The Hide Out Cafe

Tahi Chicken wrap, Tukey Bacon wrap, Black Bean Baja wrap, Mango Chicken wrap


Restaurant: The Hide Out Cafe
Cuisine: Eclectic/American/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch

Last visited: August 30, 09

Area: New Westminster, BC

716 Carnarvon Street

Price Range: $10 or less

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

Food: 5

Service: 3

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• GREAT quality and tasting wraps in Vancouver/lower mainland
• Homemade sauces.dressings and soups, but pre-made wraps
• Baked goods come from bakery (not homemade)
• Lunch combos available
• Hidden location
• Breakfast all day Saturdays
• Relaxed/Casual/Self-service
• Menu changes frequently, call ahead to confirm menu
• Some vegan soups
• Really need to fix their website - links are expired
• Catering available
• Eat in/Take-out
• Closed at 6pm
• Closed Sundays

**Recommendation: Soups (changes daily/weekly), Mango Chicken wrap, Thai Chicken wrap - call ahead to confirm menu.

Talk about local gem in New Westminster! I'm rarely in this area, but if I am - I'm going to The Hide Out Cafe. I may not trek out here just for this wrap, but I do crave it and am very tempted to make the drive out. The wraps are THAT good - fresh and simple ingredients and they're just made so well. The soups are also really fresh and also made in house. The location is quite hidden and you wouldn't even notice it unless you were referred to it or are familiar with that area. It's not even on the main downtown strip - it's across from the law courts.

It attracta people working nearby and it gets busy at lunch time. It seems like a place suitable for students and it's self-service - order and pay at cashier type eatery. The baked goods are almost all imported from another bakery - so I wish they did sell some homemade stuff because it looks like a place that should. Freshly baked pies are on their menu - but they NEVER have any and very rarely make them. They'll admit that too. Everything I've ordered has always been good. They also sometimes serve nachos; the menu changes whenever they want so you never know what you're going to get.

They have an upcoming Thanksgiving wrap so I'm looking forward to trying that.

My only complain about their wraps is the way they stuff them. They don't mix all the ingredients together so that the veggies stay crunchy; and they are pre-made and put in the display case so they need to ensure they don't get soggy from the sauce and dressings. You have to eat it from left to right or right to left. The wraps are rectangular and they grill them off before serving them. In order to get a bite of everything you need to take a couple bites until you complete the row, otherwise you'll get only the chicken, or only the veggies. You need to get a combination of everything. If they weren't pre-made they could mix all the ingredients together.

On the table:

• **Mango Chicken Wrap 5/6
  
• White chicken breast, feta, mango, red and green pepper, spinach, mango dressing and sweet chili sauce.

• This is awesome! It's sweet, savoury and very mildly spicy. They use fresh mango but I couldn't really tell because it was overpowered by the feta. I wish there was a little more mango in the wrap. The mango dressing is almost like a mango chutney mixed with sweet Thai chili sauce. The wraps are served warm so the feta melts and becomes creamy as it mixes into the sweet sauce. Really fresh ingredients. Not too much stuffing so that they fall apart, but they're the perfect size. They hold really well and they're not soggy, the tortilla is grilled which adds this perfect nuttiness and soft but also crunchy baked/grilled texture.
• **Thai Chicken Wrap 6/6
  
• White chicken breast, purple and green cabbage, green and red bell peppers, cilantro, onions, carrots, rice, sesame oil and peanut sauce.

• Ok this is one of my favourite wraps...ever. I've taken a few people here and this is everyone's' favourite. Better than the Mango Chicken wrap. HOWEVER it's one of their summer features so they have replaced it with the "Lamb Souvlaki Wrap"...they said that they will bring the Thai Chicken wrap back, but they like to switch things up. AND if it's requested enough they will bring it back earlier.
• This wrap is so good because of the combination of ingredients as well as the sauce. The peanut sauce is more of a vinaigrette than a peanut satay sauce. It's a bit thinner and more acidic and the sesame oil really comes through. It's tangy and savoury at the same time. They balance all the ingredients really well. The cabbage slaw stays crunchy even after it's grilled. That's what I love. It's a warm wrap but the veggies are not overcooked at all.
• The rice is just plain rice and it's seasoned with the sauce. The rice is more of that long grain white rice than Chinese style rice. It's cooked perfectly and gives the wrap another dimension of texture. Try this - you won't be disappointed.
• **Smoked Tomato with Corn Soup 5/6
  
• Homemade, and so creamy and flavourful. For me it was more of a chowder than a soup. It was hearty and filling and quite rich. There was celery, carrots, onions, tomato, corn and potatoes. I wish there was more corn though, they skimped out on that.

