholesterol choices: cheddar and bacon scrambled with organic eggs with a pouring of maple syrup. It was worth every anti-brownie point. Did I forget to mention the buttered sourdough toast? I haven't had the "bad" kind of cholesterol for such a long time it tasted extra special. I figure the good cholesterol I've stored up lately can go head to head with the baddies and put up a fair fight anyway.

The plate looked good too, and I liked the mango dressing on the salad and the sliced roasted potatoes were cooked and seasoned perfectly. I had an iced tea-too sweet for my tastes, but U. loved it and downed it after his steamed coconut milk- a liquid brunch. The server packed up the leftovers in a Chinese takeout carton with a wire handle and we were off. "Mom, I'm much happier than when we came," he says. So an I baby, so am I. We'll be back for sure.

Zuke

Edited September 5, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[Andrew Morrison]

E.g.: quiche with phyllo on the down low... Um I guess that means crust? I guess I'm just a hipster imposter.

Does it really say that on the menu? Gawd.

[Zucchini Mama]

E.g.: quiche with phyllo on the down low... Um I guess that means crust? I guess I'm just a hipster imposter.

Does it really say that on the menu? Gawd.

←

Yes, W.B.,

and I hear it in Ice T's voice...a la Law and Order Episode where we learn "on the down low" means people pretending to be hetero, when they're gettin' it somewhere else closer to their own sex. So I got a bit confused just what this dish was all about-I mean the political and ontological ramifications got in the way of me actually ordering the dish. Oh, life is so complicated as a SOMA mama.

Hope your wife is getting some sleep and congrats by the way. My sister had a baby the other day and she's pretty damned tired, ( but not on the down low, thank god).

Zuke

[the g-man]

I thought keepin it on the down low just meant discreet. As in: limited to certain few homies who need to know, such as "don't worry we will keep your grow up on the down low". You learn something new every day, and some days you learn something new from

Ice T by way of Zuchini Mama and urbandictionary.com: which says down low means "when black males try to remain straight by... with other men".

phyllo on the down low? sounds tasty.

Edited September 6, 2005 by the g-man (log)

[snacky_cat]

Argh, I loathe Hatch. I tried to post about it a few months back, but I had the typing equivalent of spitting-mad-inarticulacy and never ended up being able to string together a proper sentence.

The food isn't bad, let's get that straight. On my first visit I had the yam/apple/sheep's cheese omelette and on my second I had the maple french toast. Both dishes were totally yummy, and I'd eat either again quite happily. What drives me nuts is the ridiculous menu, the stupid pretense, and the knuckle-dragging staff.

1. The ridiculous menu. Why restaurants insisting on putting together menus that a) require the waitstaff to translate everything into plain english and b) have menu names so absurd that they make Moons over My Hammy seem the very height of literary wit is BEYOND ME.

2. The stupid pretense. This goes with point #1. The whole menu is worded like a shitty open mic night because Hatch is trying to be "East Van". I believe the "stuffed eggs", which are "transformed with one of the flavour combinations at left" are subtitled with "they call these omelettes in Kits". If I wanted socio-cultural propaganda with my meal, I'd open a Chuck-E-Che or something. Hatch's entire philosophy reeks of the East side pride tsunami that swept over this city's underground/indie scene a couple of years back. It used to be cool to work in a record store, now the in job is working as a social worker on the Downtown Eastside. It used to be cool to have a shaggy 60s haircut and no facial hair, now the standard look is long hair with a mountain man beard. It used to be cool to go to the bars downtown, now it's the bars on the downtown eastside. It used to be cool to have money, now EI is the in thing. Anyway, Hatch may be satisfying the hirsute, tattooed thrift-store clad masses for now, but when the stylistic pendulum swings yet again in a couple of years time, that whole menu/philosophy is going to look pretty tired.

