Paul’s Place Omelettery

Restaurant: Paul’s Place Omelettery

Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch
Last visited: March 14, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Fairview/South Granville)
2211 Granville Street
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4 (based on 3 items)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Breakfast all-day
• Breakfast/Lunch only
• Open daily 7am-3pm
• Looks nicer insider than outside
• Popular to locals
• Famous for omelettes
• + $.75 for egg whites
• Busy/line-ups for brunch
• Free refills on coffee
• Cocktails available
• Cappuccino/Mocha/Latte/Espresso
• Burgers/Sandwiches for lunch options
• Washrooms are not wheelchair accessible (upstairs)
• Meter parking

**Recommendation: Da Vinci Omelette (also haven’t tried enough)

I’ve heard so many hit and miss stories about Paul’s Place Omelettery that I finally made the effort to check it out myself. It’s undeniable that it’s a local favourite and that it’s packed and busy with line-ups out the door for Sunday brunch. I’d wait 15min, but not more than that…that’s how good it is. So good enough to wait a bit, but not that long…make sense?

Knowing what to expect will help make your decision and settle whatever differences people may have over it.

These are not your traditional fluffy and hearty omelettes – so if you like those you’re at the wrong place. These omelettes are almost gourmet style, They’re delicate and almost crepe like with lots of filling. It’s quite cheap especially for the area but the portions are also quite small. It also totally depends on what you order. The server was a vegetarian so it as hard to get a recommendation. I want to go back to make a bigger dent in the menu…so I would go back but it’s not urgent.

• Paul’s Place Omelettery is most famous for their omelettes which are made with 3 eggs, cheddar, edam and cream cheese unless specified otherwise. (You’re pretty much paying for the stuffing/cheese because the omelette is pretty small…they must use 3 mini eggs)

Added note: Apparently food and service was better with original owner Paul. I can’t add to that b/c I don’t know as this was my 1^st visit.

On the table:

Da Vinci Omelette 5/6

• Wild game chorizo sausage, mushroom, tomato, spinach & Feta only $9.95
• Includes buttered multi-grain toast, our signature jam and fruit. Add pan fries $1.50.
• It really bothers me that it was $1.50 for pan fries…I think it should come standard on any breakfast plate.
• Anyways…this is the most popular omelette.
• My friend got it with egg whites – yeah if you don’t have to…don’t.

• The omelettes are made with real eggs but they’re really thin and delicate almost like egg crepes without the flour. I think they add a lot of cream/milk to them so they’re really thin and pliable. The best part is that they’re perfectly cooked…barely any brown.

• It savoury, spicy and juicy with the sautéed veggies. It’s packed with a fair amount of ingredients and a decent amount of Feta that gave a creamy salty bite to the whole omelette.

• The wild game sausage isn’t gamey so I liked it. I’m very sensitive to this flavour too. It’s nice and spicy, but also store bought…but I still liked it.
• The jam I thought was a slightly better store-bought brand of jam…I honestly wouldn’t have been able to tell it was “signature” until re-reading it now…it didn’t taste homemade at all.

• They serve it with 2 different hot sauces.
• The one in the squirt bottle is similar to a pureed salsa. It’s not exactly chunky, but there are some finely pureed tomatoes. It’s very tangy and the kick is totally afterwards.
• The one in the vinegar is almost like a Frank’s hot sauce.

The Devon 3.5/6

• Smoked salmon, shrimp, asparagus, onion & Brie only. (The seafood is served cold) $10.50
• It was one of those it’s good until I have someone else’s…and then mine isn’t that good anymore.

• It was a bit sweet for me…especially after having the other omelette. Then I just couldn’t get over the sweetness. It might have been too many caramelized onions.

• It’s packed with ingredients and about 2 asparagus spears in here so they don’t cheap out on that part.

• The part that bothered me was that the brie didn’t melt. I just ate cube of brie. I think I had 4 pretty big pieces and I was surprised to get so much.

Pancake 2.5/6

• Single Pancake (Side) $1.95
• I ordered a single pancake because I like trying pancakes…although nothing will beat the biggest pancake ever I had in LA or the lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes in Kelowna.
• This was actually a pretty big pancake so I was happy. It was sitting for a while but they were really busy so I think it could have tasted better.
• The pancakes here are almost like cupcakes, but not as sweet. I think they use cake flour and they might even use some vanilla extract or a little bit of sugar because they have a cake flavour to them.

