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

Flying Pig Yaletown, not to be confused with that other infamous restaurant sporting a flying pig, dubs itself as Nouveau Canadian Bistro offering a Pacific Northwestern spread executed with a rustic, French sensibility.

(Above: Complimentary freshly baked, sticky-icky cinnamon rolls.)

Inside, Flying Pig’s brick and wood, country bistro decor is a warm, inviting contrast to Yaletown restaurants’ typically slick and trendy vibe. The crowd is a mixed bag. Yaletown business powerbrokers rub shoulders with young, hip Main street families in the open spaced dining room.

(Above: Chef Erik’s own Croque Monsier, a hearty egg-battered  sandwich melting with cheese and topped with a fried egg.)

The menu doesn’t present any real surprises, serving up familiar Pacific Northwestern breakfast staples like Smoked Salmon Benedicts and classic egg platters.

Chef Erik’s Croque Monsier was calling me: rich cheese and country ham sandwiched between grilled, egg battered brioche and topped with a fried egg. Cheese, fried egg and ham. What’s not to like?

(Above: Mr. Joe and Mrs. Mimosa — a great way to start the morning.)

Case’s eyes — and stomach — veered towards the decadent French toast with Maple Blueberry Compote. Two fluffy, egg washed brioche smothered in blueberry compote and topped with raspberries and fresh whipped cream.

(Above: French toast topped with Maple Blueberry Compote.)

Our meal with taxes, tip coffee and a breakfast cocktail came to $38, which feels about right for the quality of dishes. And it is certainly a good deal for a Yaletown restaurant.

Perfect for: solid, reasonably priced bistro style brunch in Yaletown.

The Details

1168 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
604.568.1344
theflyingpigvan.com
@flyingpigvan

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Red Star Seafood is a Chinese Seafood restaurant located on Granville Street’s Marpole area. It’s a pleasant looking establishment with a formal atmosphere and comparatively upscale decor, but how do their dim sum dishes stack up?

(Above: Deep Fried Yam Balls sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.)

Red Star’s decor is nice, outfitted with crisp, white linens and meticulously placed cutlery and dishes. Servers are uniformed in vests over white collar shirts.

There were four of us this quiet morning. We selected a number of dishes: deep fried pork sweet dumplings, steamed pork shui mai dumplings, steamed crystal prawn dumplings, rice rolls with three kinds of mushrooms, steamed mushrooms with fish tofu puffs, and fried bean curds purse with bean leaves and prawns. And for dessert — deep fried yam balls.

(Above: Steamed mushroom rice rolls.)

While the dishes presented nicely, the flavours felt tame, with many dishes verging on boring. The exceptions were the fried bean curd purse: crispy, paper thin wrapping bean leaves and generous portions of prawns. And the yam balls, covered with sesame seeds, and delicately fried to a honey coloured crisp with just the right amount of sweetness.

(Above: Fried Bean Curd Purses stuffed with prawns and bean leaves.)

Our bill including taxes and tips for four people came to just under $60 — not the cheapest, and not the most memorable meal either. The service was efficient, but robotic. I was hoping for more from Red Star. However, if you’re in the area, you might want to give it a try and experience it for yourself.

Perfect for: well behaved dim sum.

The Details

8298 Granville Street
604.261.8389

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Amelia Cafe on 6th street in New Westminster is a casual diner with affordable prices, friendly service and a clean atmosphere.

(Above: Scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and rye Toast. Greasy spoon breakfast at its finest.)

Like so many Lower Mainland greasy spoons, Amelia’s Cafe serves a standard mixed fare of Western classics and Chinese food. The dining room is small and decorated with an interesting mix of retro and stuff you might find from an Asian family’s home.

(Above: Amelia Cafe looks like someone’s living room.)

We ordered two breakfast specials. For Tre, two eggs over easy with two sausage links and French toast. The eggs were cooked to order and the sausages were surprisingly good — not pan fried to death. The French toast was nothing special, but still nice and fluffy.

For myself, scrambled eggs with hash browns and rye toast. The hash browns were the standouts in this dish with real chunks of potatoes pan fried making certain bits super crispy.

(Above:  French toast, sausage and eggs over easy.)

Our bill including taxes, tips and two coffees came to just under $19. The price is right, the service friendly, and the food decent overall. Amelia’s is a greasy spoon that’s just a notch up from a hole in a wall. But if you’re looking for a simple breakfast with no frills and easy on the coin, then you’ve come to the right place. Remember to pay a visit to the bank machine, though, Amelia’s is cash only.

Perfect for: A simple breakfast for a simple price.

The Details:

538 6th Street, New Westminster
604.520.3836

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Judging by the line ups that persist outside of Jethro’s Fine Grub, there is no shortage of fans for this tiny, 24 seat eatery on the West Side of Vancouver. This Arbutus Dunbar Street (Thank’s to The Anthology’s Mom for that correction) breakfast and lunch restaurant is celebrated for their generous portions and relatively inexpensive price point served in a simple, no nonsense dining room.

(Above: Huevos Rancheros with beans, rice, salsa and some grilled corn cakes.)

Amongst the standard breakfast and sandwich dishes, Jethro’s has a distinct southern influence boasting pulled pork sandwiches, tex mex chili, and breakfast burritos. Although they’re famed for the generously portioned pancakes, Case and I were in the mood for eggs.

I had the corned beef hash, which arrived with a modestly portioned hash that was more corned beef and less potatoes causing the dish to be more salty than I’d prefer. Two nicely poached eggs topped the hash while the dish was flanked by beautiful, thick rye toast.

(Above: The sauces.)

Case had the Huevos Rancheros with black beans, rice and grilled corn cakes. Generally speaking the dish was nice, but the eggs unfortunately weren’t cooked to the doneness of our order. We were further perplexed that the server insisted it was fried hard (as we ordered), when it is clearly over easy. She left it at that and abandoned us for the rest of the meal until our bill arrived.

(Above: Symmetrically plated corned beef hash.)

Our meal came to just over $25 including two cups of coffee, which is a bargain given the area — and likely a stimulus for their line ups. The staff was generally friendly, discounting the egg incident, and the food was decent, but I don’t think we’d line up just for a seat at Jethro’s.

Perfect for: Well proportioned West Side breakfast. Arrive hungry, not starving.

The Details

3420 Dunbar Street, Vancouver
604.569.3441
jethrosfinegrub.com