Craft Beer Market

Went to Craft Beer Market for brunch today by recommendation of my brunch date. It was pretty quiet which is great for me since I don't like waiting. We grabbed a table near the window with a view of the water.

My friend said she had the bennies and they were good, so I decided to go for the Avocado and Cheddar Bennie.

The bennies were served on a biscuit instead of English muffins. In theory, that sounds good- but when I think of biscuits, I look forward the the crispy exterior and the soft interior that melts butter as soon as you spread some on it. The hollandaise sauce made the biscuit rather soggy and the biscuit wasn't hot enough. So it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

The hollandaise sauce was different but I liked it. It was kind of more tart than normal, and less rich. The hash browns were well seasoned, but a little soft. I was craving some texture after the soft biscuit and soft egg. It just needed some crunch overall.

Overall solid brunch. Good service while it's quiet - can't say what it'd be like if I went back when it's busy. I'd probably go back on another quiet day and didn't feel like cooking.

Yolks

Had breakfast at yolks today. I waited a long time to be able to visit on a weekday when it's not so busy. No wait at all.

Three of us had the Benedict. And B had the chicken and waffles.

My aunt had the single egg on portobello and English muffin, with the aged cheddar sauce. She really enjoyed it and said it was very flavourful.

I decided to have the bacon and topped with goat cheese. I thought the hollandaise sauce was too tart for my taste. But I couldn't be sure if it was the sauce or the cheese. I think I will need to try it without the cheese. The egg was cooked perfectly. But the bacon and the muffin were a little over cooked in my opinion and were very tough and hard to cut and chew.

My cousin decided to have the egg on bacon and lemon truffle hash browns. When I first saw it, I thought, I wish I ordered the hash browns. But then I tasted a piece and it was very bland and normal tasting. I couldn't even smell or taste the truffle. My cousin said it was rather mild - until she got to the bottom of the plate where the truffle had collected in a pool. I think perhaps they did not toss it well.

B ordered the chicken and waffles. It's really amazing how something can be both sweet and savory at the same time. The chicken was nice and crispy yet juicy. The waffles and a nice crunch on the outside yet soft in the middle. The gravy was well seasoned and very good.

I always try a Benedict when I first visit a breakfast place as a standard test. The eggs were cooked perfectly but the hollandaise was not good enough. I enjoyed my time there and the service was great, but I don't know if I'd go back on a weekend because I don't think it would be worth the line up. Definitely worth a try on a weekday.

Kessel&March

Went to Kessel&March for lunch today. My two friends ordered coffee, B ordered a lemonade and I ordered iced tea, which they actually didn't have, but was able to bring me a tea and a glass of ice- which worked out perfectly because I don't like my iced tea sweetened.

I ordered the Pate Sandwich. The sandwich was good, they mixed some cucumber into the pate, so it was fresher and not as heavy. I found the bread a little over toasted, and it kind of hurts when I bite into it. Otherwise, it was decent. I liked the minimal dressing for the side salad.

B ordered the Chorizo Hash. It was okay, he enjoyed it. The flavour was boring and he wished there were more chorizo, but it was good. The egg was cooked perfectly and the brown toast tasted fresh. You can tell it was made in house.

My friends ordered the Meat Skillet and the Benedict Royale (shown in order). I didn't get to taste it but they said it was really good. The eggs looked perfectly cooked too, nice and runny.

You may remember from a precious post that I am often disappointed by lava cakes that aren't runny and gooey. This Lava Cake at Kessel&March was made to perfection.

As soon as you put your spoon in it, the chocolate came flowing out. It was rich, chocolately, and not too sweet.

Unfortunately for Kessel&March, they're located right next to the Port Metro Vancouver container terminal so the neighbourhood stank. At first we couldn't smell it anymore when we stepped into the restaurant, but it crept in near the end.

Overall, it's worth a try, but I probably won't return because although the food was good, it was not worth the trip or the smell.

The Tipper

Returned to the Tipper with a friend today. I'm not sure if they just opened or not because they didn't seem "ready". On the one hand they had dirty tables they had to clear, on the other hand, they weren't ready to serve (i.e. one of the servers was busy cleaning up the bar).

Anyway, we were seated after a minute or so. Our server never came to ask if we wanted anything to drink. After what felt like forever, our server finally came over and noticed we were missing the extra breakfast menu.

I ordered the Samble Benny because I didn't know what a samble was. It's basically scrambled eggs with salsa-like veggies. Served on focacia and drizzled with hollandaise. The dish tasted fine; nothing special. If I return, I will most likely order a normal benny.

My friend ordered the cheddar mushroom omelet. It was nice and cheesy. The omelet was a nice surprise because of the lack of oil. Oftentimes, restaurants screw up a normal omelet by deep frying it in oil. This was perfectly fried. I also get turned off by the vegetable sweat if chefs don't pre-fry the vegetables. There were no such sweat in this omelet. Overall, a well cooked omelet.

Of course, the potatoes were great as usual.

One thing to note this time: There were coffee spoons at every table! I finally have something to stir my coffee with. I wonder if the owner / manager read our blog and decided it was a good idea, because it certainly made my coffee experience much better.

Gramercy Grill

Went to Gramercy Grill for brunch on Sunday. Great choice.

We were given banana bread as a starter. Extra would be $0.50 each. They were so delicious and I was so hungry, it was gone before I could take a picture of it.

I had the Chef's Blend Mushroom Benedict. It was flavourful and rich. The sauce was a little tarty, it was good.

B had the ham, cheddar and banana pepper omelette. It tasted alright but the stuffing wasn't evenly distributed.

The potatoes were too soft. They could've been fried a little longer.

Solid price for great service and good food.