Vancouver breakfast

Medina Cafe

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Medina Cafe is everything and more!

I had previously eaten here years ago and the hubby had mentioned a couple times that he wanted to go check it out.  We both had a weekday off work, so I made us some reservations.  My experience here from start to finish was impeccable.  No waiting time, friendly hostess and server, amazing food, great decor.  Let me break it down.

When we arrived we were greeted by a friendly, approachable hostess.  We were seated right away.

We were in awe of the cuteness.  They have a little typewriter at the entrance, a cute little waffle display rack, a mural on the wall and an open kitchen that we could peek into.

We had:

  • Chai latte – tasty and great presentation
  • Brewed Coffee – the hubby had this, he said it was good
  • Fricassee – 2 poached eggs, braised short ribs, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, smoked cheddar, arugula, served with grilled focaccia.  Incredible.  The short ribs were perfectly tender with melted cheese.  The eggs on top were perfectly poached and the bread was great for dipping into the tomato based sauce.  So freakin’ delicious!  My mouth is watering as I write this.
  • Les Boulettes – 2 poached eggs, spicy Moroccan lamb meatballs, roasted peppers, black olive and tomato stew, raita, served with grilled focaccia.  This was my husband’s dish.  He had been curious about trying shakshuka for quite some time, but he was always hesitant because it’s vegetarian and he’s a meat eater.  He said this was exactly what he had been dreaming of, very full of flavour.  It was spicy, but the raita was helpful to cool it down.  He asked for a second piece of focaccia to sop up all the stew.   It looked good, I couldn’t help but sneak a bite too.
  • Leige Style Waffles with salted caramel dip – the waffles were not my hubby’s fave.  He’s a tough critic when it comes to waffles.  I thought they were delicious and not too big, just a perfect taste after my big meal.  I loved the simplicity of it and thought the salted caramel dipping sauce was great.  Chris disagrees with me here.  When he thinks of waffles I think he thinks of a more extravagant showstopper with whipped cream and toppings, etc.  I think it was perfect the way it was.

Yum!  Cannot recommend this place enough!  Get yourself a reso, you will thank me!

https://www.medinacafe.com/

OEB Breakfast Co.

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On New Year’s Day, the hubby and I decided to check out OEB (previously over easy breakfast) after hearing rave reviews all year long.

This place gets pretty busy, but if you’re on the yelp app, you can add yourself to a waitlist for a specific time so you’re not waiting around outside for too long.  We got there a bit earlier than our check in time, but were offered their heated patio which even on January 1 was nice and toasty.

I started with a hot chocolate.  They gave me a choice of a regular one that was on the menu or a new one that the server described as more of a thicker, european style hot chocolate that has not yet been added to their menu yet.  I went with the latter.  It had bits of valrhona bitter chocolate with steamed milk poured over it and whipped cream to top it off.  Not too sweet and oh so delicious.

My husband and I both opted to get their breakfast poutines.  I went with the “get shorty rib poutine” (beef short ribs, vegetables, poached eggs, duck fat fried herb potatoes, cheese curds, and brown butter hollandaise) and Chris went with the Gold Digga (poached eggs, duck fat herb potatoes, berkshire roast, black truffles and brown butter hollandaise).  We both also decided to share the Belgian waffle with berries to get a bit of sweet with our savory.

The poutines were out of this world.  The potatoes were so tasty, the eggs were perfectly poached (how do they get them so perfectly round?!), the brown butter hollandaise smooth and the combination of ingredients were a burst of flavor in each bite.  My mouth is watering as I write this.  I also wanted to note for those of us who like to be low carb, you can get the poutines on a bed of spinach or arugula instead of on potatoes.  I chose half spinach and half potatoes this time around.

The Belgian waffles were excellent.  They were light and airy and I wish I had more.

This was the best brunch I have had in a very long while.  I’m looking forward to trying more items on this menu.