Rating / 2 out of 5 stars

Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe on West 4th is a Kitsilano institution. Its trademark kitschy decor and uncharacteristically long line ups for the otherwise sleepy West 4th neighbourhood are a well established weekend tradition.

(Above: Egg white omelette with generic toast.)

Once you make it passed the oversized fork and knife pillars, you’re on your way to a brunch complete with vintage garage sale ambience. The cramped, yet cozy dining room with Coke bottle lined bannisters and somebody’s attic thrown on the wall as decor, is brightly lit and bustling with activity.

Case and I sat down for a straight forward weekend brunch in the spacious, well worn booths. I had the Spanish omelette — zesty (tomato paste-y even), herb-infused tomato sauce stuffed in a surgically folded, but overcooked omelette and served with crumbly Wonderbread quality toast and a side of smashed up, hand cut hasbrowns.

(Above: Kitschy, kitschy, yeah yeah yeah yeah.)

Case was happy to see an egg white option on the menu, which she ordered plain. It arrived in a similarly meticulously folded manner (and similarly overdone), alongside the same forgettable toast and hashbrown combination.

(Above: Spanish omelete, which basically looks like a more golden version of  Case’s dish.)

Our meal came to a modest $26 including tax and tip and two cups of coffee, which felt borderline expensive. The service was so so, the menu predictable, but the execution was consistent across the board (the good and the bad). We’re consistently amazed by the lineups each time we pass by, but forget the lack of breakfast options in the area. Unless you really enjoy the queue, we’d suggest heading Eastwards for something better.

Perfect for: Kitschy family breakfasts and a lesson in patience.

The Details

2095 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver
604.732.6810
sophiescosmiccafe.com

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

La Taqueria Pinche Taco shop has expanded their tiny downtown operation to a second location, primely situated on Cambie near the corner of Broadway. It’s a convenient stop for Canadaline commuters craving bit-size, freshly prepared Mexican tacos.

Hopefully La Taqueria fairs better than the previous rotating shift of of unsuccessful tenants including a greasy spoon, Chinese, and Japanese restaurant. The Cambie location is certainly larger than the original, but similarly decorated in muted tones with splashes of bright yellows and pinks.

(Above: Unlike their Hastings location, the Cambie Taqueria has giant picture windows for loads of sun to shine through — whenever the sun decides to show up, that is.)

The menu is pretty straight forward, featuring a selection of meat and vegetarian tacos at $2.50 each, or $9.50 for a set of four. There’s also a daily special that they switch up every once in a while that you can ask about.

(Above: Clockwise from left to right: Fish Taco, Pork, Lamb and Beef Tongue.)

Case and I shared a set of four: Al Pastor (pork and pineapple), Lamb (the special for the day), De Lengua (braised beef tongue), and Pescado (grilled fish). The modestly portioned meats are beautifully cooked — the braised ones fall apart tender, and the fish nicely grilled — all gently seasoned.

The real joy is adding the fresh accompaniments like pickled onions, peppers, lime and a touch of one of their four house made salsas.

(Above: Fizzy, sugar juice.)

Our meal including taxes and tips and a bottle of fizzy, sugar juice came to around $14. It’s a little bit pricier than other taco joints, and the portions certainly won’t fill you up like Chronic Tacos a few blocks away. But, the carefully prepared meats and fresh toppings make these bite size tacos a refreshingly tasty snack.

Perfect for: a tasty taco alternative to the Chihuahua or cactus variety.

The Details

2549 Cambie Street, Vancouver
604.568.4406
lataqueria.ca
@LaTaqueriaYVR

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Pho Tan is a Vietnamese beef noodle restaurant that sits on that one block of Main Street that doesn’t seem to be occupied by a hip new restaurant or clothing boutique. Instead, it hides on the corner of 30th and Main across the Volkswagen dealership and a bunch of electronics parts stores. 

Inside, the quaintly decorated interior feels exceptionally homey. Less restaurant decor, more somebody’s aunt’s house decor. In the back, a table of rawkus mid 40s Vietnamese guys were ordering up dishes and rounds of beer like they were celebrating a lotto win. Lucky for us, we get to sit next to them.

(Above: The special beef noodle soup with all the fixings and the distinctively scarlet hued rare beef.)

The menu boasts pretty standard fare for a Pho restaurant. I typically order the #1 — the house special beef noodle with all the different types of meat: flank, tendon, tripe and rare beef. It’s a pretty good yardstick to gauge the quality of unfamiliar beef noodle restaurants. Pho Tan is generous with its meat portions, but the broth lukewarm and sweeter than I was accustomed to, and despite the dark hue, had less depth of flavour.