• It looks good and tasted good but the texture wasn’t soft and fluffy. It was slightly rubbery and that’s because it was overcooked. they have the potential to be really good, but they just need to be fresh and eaten right away.
  
• I had to saw through it…mind you it was a butter knife…but pancakes shouldn’t require steak knives…or even any knife.

• They serve it with pancake syrup and not maple syrup...that’s extra.

Trees Organic Coffee & Roasting House

Restaurant: Trees Organic Coffee & Roasting House

Cuisine: Café/Coffee/Desserts/Cakes
Last visited: January 19, 2010
Area: Multiple - Vancouver, BC (Gastown/Downtown)
321 Water Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3
Service: 2.5

Ambiance: 3.5

Overall: 3

Additional comments:

• Local chain since 1996
• Clean/European style cafe
• Good for snacks/coffee breaks
• Relaxed, but upscale café feel
• Fair-trade 100% certified organic coffee
• Coffee roasted in small batches on site
• Award winning cheesecakes
• Vancouver’s Best Cheesecake by The Province newspaper
• By the slice or whole cheesecakes available
• Organic coffee, not organic food
• Breakfast/Lunch
• Sandwiches/Baked goods
• Display case/pre-made items
• Vegan options
• Eat in/Take-out
• Difficult to park

**Recommendation: The Sin Cheesecake, Coffee, Latte

I went to the grand opening of the 4^th location of Trees Organic Coffee & Roasting House in Gastown. I was really excited because 1) I was meeting a friend I hadn’t seen in years and 2) they advertised an “all day tasting party with free coffee and samples of cheesecake, muffins, scones and sandwiches!” It was supposed to be a big party and celebration so they got everyone all excited and anticipated – but for nothing. In the end we did sample one cheesecake (upon ordering and paying), but we also asked for it. I just don’t believe in false advertising and hyping your customers up for expectations you can’t deliver. I mean people went to support their business so I don’t think it’s unfair to ask that they should stay true to their words.

I support their 100% Organic & Fair Trade Coffee policy – and I actually think they should include this “organic” policy into everything they make. I mean it’s in the store name, and they stress it with their coffee, so why not in the food? All their baked goods and sandwiches are actually brought in from their flagship store on Granville Island, so if I were to choose a location I would go for that one.

Trees Organic Coffee & Roasting House in Gastown is good for a coffee break or a snack, but I wouldn’t go for lunch. It’s a very nice, clean, comfortable set-up but the selection is limited to a display case of premade sandwiches and cheesecakes…the cheesecakes are a local favourite and pretty good though. I’d only come back for coffee or cheesecake.

I’m going to review this like any other review because this “grand opening” was nothing different than a regular day…except with maybe some balloons.

On the table:

**Latte 5/6

• Size: Tall - about $3.50
• I really liked this and it’s quite creamy with a nice amount of froth. I still like Elysian or 49^th Parallel better I think. I need to do a comparison one of these days.
• It’s smooth and almost naturally sweet with a malted flavour.
• Very light roast.
• They need to work on the design though.

**Coffee 5/6

• 100% Organic & Fair Trade Coffee Size: Tall – about $2.50
• Very light roast, I like mine a bit stronger.
• Very smooth.

**The Sin Cheesecake 5.5/6

• They don’t have the description on the menu but it’s a chocolate marble cheesecake with cherries and a chocolate crust $5.99
• It was good and better than the blueberry cheesecake we ordered. This is their most popular cheesecake.
• This is the only sample we actually got, and that’s because we asked.It's hard to judge based on a sample but from a non-cheesecake lover (I really don’t like those heavy thick New York style cheesecakes) this was a good cheesecake.
• It’s very creamy, not dense at all and almost mousse like. It’s still very rich but not too cheesy in taste either. It was lighter than most cheesecakes but heavier than a tiramisu (which is the only cheesecake I like). A few bites would be enough for me, not becuase it's too sweet, but just extremely creamy.
  