3. Knuckle-dragging staff. I've never gotten out of this place in less than an hour. They are chronically understaffed, having to call in reinforcements on both my visits (one of which was a sunny Sunday on the BC Day weekend - who only pencils in 2 staff for one of those mornings?), and the word "proactive" is lost on them. We once stood in line behind several parties of 2 and watched while two recently vacated two-tops sat for over 15 minutes waiting to be cleared. When you've got a line of 10-12 people streaming out your door and room for 4 of those people to sit down, you'd think you'd try to expedite the process, no?

Anyway, I hate the place. I'd much rather go up the street to Seb's, where the food is better, the service is on the ball, and the attitudes are checked at the door.

[Keith Talent]

A menu names so absurd that they make Moons over My Hammy seem the very height of literary wit is

←

You should know that the Eggs over my Hammy was created by none other than Jacques Pepin and Pierre Franney just prior to the end of their tenure at at Howard Johnson, the concept was then sold to an upstart Denny's just as a young Phillip Roth was interning as a copywriter at the ad agency hired to name the egg/ham/cheese/sourdough sandwich.

A little respect please.

[*Deborah*]

A menu names so absurd that they make Moons over My Hammy seem the very height of literary wit is

←

You should know that the Eggs over my Hammy was created by none other than Jacques Pepin and Pierre Franney just prior to the end of their tenure at at Howard Johnson, the concept was then sold to an upstart Denny's just as a young Phillip Roth was interning as a copywriter at the ad agency hired to name the egg/ham/cheese/sourdough sandwich.

A little respect please.

←

Never mind that: it's the Chuck-E-Che Cuban Darts Pub that I'm looking into.

[Keith Talent]

I meant to give a shout out to Chuck-e-che. Best line around here in ages.

[Zucchini Mama]

Anyway, I hate the place. I'd much rather go up the street to Seb's, where the food is better, the service is on the ball, and the attitudes are checked at the door.

←

You go girl! I love your rant. I think they were having a good day when we went, and yes, the food was somewhat slow, but we had good service with no attitude. I noticed a lack of tables for smaller parties which is an inefficient use of the space, since the booths are huge but there'd be a one or two people each booth with a lineup out the door.

Please post about your meals at Sebs. I haven't heard anything good about the food yet, but I am intrigued.

Zuke

[snacky_cat]

You go girl! I love your rant. I think they were having a good day when we went, and yes, the food was somewhat slow, but we had good service with no attitude. I noticed a lack of tables for smaller parties  which is an inefficient use of the space, since the booths are huge but there'd be a one or two people each booth with a lineup out the door.

Please post about your meals at Sebs. I haven't heard anything good about the food yet, but I am intrigued.

Zuke

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Heh heh, I rarely rant, but when I do, MEOW!

You're absolutely right about the inefficient use of space - they have these massive booths but I rarely see more than 3 or 4 people using them. I've certainly never seen 12 people out at breakfast, which seems to be the capacity of some of those seating areas.

Another picky point about Hatch is that they don't open until 9am. Now I RARELY am out and about for weekend breakfasts before 9, but I do know there is a sizeable portion of the population who are these "morning people" I've heard about, and actually eat their meals at 7 or 8am. What kind of place that styles itself as "a breakfast parlour" does not open before 9? Good grief, to quoth Charlie Brown.

So yes, those of you who wake up before 9 and desire something MUCH better minus the pretense in the area are much better off going to Seb's (which opens up at 7:30am on weekends, and 6:30 on weekdays.)

Check out the weekday breakfast menu and the larger weekend brunch menu for dishes and prices.

In all my visits there, I have never been able to get past the bacon and caramelized apple omelette. It is so good that words fail me. I have managed to grab a few bites from my dining partners' plates, however, so I can also attest to the amazing flavours of the banana bread French toast (care to elaborate, mamacat?), the black forest eggs benedict, and the plain scrambled eggs with turkey susage. The bennies are particularly yummy - served on a fluffy country biscuit instead of an english muffin, with a creamy sauce that gives the whole thing a bit of a foccacia taste.