• It had a smokey taste and it tastes like they put cream cheese or sour cream in the soup as well. It was really really good. It had that sour cream/cream cheese taste and texture to it.
• Red Lentil (Vegan) 4/6
• Homemade again. also quite tasty. It tasted a little Indian - Indian for Westerners if I can say. There were onions, celery, carrots, and lentils and other spices and herbs. The lentils were really cooked so that it was almost a puree and broke down in the soup.

• This was very good and they really give you the flavour of the ingredients rather than watered down soup. It was very heavily lentil based, which is expected, but I would have appreciated a bit more of the other ingredients.

For your benefit as the menu isn't on the website, here are some additional wraps they offer but I haven't tried.

• Turkey Bacon Wrap
  
• smoked turkey, bacon, provolone, avocado, roasted red pepper, spinach, and sun-dried tomato pesto aioli
• Black Ban Baja Wrap
  
• rice, black beans, corn, cilantro, lime, tomato, assorted spices, chipotle sour cream, spinach, red and green peppers, mixed herbs and a four cheese blend
  

Applewood Country Gifts, Tea Room & Bakery

Restaurant: Applewood Country Gifts, Tearoom & Bakery
Cuisine: Brunch/Lunch/Teatime/Bakery

Last visited: August 30, 09

Area: Delta, BC

#112 - 6345 120th Street

Price Range: $10-20

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

Food: Sweet: 4 Savoury: 2

Service: 2

Ambiance: 6

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Very quaint, very cute, traditional country style tearoom
• Offers high tea - $20/person (Reservations required)
  
• Homemade foods, freshly baked goods
• Really "just like Grandma's..." kind of place
• Popular to locals, and female seniors
• Local/hidden gem (tucked away location)
• Baked goods really good, savoury items - pretty bad
  
• Homemade fudge
• Savoury and sweet items available to go
• Few savoury items seem to be made daily
• Everything is homemade, but also premade and sits there until ordered
  
• Child-like tea party feel
• Feels like you're in a movie
• Reservations recommended for high tea - gets busy
  

**Recommendation: Scones with devonshire cream and homemade jam, Cloverleaf buns, Rhubarb upside down cake, chocolate brownies

This is a local gem. It's tucked away in a corner and definitely gets it's business through word-of-mouth and supportive locals...majority retired. when you walk in here, you feel like you've entered the set of Gilmore Girls or some little girl's tea party somewhere in the country. It is a really cute place, with laundry on the walls, fine China, and a homemade bakery counter featuring homemade baked goods. Almost all items are homemade, but that doesn't mean made daily. The only things that are made daily are probably the cloverleaf rolls and maybe the scones. The savoury items sit pre-made in the counter and are microwaved upon order. I know the crepes are pre-made, because when they're out they're out. Nobody makes more of anything because everything is pre-made and simply reheated.

I've been here at least 10 times, more for the experience and especially for their scones. My last visit there was incredibly disappointing though, and may keep my away for a while until I can get over it. I try and stay focused on the food, but let me quickly note I had really poor service. the quaint decor is overwhelming that they even included it in my food...I ordered chicken and mushroom crepes and it came with 4 long strands of I think blanket lint? You know when wool blanket pill and you get long strands? Yes, it was really strange and really gross. I've never had a problem here until that day...I showed them and sent it back and ordered something else. To compensate for their mistake they gave me my SCONE for free. My SCONE!??! I ordered a $10 main + a scone, and they gave me a free scone? How does that work? They could and should have resolved the issue better - even by just sending out the owner to apologize. I recommend people to still check it out, but I'm very bitter about my last experience there. Before that time I advertised for it all the time.