• It had a nice balance of sweet chocolate, creamy light cheese, and tartness from these plump sour cherries. Great balance, flavour, and texture.
• I didn’t mind that the crust was a bit thin because since it’s a chocolate/Oreo crust it’s more flavourful than a graham cracker crust.
• Cherries weren’t red, but an orange yellow caramel in colour. I don’t remember what they were called, but they were tiny, round, plump and juicy. I’m pretty sure they’re preserved because they had that sticky syrup coating around them, but it wasn’t fake tasting like Maraschino cherries. They were almost like the sour cherries from the Amarena Cherry Crème Brulee I had at Cin Cin.

Blueberry Cheesecake 3.5/6

• Fresh blueberries mixed in the cheesecake burst in your mouth with juicy, sweet flavour $5.99 (Description from website)
• The cheesecake part was really good. Not too sweet and just as creamy and mousse-like as The Sin Cheesecake. It’s so soft and creamy you can’t even cut through it.
• This is lighter than The Sin Cheesecake but I still wouldn’t want a whole piece to myself – although light, the creaminess is too much.
• The crust was a graham cracker crust and I wish it was thicker. It was also very soggy and wet, perhaps because it was sitting in the display case for too long and then plated on top of unnecessary chocolate syrup.
• The chocolate syrup just tasted like bottled chocolate syrup and did nothing for me. That part was too sweet.
• The cheesecake is a baked cheesecake, which I liked. However it wasn’t baked evenly. The edges were stiffer and dense and almost dried out from being in the display case. However the centre was fluffy and creamy and melted in your mouth.
• Besides the crust, the other problem was the blueberries. The description says “fresh blueberries” but they didn’t taste fresh at all. They were extremely wrinkly and dry and tasted like dried blueberries or frozen blueberries. I highly doubt they were fresh. There were only blueberries on top too and they weren’t plump juicy or sweet.

Prosciutto & Brie Baguette Sandwich 2.5/6

• With lettuce & tomato $7.99
• For $7.99 I would much rather go to So.Cial at Le Magasin or Brioche around the corner. Those places have value and specialize in quality meats and sandwiches.
• This sandwich tasted good, but there were hardly any ingredients in it. One leaf of romaine, a very thin slice of tomato, one slice of prosciutto and one slice of brie. I couldn’t even taste the brie in every bite.
• We asked for the sandwich to be warmed up but that didn’t really help. The brie was so thin it turned into a brie spread. It was good and creamy, but almost turned saucy.
• The lack of ingredients usually means a lack in flavour, so to make up for the natural flavours they replaced it with heavy seasonings. It was mostly kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, but they used a lot.
• The best part is the bread; and thank goodness because it was quite thick and there was a lot. It’s baked in house in their Granville location and I really liked it! It was very crunchy and although it is thick, it also wasn’t too chewy, it worked. Great bread!

Cranberry Pecan Oat Muffin 1.5/6

• $2.50
• I had major issues with this muffin. It really bothers me when cranberry and pecan is used in the title of the muffin, but used only as décor. Very deceiving.
  
• There were no pecans or cranberries in the actual muffin. It would have given the muffin so much more flavour and was really disappointing.
• The muffin bottom was just plain vanilla muffin batter. Actually at first bite it almost has a candied orange taste and then later on you get a tiny bit of vanilla extract taste. I think there might be lemon zest in it or maybe some kind of orange liquor like Grand Marnier in it. It is very subtle and it would have gone great with the cranberries…if there had been actual cranberries IN it, no just on top of it.
• I actually didn’t find much oat in it either. A few odd flakes, and maybe used more on the top.
• That’s about the only thing this muffin had going – was the top. It had a huge muffin top (haha muffin top!)...which is great! That’s the best part because it was really crispy and flavourful. It’s the only part that had cranberries and pecans too.
• The muffin was moist, but baked a bit unevenly which is odd. Parts of it still tasted like batter.

Benny's Cafe - Benny's Bagels

Restaurant: Benny’s Cafe aka Benny's Bagels Cafe

Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch/Cafe/West Coast/Canadian
Last visited: December 27, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC (Kitsilano)
2505 West Broadway

Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2.5
Service: 2
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 2.5
Additional comments:

• Homemade bagels, specializes in bagels
• Steady traffic throughout the day
• Baked goods/coffee/brunch
• Focus on healthy
• Cheap eats – student food/pricing
• Self-service/pay at cashier
• Feels like it’s operated by students
• Nothing seems to be made day of except for bagels
• Very casual and laid back hangout
• Kitsilano feel
• Attracts students, artists, locals in area
• Free Wi-Fi
• Late night/open late
• Serves alcohol
• Vegetarian/Vegan options
• Eat in/Take-out
• Patio seating

**Recommendation: Fruit & Brie Melt

I pretty much tried their top 3 favourites and most popular items so I think this will be a pretty fair review. However if I tried the top 3 and I still wasn’t that impressed I’m not sure how much I care to try the rest of the menu. It’s not the like the food was horrible, but I’m in no rush to go back.