The coffee is great (and endless, with attentive re-filling), and you never know what type of bread and preserves you'll get. It's usually some type of brownish multigrain toast, occasionally rye, and I've had marmelade, blueberry preserves, and some kind of currant/apple preserves before. They're all incredibly fresh and homemade, and pack a wallop of fruit flavour. Oh, and I musn't forget that you get a nice selection of fresh fruit with your breakfast, which usually features the extra-special fruits, like pineapple, kiwi and strawberry. You can pick up many of the foods they serve in their market area as well.

It's a totally charming little neighbourhood place, very warm and welcoming. One of these days I'll check it out at dinner time - great-looking menu and very reasonable prices.

[mamacat]

Snacky_cat is right...Seb's is a great place for breakfast. The banana bread french toast she mentioned is just wonderful...thick slices of moist banana bread (with plump, juicy raisins) dipped in egg, grilled and then served with a little pot of maple syrup, a little pot of fresh strawberry syrup,some really good home fries and fresh fruit on the side. I couldn't eat again until dinner time. Much as I think I'm going to work my way through their breakfast menu, it's going to be hard to get past the banana bread french toast. We'll see how I manage on Friday morning when we go back for more.

Tonight for dinner I grilled up one of Marta Pan's wild salmon cakes and people....RUN, don't walk, to Pan-O-Pan to stock up on these. They aren't cheap at $7 per serving but my oh my...my taste buds are still quivering with delight. These scrumptious cakes are made with wild salmon, Panko crumbs, mayonnaise, red pepper, shallots, garlic, green onions, dill, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and s&p. They are MARVELLOUS!!

[appreciator]

Tonight for dinner I grilled up one of Marta Pan's wild salmon cakes and people....RUN, don't walk, to Pan-O-Pan  to stock up on these.  They aren't cheap at $7 per serving but my oh my...my taste buds are still quivering with delight.  These scrumptious cakes are made with wild salmon, Panko crumbs, mayonnaise, red pepper, shallots, garlic, green onions, dill, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and s&p.  They are MARVELLOUS!!

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Where abouts is Pan-O-Pan? Sounds like a good place to check out. Also, must definitely try Seb's one of these days, especially after all these glowing reviews and viewing photos on Mooshmouse's blog! Yum!

Edited September 8, 2005 by appreciator (log)

[Vancitygirl]

Pan-O-Pan Fine Foods & Catering 235 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5T1W4 (604) 879-9146

I have sampled some amazing items at Marquis wine cellar when she catered their wine tastings. All from a small toaster oven yet!

[canucklehead]

Has anyone been to Sweet Revenge?

I think I like the intention of the place - to provde a cozy, homey place for dessert. The execution though is well... weird.

First off the room is closer to Bates Motel than cozy grandma (unless your grandma was the Blair Witch).

The service is odd - a table of 4 of us got seated right away - but it was because the waiter/host asked a the pair sitting at the table to move to another spot. The pair was then asked AGAIN to move to make way for a table for three. At that point I would have thrown my cake and tea at the waiter/host.

The desserts were decent - I had an oversoaked Black Forest Cake (Woodward's World Of Food - how I pine for your Black Forest Cake) because they were out of my first choice. Apparently it is very common for them to out of your first choice - not matter what it is you want (weird magic I say). My vanilla robois was so chemically tasting - it was like an International Coffee Moment.

But - the guys who run the place work very very hard and there is an underlying spirit of generosity that seems geniune. It makes me think of places like Harry's - places that are too successful for their good which seem to cause big problems in execution.

Edited September 8, 2005 by canucklehead (log)

[Zucchini Mama]

Has anyone been to Sweet Revenge?

I think I like the intention of the place - to provde a cozy, homey place for dessert.  The execution though is well... weird.

First off the room is closer to Bates Motel than cozy grandma (unless your grandma was the Blair Witch). 

