As much as I love certain eateries in
Victoria I'd be remiss not to give a shout out to a few cherished
restaurants in neighboring Vancouver. After all, most of us take the
ferry over occasionally for a little big city action. Steve and I have
found brunch heaven in the French Moroccan inspired bistro Cafe Medina.
Cafe Medina serves fine food in a
relaxed environment. The restaurant sports my favourite decor, lots
of dark wood in Parisian bistro style yet with a modern edge. The
first time Steve and I visited Cafe Medina it was bucketing rain
outside. The little bistro proved a warm and welcome
respite from the deluge. We were drawn in by the smell of waffles
wafting out on to the street.
We were warmly welcomed when we walked in the
door. Somehow I felt as in Casablanca that "this was the start of a
beautiful friendship". The loving continued as I perused the unique
and appealing menu. We decided to order some a la carte breakfast
items. We chose poached eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, a plate of
fresh fruit, and a waffle each. Medina offers mouth-watering waffle
toppings such as salted caramel, lavender milk chocolate, dark
chocolate, mixed berry compote and more. We asked for mixed
berry compote and good old maple syrup.
The food was a revelation. I am normally more
of a savoury breakfast person but if you visit this restaurant you simply
MUST put your bias aside and order one of the waffles. You won't regret
it! These babies are so ethereal, light and crisp and the
accompanying fruit compote was absolutely delicious. The
roast potatoes were similarly scrumptious. They arrived in a
generous mound on the plate. The potatoes were flecked with herbes
de Provence and smothered in oozing Gruyere cheese. Eggs were free range
with sunny yellow yolks. The bacon was thickly cut and meaty rather than
fatty. They drizzle the bacon in balsamic reduction, which adds a hint of
smoky sweetness. We mopped our plates clean. A second visit in July
proved the quality of the food had not diminished. Happily, Cafe Medina
had expanded their space to include their neighboring restaurant space. This
worked out great as we had tried on another occasion to go back but
were daunted by a line up that stretched halfway down the block.
There are many other intriguing dishes on the menu
at Cafe Medina such as La Santé- soft boiled egg, ripe tomato, avocado, prosciutto, extra
virgin olive oil and grilled ciabatta or the Moroccan inspired tagine with
poached eggs, spicy tomato stew, merguez sausage, sun dried olives, cilantro
and served with grilled focaccia. This is only a sampling of the many
creative, mouth-watering entrees in the offing at this cozy eatery.
These days, I can't visit Vancouver without at
least one visit to Cafe Medina. The owners are considering opening a
similar establishment in Victoria. Fingers crossed! In the meantime
those superb crispy waffles will be an essential part of my big city repertoire.
| <a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/335186/restaurant/Gastown/Cafe-Medina-Vancouver"><img alt="Cafe Medina on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/335186/biglink.gif" style="border:none;padding:0px;width:200px;height:146px" /></a> |
No comments:
Post a Comment