It’s a good place for studying, quick low maintenance healthy and light meals, coffee breaks, or even late night go-to dining. It’s cheap and pretty much self-service. It’s just wouldn’t be a place for most foodies.

It’s really relaxed and laid back inside and you feel like you’re lounging around in a ski lodge lobby. You could probably go in wearing pajamas and fit right in. It has a fireplace and wooden furnishings, it all feels very Canadian and very Kitsilano. It definitely attracts the regular locals in the neighbourhood, lots of students (being so close to University of BC), and local artists as well. It’s has a hippie/lumberjack/student feel. If you’re from Vancouver you know exactly what I mean.

Benny’s Café highlights healthy, West Coast and Canadian flavours and it’s been around for 20+ years. The bagels are homemade and fresh but the baked goods are all pre-made and in display cases. They’re made in house, but I highly doubt they’re made daily. Walking in for lunch I couldn’t smell any baked goods or hear any sizzling or cooking on stove tops, or see any ovens. In fact the cooking area was spic and span and the set up was more like a Subway. Most of the hot food was made with fresh ingredients and made-upon order but the cooking was done all in microwave. All I could hear and see was the use of a microwave, which was a huge turn off for me. It was all students working and making the orders too. I like to see at least one cook/chef at the place I’m eating.

On the table:

Breakfast Bagel 2.5/6

• Your choice of bagel, egg crepes, hot smoked back bacon, salsa, green pepper, scallion cream cheese, onions, and melted cheddar cheese on top $7.15
• Vegetarian with avocado or Pacific lox version $8.25
• This is one of their most popular items and it’s served during lunch too and maybe even at dinner. I ordered the Pacific lox (smoked salmon) version with the “Super Purist” bagel which is their ‘Everything’ bagel.

  

• Each bagel half had 2 slices of old smoked Wild BC salmon. They were pretty generous with the toppings.

• It really bothered me that they used "egg crepes" which are those pre-made square egg patties. They have no flavour. I thought they were going to be actual egg crepes like real eggs being cooked into thin crepes on a stove top. I was disappointed.
• Even though it's made upon order, nothing they used was really fresh except for the bagel, green pepper and cheese. Everything was made in the microwave. It was literally like a Subway. They assembled the sandwich and popped it in the microwave to warm it up and melt t he cheese.
  
• It can't say it tasted bad, but it was such student food.
• The salsa was very blah and almost like marinara sauce, and I don't know if it's made in house. Even if it was I doubt it was made that morning. It has tomatoes, onions, green peppers, cilantro and it's a bit too pureed. It was tangy, but it didn't have a fresh flavour. A fresh salsa would have been perfect because it was a pretty healthy breakfast bagel.
• A fresh salsa would have brought it up at least 1 point. Another +1 if they used a real egg.
  
• They gave too much salsa and it was a bit overpowering. The thin layer of scallion cream cheese was a great addition though. That made this bagel a bit different. It paired with the salsa and went great with the salmon giving the sandwich a slight overall creaminess. For the little a mount they used, the flavour sure jumped out.
• I think they forgot the onions, or I couldn't taste them at all. There's no bacon if you order it with salmon either.

**Fruit & Brie Melt 4/6

• Our classic since 1986. Cinnamon Apple Raisin bagel with melted brie cheese topped with hot berries. Yum. $6.95 (Description copied from menu)
• The server really recommended this and it was her favourite. Out of the 3 items I tried this was the best.
  
• It was sweet, salty, and a perfect way to end a meal...or start one if you like sweet stuff. It's very simple and you could easily make it at home, but I still enjoyed it here.
• I loved the creaminess of the melted brie and then the plump jui cy sweetness of the blueberries. It was like a cheese and fruit ensemble, but on a bagel instead of crostini.
  