The service is odd - a table of 4 of us got seated right away - but it was because the waiter/host asked a the pair sitting at the table to move to another spot.  The pair was then asked AGAIN to move to make way for a table for three.  At that point I would have thrown my cake and tea at the waiter/host.

The desserts were decent - I had an oversoaked Black Forest Cake (Woodward's World Of Food - how I pine for your Black Forest Cake) because they were out of my first choice.  Apparently it is very common for them to out of your first choice - not matter what it is you want (weird magic I say).  My vanilla robois was so chemically tasting - it was like an International Coffee Moment.

But - the guys who run the place work very very hard and there is an underlying spirit of generosity that seems geniune.  It makes me think of places like Harry's - places that are too successful for their good which seem to cause big problems in execution.

←

Bates Motel...! Canucklehead, you slay me. Yes, this little tea room is a little bit gothic, but it is very sweet and well-intentioned. I guess it appeals to me as a woman who enjoys a good British murder mystery, or even a tea-room mystery. I like the Bourban Street vanilla rooibus tea with a bit of milk, and I like the pear bread pudding-sweet derision on an pre-autumnal evening.

Zuke

[appreciator]

Pan-O-Pan Fine Foods & Catering 235 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5T1W4 (604) 879-9146

I have sampled some amazing items at Marquis wine cellar when she catered their wine tastings.  All from a small toaster oven yet!

←

Thanks VCG.... will definitely keep my eyes peeled when next driving along Broadway

[mamacat]

Appreciator, when you check out Pan-O-Pan, in addition to the wild salmon cakes, try the basil aioli (so good on grilled fish or chicken) and the balsamic and vanilla salad dressing. I think you will be impressed. Enjoy! By the way, the store is small and easy to miss...if you are heading west on Broadway, it is just past Main on the right hand side. About half way down the block, just past the store, there is a bumpy little driveway that leads to a small parking lot behind.

[Mooshmouse]

By the way, the store is small and easy to miss...if you are heading west on Broadway, it is just past Main on the right hand side.  About half way down the block, just past the store, there is a bumpy little driveway that leads to a small parking lot behind.

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To offer a little assistance mamacat, Pan-O-Pan is in the mini-No-Man's-Land block of E. Broadway that's in between Kingsway and Main, on the north side of the street. Same block as the Our Town Cafe. Painted in the window is a cartoon picture of a centaur carrying a pan pipe.

Wouldn't want you to miss it, Sarah!

[mamacat]

Now you know why Snacky never lets me navigate!

[appreciator]

^ Thanks Mamacat and Joie.... very helpful! I think I will need to go on a reconnaissance mission early next week to check out both Pan-o-Pan and Seb's.

[Vancouver]

Budapest on Main has their sour cherry soup back on the daily specials menu. This is a creamy cold soup with pleasant cherry overtones as well as dozens of depitted whole cherries mixed in. Delicious!

[snacky_cat]

We finally got out to Aurora on Saturday night - since my new mortgage-lightened pockets can't spare the $$$ for the Monday night dinner, I consoled myself with a Saturday night dinner date with Mr Cat.

Short version for the benefit of kurtisk and chef jeff: we totally loved it and will be back a hundred thousand times.

Short version for the rest of the forum readers: you are all going to have an awesome time on Monday.

Long version for the detail-oriented among you:

The room is gorgeous - clean, unpretentious design and lots of room to accomodate big parties (2 of which were there during our visit). You're not subjected to your neighbours' elbows entering your airspace, unlike a lot of spots around Main St. (including my beloved Seb's).

Service is impeccable - lots of very warm and adorable girls who can answer any menu question you have, and one dude, who happened to be one of Mr Cat's friends from the local music scene (Mr Cat seems to know someone EVERYWHERE we go. I used to be cool like that too. Once.)