(Above: Salty Lemon Soda — a strangely sour, salty, fizzy beverage.)

Case ordered the Vietnamese crepes: flat rice rolls stuffed with minced pork, mushrooms and topped with greens, sprouts and served with Vietnamese ham. The crepes were decent albeit anemic with the filling. Our beverage of choice was a salty lemon soda, a strangely refreshing sour, salty and fizzy concoction.

(Above: Steamed Vietnamese crepes served with greens and Vietnamese ham.)

Our meal including taxes and tips came to around $25, which is about what you’d expect from your average Pho joint. Pho Tan appears to be a neighbourhood favourite, judging by the crowded parking lots. None of the dishes stood out as particularly outstanding, but Pho Tan serves as a decent beef noodle reprieve from Vancouver’s rainy days.

Perfect for: Pho down on Main Street.

The Details

4598 Main Street, Vancouver
604.873.3345

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Docker’s Diner sits right at the Northern most tip of Victoria Drive on Powell Street. As the name suggests, they cater to the dock workers that staff the area. But as the neighbourhood expands, so do the clientele — including young families, hipsters and broke artist types.

(Above: Classic diner breakfast: eggs over easy, hash browns and sausage.)

Inside is an aging, but still well maintained dining room that looks like a fishing gear yard sale explosion had occurred. Some really neat, historical photos of the docks hang lovingly on the walls providing diners a glimpse back in time when there were 90% fewer buildings around.

The single sheet, two sided menu is supplemented by the daily specials scrawled on the chalkboard to one side of the room. Docker’s serves up standard greasy spoon fare: soup of the days, burgers and egg breakfasts.

I ordered eggs, nicely done over easy with sausage. The hash browns were crispy at places, but undercooked in the larger chunks, accompanied by a throwaway, crumbly brown toast.

Case’s hotcakes were nice and fluffy, but thicker than usual, and the ham steak had a nice caramelized char from the grilling.

(Above: Three hotcakes and a grilled ham.)

Our meal including taxes and tips and two cups of coffee came to just under $21. The service and meal were decent — friendlier demeanour appears to be reserved for the regulars. However, Docker’s is a decent spot for an nice, hot breakfast if you happen to be stranded by the docks one day.

Perfect for: Good, hot, breakfast for people who wear rubber boots to the office.

The Details

1869 Powell Street, Vancouver
604.254.3732

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Vancouver’s Downtown has a lack of notable Vietnamese noodle shops. Enter BaoQi Eateri at the edge of Yaletown on Davie Street, a contemporary Vietnamese hole-in-the-wall, with all the coziness you’d expect from a bowl of hot noodle soup with a few updates.

(Above: BaoQi’s seafood noodle soup garnished with fried shallots, cilantro and onions.)

BaoQi’s decor feels like a modern rendition of colonial era Vietnam — the walls blanketed with carefully selected vintage photography including black and whites of Asian ladies with beehive hairdos. A long, wooden, communal table occupies most of the petite dining space while some stray seating snuggles underneath a slanted nook. And the tables are adorned with sleek utensils and dishes.

It’s easy to mistaken BaoQi for a Pho restaurant. It isn’t. The short menu is a modest cross section of familiar Vietnamese dishes including a variety of noodle soups (mostly sans beef noodle), banh mi (sandwiches), appetizers and some exotic sounding beverages.

I warmed myself up with BaoQi’s seafood noodle soup: a sweeter-than-usual, clear broth swimming with generously portioned squid, fish cakes and prawns. BaoQi’s noodle soup feels more refined; subtle, yet still comforting.

(Above: Standard triumvirate of Vietnamese garnish: bean sprouts, lime and chili sauce.)

Case ordered the hot and sour soup: a tangy, tomato and tamarind based broth with just a hint of spice and chunks of tomato, whole okra and garlic tips. It’s served with a side of steamed rice which can be soaked in the soup prior to consuming.

(Above: Vietnamese hot and sour soup with tomatoes, okra and garlic tips.)

Our meal including taxes and tip came to around $23, which is pricey for a typical Vietnamese noodle soup meal, but seems like the right price point for a downtown location and for the more refined execution and decor. The flavours at BaoQi aren’t what you’d expect from most Vietnamese hole-in-the-walls, but BaoQi’s contemporary execution feels at home with the local vibe on Davie Street.

Perfect for: Downtown Vietnamese noodle fix.

The Details

620 Davie Street, Vancouver
604.700.4100