• Again everything was made in the microwave though...*sigh*...well they do toast the bagels in a toaster if that counts as "cooking".
• It wasn't that hearty, but it was filling because of the brie and the fact that you're eating a whole bagel.
• It had 3 really thin slices of brie and I would have appreciated a little thicker.
• The hot berries were just frozen blueberries microwaved. I don't even think they put any additional sugar to it. They have a natural sweetness and again everything is pretty healthy and light here.
• The dusting of icing sugar was the only sweet thing. well the bagel was a bit sweet, but I couldn't taste any raisins or really any apples for that matter. I could taste the slight hint of cinnamon though.
  
• I think they could easily up this recipe by using a drizzle of honey and some toasted almonds over icing sugar. I'd pay .50 extra for that.

Sweet Bee 3/6

• Look for coconut and honey inside. When you find it you’ll love them! $2.25 or $8.95 for 6. (Description copied from menu)

  

• This is one of their popular items and it’s one of the few baked goods offered that’s actually included on the official menu.
• I was really excited for it because I love coconut. However I was disappointed to see it sitting in a basket of pre-baked goods. It didn’t look very fresh, but I still had to try it.
• The coconut and honey filling is EXACTLY like those Chinese coconut buns you get at Chinese bakeries. It looks totally different so I couldn’t tell. They’re usually called cocktail buns at Chinese bakeries. Now if you’ve had a good cocktail bun (the ones at Maxim’s Bakery are even great) then this one at Benny’s doesn’t even compare. It felt like it was a knock off or the “white” version of a Chinese coconut cocktail bun.
• The filling is identical to the Chinese version so that part is fine. It’s not too sweet and it’s made with coconut, sugar and butter. It’s almost like a paste and you can taste the dried shredded coconut throughout. It’s not too sweet and has a great texture. It’s really really good. I couldn’t taste the honey though.

Brioche Urban Baking & Catering

Photo courtesy of www.imonlyhereforthefood.com

Restaurant: Brioche Urban Baking and Catering – Panini review

Cuisine: Italian/Bakery/Sandwiches
Last visited: December 17, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Gastown/Downtown)
401 W Cordova St
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4 (based on Panini only)
Service: n/a
Ambiance: n/a
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Located in Gastown
• Catering /Restaurant/Bakery
• Authentic Italians meets West Coast
• Quality meats & cheese, fresh ingredients
• Large menu: soup/salad/sandwiches/pastas
• Large selection of pastries
• Healthy/Vegetarian/Carnivore options
• Homemade/homestyle
• Casual gourmet café type foods (does that make sense?)
• On site bakery
• Freshly baked daily bread/pastries
• Cozy/Casual/Eclectic atmosphere/clientele
• Good for breakfast/lunch/coffee breaks
• Very decent prices for what you’re getting
• Open until 7pm M-F 6pm on weekends
• Eat in/Take-out

**Recommendation: Chorizo Sausage Panini, Ham, Portobello & Brie Panini. The popular Panini sandwiches are: NY Steak & Mushroom Sauce Panini and the Prosciutto, Bocconcini & Tomato Panini – but I haven’t tried the NY Steak & Mushroom one

The reason why I didn’t rate Brioche Urban Baking & Catering on their service, ambiance or overall is because my friend Kim (www.imonlyhereforthefood.com) had gotten take-out for me and Anita (www.petitefoodie.wordpress.com) so I wasn’t physically there for the entire experience. I also only tried their Panini sandwiches so this review focuses strictly on those. I tried 3 out of 10 Panini sandwiches so I think that’s enough to get a general idea…although I will be back for the NY Steak and Mushroom Sauce one. I didn’t know that this was a popular item until afterward.

Brioche is a pretty small operation nestled in Gastown. It’s a humble location that’s a local favourite. For the size of it, I’m really surprised with how much they do. They offer plenty of breakfast, lunch and pastry options and it’s hard to believe that they can afford to bake everything daily. It offers casual dining, but gourmet style café-like foods. For me it was very simple recipes, made with high quality ingredients and a focus on fresh. The menu is kind of big and they offer everything from Vegetarian dishes, low-fat, to hearty game options.

Since I wasn’t actually there to ask my usual questions, I actually ended up calling Brioche and speaking with their chef to get some answers. Yes – I take my blogging that seriously now…I just want to give a thorough review. This won’t affect my overall review because again my notes were written before speaking to them. They don’t know who I am anyways and it’s already been a week since trying them.