I started with a Science World cocktail (sparkling wine, a bit of blue Curacao and frozen berries), as any self-respecting scientist would. It looked Smurf-tastic and went down verrrrry easy, and Mr Cat had a glass of the Red Rooster Pinot Gris.

I started with a Nicola Valley Bison Carpaccio with pickled eggplant, grilled brioche and truffle aioli, which was fantastic. The bison was wonderfully rich, and I will never make my crostini with anything but brioche ever again after tasting how buttery-good it can be. I shared a bite with Mr Cat, who even liked the eggplant (he is a paid-up member of Eggplant Haters of Canada).

My main was the

House Made BC Venison and Fennel Sausage braised with sunchokes and cabbage in Merridale cider (consumed with the Hester Creek Cab/Merlot) and Mr Cat had the Wild BC Sockeye Salmon with heirloom tomato bisque, vanilla jasmine rice, pickled sea asparagus and chanterelle mushrooms. Both were utterly delicious. The sausage was perfectly flavoured and not overwhelmingly gamey, and the accompanying braised sunchokes and cabbage were the perfect complement, even though I still don't know what a sunchoke it. I snagged a bit of the salmon too, which was divine. And I tried my first heirloom tomato! Now I'll have to add "designer tomatoes" to my shopping list, along with designer clothes and designer bags and designer shoes.

We finished off with Rhubarb Buttermilk Cobbler - lemon vanilla roiboos sorbet and got blueberry all over the table in our mad rush to shovel it in our mouths. Delicious, and that lemon sorbet was out of this world. Perfect tart accompaniment to a sweet and hot bowl of blueberry.

All in all, a totally fantastic meal at a very charming spot. Not sure if I saw kurtisk around, but I think Chef Jeff put in an appearance at the table next to ours.

Do your next out-of-town visitors a huge favour and take them here to show off the fruits of our fine province. And then head up Main St and hit the bingo. Yeah!

[ghillie]

A sunchoke is the so called Jerusalem artichoke which is in fact a root veggy. From the Italian girasole articiocci. A winter veg.

[kurtisk]

All in all, a totally fantastic meal at a very charming spot. Not sure if I saw kurtisk around, but I think Chef Jeff put in an appearance at the table next to ours.

Sorry I missed you! I was in Vegas for the weekend, but am happy to be back to 'reality'. Glad to hear the shop was being taken care of...

k.

[makanmakan]

a bit of a main street weekend for us.

tried cafe montmarte for the first time on saturday night. one of those places i never got around to. i like the cozy atmosphere in there and the service is warm and prompt. we were there pretty early as we had a wine tasting fundraiser to go to afterwards. had the soup which was tomato basil (such a simple thing but oh so good) which was slighty chunky, had a nice zing to it. nice big pieces of fresh basil mixed in. next up was a pizza. simple tomato sauce, fresh tomato and fresh mozzarella. good, clean flavours. after that was a mushroom and cheese crepe. it was delicious! came with a little side salad and two crepes fully stuffed with oozy melty, mushroomy goodness. the crepes were slightly crisp on the edges and a nice texture all the way through. it was a good amount shared by both of us. had a decent glass of french merlot and capped it off with a yummy capuccino.

last night saw our first time at wingnuts! finally! was it ever worth the visit. there were four of us and the monday special was 15 wings for 7.99. we decided to order four flavours. honey garlic (had to, since it's been raved endlessly on this thread), roaringly hot, jamaican jerk and roasted garlic parmesan. my favourite was the honey garlic, hands down. the hot one was plenty hot for me. the heat slowly creeps in and gives you a good kick in the butt. the jamaican jerk was alright. it was almost too wet with sauce. the garlic parm was alright as well, too creamy maybe, but the flavour was nice. since we were there, "when in rome", right?!!....we decided to go for dessert! shared the deep fried mars bar and smores. ooey gooey, hot and crispy. a little too sweet for me, but i liked the batter. once bite of each was enough for me. next flavours have already been decided!

Edited October 18, 2005 by makanmakan (log)