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

Portland’s Pig-n-Pancake is a rare blend of family-owned and run business and entrepreneurial ingenuity. It’s doubtful this tiny chain of breakfast restaurants with a smiling pig as a mascot will give an empire like Denny’s a run for their money, but they appear to have the West coast of Oregon on lock.

(Top to bottom: 1. A.1. for the folks down south. 2. The classic pig-n-pancake combo.)

It’s like walking into giant, family dining area. Up front, we were greeted by a friendly, older lady who seated us at one of the booths. The menu is large-ish — two thirds of it dedicated to breakfast: pancakes, crepes, eggs, etcs.

Case ordered sausages and eggs with pancakes, of course: eggs were nicely over easy, sausages nicely grilled and pancakes fluffy. Classic greasy spoon meal, with a homestyle touch.

(Above: 1. Steak and eggs. 2. Fluffy pancakes, minus the pig.)

I had steak and eggs, a stocky piece of ribeye grilled a little more well done that I would have preferred — but the flavour was nice, and it helped sop up all that eggy goodness.

Our meal came to just under $30 with two cups of coffee, putting it on par with the likes of most major breakfast chains. The food at Pig-n-pancake, however, is definitely a notch above — simply executed, but with that extra bit of heart.

Perfect for: small, local chain breakfast alternative to big breakfast chain.

The Details

12110 North East Glisan Street, Portland
503.252.3457
pignpancake.com

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Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Lucy’s Eastside Diner on Main Street is open 24 hours — yes, 24 hours — catering to satisfy all of your greasy spoon cravings.

Lucy’s is a throwback to the old school diner, furnished with large booths and gigantic bottles of Tabasco sauce on top of their dining tables. Light blue and peachy wall colouring and vintage knick knacks continue the retro vibe reflected by the menu.

(Top to bottom: 1. Standard Diner Setup. 2. Fried Chicken Dinner with Mashed Potato, Gravy, and a Mess of Vegetables.)

Tre ordered the fried chicken dinner served with mashed potatoes, veggies and gravy. I opted for Lucy’s carbolicious homemade mac and cheese. The fried chicken was decent — slightly sweet with what tasted like a mixture of seasoned panko crumb batter. The sides, however, weren’t so comforting: the veggies were an off putting chop suey mess of peppers and onion chunks. And the mash potatoes were either overly whipped, or straight from a box — heavy and dense.

The mac and cheese, however, was tasty — drowned in generous amounts of unnaturally golden, cheesy goodness topped with buttered bread crumbs.

(Top to bottom: 1. Unearthly, Yellow Glowing Mac and Cheese. 2. Vintage Decor at Lucy’s)

Our bill including taxes and tips came to $19, which makes Lucy a pretty budget friendly, no frills meal for the neighborhood. It’s a step up from old school greasy spoons, but there are still some kinks to be ironed out. An added bonus — Lucy’s stays open for 24 hours, a rarity for the area.

Perfect for: Late night, greasy spooning.

The Details:

2708 Main Street, Vancouver
604.568.1550
lucyseastsidediner.com

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Red Wagon Cafe, a newly minted Hastings Sunrise diner, borrows their storied, been-in-the-neighborhood-forever, feel by taking over the space of what was once the King’s Cafe on East Hastings.

It’s always a dicey proposition taking over the space of a floundering restaurant. So, we approached Red Wagon Cafe with restrained expectations. On an early Saturday morning, however, the restaurant was packed — filled with what must have been half the neighborhood. Promising sign.

(Above: Crispy Pork Confit, Eggs Over Easy, Grilled Tomato and Potatoes drizzled with Hollandaise.)

Not much has changed of the interior, a little elbow grease here and there to tidy up the dining room, but the aging fixtures and character were left mostly intact.

The menu was simple, yet confounding. Case and I couldn’t make heads or tails of the theme. There were the usual suspects: pancakes, two egg breakfasts, and benedicts. But we were more intrigued by the esoteric dishes like Crispy Pork Belly Confit and the day’s special: Chiquilles, all curiously served up on dishes you’d more likely find at a Chinese greasy spoon.

I headed straight from the Pork Belly: a generous rasher of crispy pork belly that was indeed fall-apart confit despite its bacon-like appearance. It was served with eggs over easy, grilled tomatoes, potatoes and drizzled with Hollandaise. Despite the sloppy presentation, this was one confusingly tasty dish. I mean, it’s a big slab of pork belly. For breakfast. Genius.

Case had the Chiquilles: homemade tortilla chips served with eggs over easy, a salsa verde that looked more like salsa amarillo, feta cheese, and drizzled with a sour cream concoction. It arrived looking like a dog’s breakfast, but tasted beautiful. It was a shame the tortillas became soggy from all the dressing; not too sure how that could have been avoided, though.

(Above: Chiquilles, Homemade Tortilla Chips, Eggs Over Easy with Salsa Verde, Feta and Sour Cream.)

Our meal including two coffees, taxes and tip came to $36 which puts it on the pricier side for breakfast at a diner. It’s too early to tell how well the Red Wagon will do, but they’re definitely doing something interesting with breakfast, and it’s certainly a few steps up from the previous tenant.

Perfect for: a strangely tasty breakfast that’s a little kooky.

The Details

2296 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
604.568.4565
redwagoncafe.com

Rating / 2 out of 5 stars

Roundel Cafe serves as the local greasy spoon hang out for the Hastings-Sunrise neighborhood, fully equipped with a breakfast bar, a ragtag staff ranging from scruffy to hipster and vintage kitchen equipment. The lackadaisical atmosphere can be both off-putting or relaxing depending on your mood, but for a mostly classic breakfast joint, Roundel Cafe may suffice.

(Top to bottom: 1. Vintage kitchen equipment. 2. Huevos Rancheros.)

The decor is a mix of eclectic, garage-sale furnishings and aging fixtures. Daily specials are written up on a a chalkboard inconveniently hung on one side that is hidden to half of the dining room. Our over-caffeinated and upbeat server helped us out by firing off the specials rapidly. Case settled on the Huevos Rancheros, while I decided on the classic two egg breakfast with sausage.

Service was achingly slow. Our breakfast took at least 3o minutes to arrive, enough to try even the most patient of diners. Our server did come by to apologize periodically, while berating the kitchen staff as we nursed our two cups of coffees. The classic breakfast is served with an overly dressed mixed green salad and nicely grilled home fries. The over-easy eggs were so-so, partially overdone, while the thinly sliced sausages were tasty but stingy on portions.

Case’s Huevos Rancheros were half decent, but lacked consistent seasoning featuring plating that appeared to be done by preschoolers during a session of playtime. The over easy eggs were served half broken with piles of guacamole, black bean and salsa on top of a stale tortilla. Yoghourt was substituted for sour cream.

(Above: Classic breakfast with eggs over easy, sausage, mixed green salad and pan fried potatoes.)

Our meal came to just under $25 including taxes and tips, which felt pricey for what we ended up getting. Roundel Cafe boasts mostly organic and locally sourced ingredients, which is admirable, but doesn’t displace the need for consistency of food and service. Roundel Cafe is a feisty and quirky diner that has potential, but just hasn’t quite lived up to it yet.

Perfect for: breakfast for diners with Ghandi-esque patience and tolerance, or have a lot of time to kill.

The Details

2465 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
604.253.2522