What I did discover is that the chef, Eduardo lived in Sicily for 20 years so he does incorporate authentic Italian flavors into his recipes. The menu really is Italian meets West Coast. I feel like it’s a battle for him to focus on the healthy (West-coast) yet be able to incorporate those heavy Italian flavours people love.

The Brioche Urban Baking & Catering Panini:

Brioche serves a really West Coast version of a Panini sandwich. It was more like a toasted baguette sandwich. A Panini is an Italian sandwich and a traditional one is usually served on a small bread roll. (However small in Italy is never that small). These Panini sandwiches weren’t reminiscent of the ones I had in Italy although it’s not to say that they weren’t good – just different and not authentic Italian.

The authentic part was the focus on quality meats and fresh cheese. The non-authentic part was the bread. I do love how it’s baked fresh daily however the ‘baguette’ they use is more like a Ciabatta style baguette. They’re rustic, dense baguettes with a hard exterior and chewy centre. They’re the thick ones, not the thinner French baguettes. They make them well, but an authentic Italian Panini roll is supposed to use undercooked bread. It should be a smooth undercooked roll and not a Ciabatta because Ciabatta’s bake up too hard during the Panini grilling process. The bread is supposed to be undercooked and finish cooking on the grill.

The choice of bread may be part of the West Coast influence, I’m not sure. Yes, the bread is good, but for their Panini I think something thinner and softer would showcase their high quality meats and fresh cheeses better.

On the table:

**Chorizo Sausage Panini 4.5/6

• Specialty Panini: Chorizo sausage, lettuce, tomato, avocado & Bocconcini $8.95
• The avocado and Bocconcini is an option they have for their specialty Panini – I really recommend it.
• I’m not even a big chorizo or sausage fan, but this one really impressed me. The quality of the chorizo was really high and it had a spicy kick to it too. It was a bit oily, but I guess it usually is; they were really generous with it too.
• The avocado part is definitely the West Coast influence to a tradition Italian sandwich.
• It was semi-mashed avocado and I wish they were more generous with this part. It ended up being overpowered by the chorizo, although it was the perfect amount of meat. They just didn’t give enough avocado.
• The bread was ok for me. I think this was a whole wheat bread we ordered it with. Order this Panini with a sliced bread rather than a baguette/ciabatta because a sliced bread absorbs the flavours of the chorizo, whereas the baguette wouldn’t have done that as well. It also wasn’t grilled long enough. It wasn’t even really grilled – it was more lightly toasted.

Prosciutto, Bocconcini & Tomato Panini 3.5/6

• Premium Panini: Prosciutto, Bocconcini, tomato & lettuce $6.75
• We had this on a baguette, and I think the Focaccia would have been a better mach. The baguette was toasted, but not long enough and it grilled up a bit unevenly. I do love the fact that they drizzled olive oil on the baguette before toasting it. They don’t use butter here.
• They were very generous with the prosciutto which was great.
• The Bocconcini was good, but too mild for this sandwich. I think I would have preferred it with a goat’s feta or something a bit stronger to compliment the Prosciutto.
• I had a couple flavours of savoury going on. But I wanted either a tang or a sweet note. I would have liked it with a drizzle of balsamic glaze or with something sweet like honey, or both. For the sweet, some cantaloupe slices would have been nice…but this is just me getting creative now.
• It would have been great with some freshly chopped basil leaves too. Brighten the flavours up a bit and give it another dimension of flavour. Or they could have sprinkled some dried oregano on the bread before toasting it. Dundarave Olive Company in West Vancouver makes olive oils that would be a perfect match.

**Ham, Portobello & Brie Panini 4.5/6

• Ham, Portobello, Brie, lettuce and tomato $6.75
• The Ciabatta worked well with this sandwich. I know the picture shows the bread looking a bit thick, but the fat from the brie melted into the Ciabatta which made it softer and absorb the creaminess.
• They gave a nice amount of meat and cheese for this. A perfect ratio.
• There was not enough mushrooms though. We all shared and I think I had one slice of mushroom in my 1/3 of the sandwich.
• I really liked this one because it had salty brie, salty black forest ham, and then what should have been sweet and juicy plump mushrooms…too bad I only had a bite of that.
• I want to try ordering this one with chicken instead of ham…I think that would be a great combo. Chicken, brie and mushrooms...and then a nap afterward…