On the table:

• **Scones "The Works" with Devonshire Cream and Jam 6/6
• Seasonal fruit and cheese scones available $2 to go $4.25 w/butter & jam $5.50 w/"the works"
  
• They offer around 3-4 flavours that change often: raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, cheese, rhubarb pecan (rare), raisin, strawberry etc.
• These scones are delicious. I honestly can't think of another place that can beat their scones. Their fresh and baked daily.
• They have really perfected their recipe for a great scone. They're nice and big and full of fruit. It's kind of cake-like, but not too cakey because there's surprisingly not that sweet. They sure look sweet, but they aren't, they must use less sugar. It tastes more biscuit-like, but has the texture of cake/bread rather than biscuit. It's not that crumbly kind of flaky scone, it's more soft and moist. The texture is great and they warm it up upon serving. It's their best baked good for sure.
• Make sure you order the scones with "the works" which means it includes jam and devonshire cream. It's hands down the best way to experience them!
  

• Devonshire cream: also know as clotted cream - it's heated up unpasteurized milk until it's thick and creamy and pale yellow in colour. The devonshire cream at Applewood is a quick imitation of the real thing. The texture isn't as thick as the real thing. It tastes like whipped cream mixed with mascarpone and I bet you this is what they did. The texture is too runny, but it still tastes good - it's just when you know what the real thing is, you can tell this one is a quick fix. It tastes like a slightly tangy whipped cream.

• Homemade jam: They're homemade jam is fabulous! You can buy it to take home as well. It's really fresh, but also quite sweet. It goes perfect with the scones because the scones themselves are not that sweet.
• 

• 

• Ham & Broccoli Quiche 2/6
• All the meals come with a side salad and their popular cloverleaf roll. The portion is pretty small and it's quite pricey at $10.

• Quiche is the best savoury item you can get there. Trust me I've tried almost all of them. It's homemade with a lot of ingredients. It's not even THAT good, but everything else is just really not good that this stands out.

• It's a bit overcooked and can come off a bit rubbery. Sure it's made in house, but doesn't mean it hasn't been sitting around for a while. I feel like they refrigerate it, and when someone orders it they simply throw it in the microwave. The ingredients are also really chunky so you feel like you're eating an omelette rather than a quiche.
• The Salad & Homemade dressings
• Just plain old pre-watched mixed greens from the grocery store.
  
• They have 2 options for the dressing. A raspberry vinaigrette and a lemon poppy seed dressing. The lemon poppy seed is much better, I think there's a touch of honey in it which rounds out all the flavours. Both dressings are homemade and you can buy them to go as well. The raspberry is a big tangy, and not really a vinaigrette - it's a bit thicker and creamier than a vinaigrette. They definitely used some sort of binder.
• **Cloverleaf Roll 6/6
  
• I really love these. It's the only thing I can almost guarantee they make fresh everyday. I am a little skeptical if all their other baked goods are - doesn't taste like it and they don't have the volume to make them daily.

• The cloverleaf roll is 3 types of buns combined to make one bun. The bun has 3 flavours - 1/3 multigrain, 1/3 cheese, 1/3 plain. They come warm with butter. The texture is amazing. Really good bread! It's really soft; my favourite side is the multigrain side.
• Mac n' Cheese 1/6
• Not good. It looks really really good, I know...which made it even more disappointing. It was flavourless and dry. It wasn't stringy or cheesy or anything. No cheese flavour at all. It has definitely been sitting there for a while because the top layer was really dry. I could make a better one at home for sure. The breadcrumb crust wasn't even flavourful. This was the most disappointing, because you expect a place like this to have really good mac n' cheese.
• Chicken and Mushroom Crepes
  
• Didn't try it because I found blanket lint in it...see above for the story if you haven't read it.
  
• Chicken Pot Pie 2/6
  
• Nothing special here. Just chicken pot pie, the Costco ones might be better. Again, these taste like they're frozen, put in the fridge to thaw, and then warmed in the microwave when ordered. It's a small round single serving (the size of those single serving frozen ones) and this meal costs $10 with the cloverleaf roll and side salad. Again, quite expensive.
• Spinach and Feta roll 2/6
  
• Pretty standard recipe, but again a bit dry. I didn't order it on this occasion and probably won't order it again.
  

  

• Almond Slice 2/6
  
• Looks better than it tastes. It's pretty small and costs $2.75.
  
• The pastry was really dense and not very flaky but really crumbly. Like a hard cookie or hard pie crust. It was also flavorless and really dry. The custard part was pretty good, and the icing was way too sweet and grainy in texture. There wasn't enough custard either. The ratio was off, too little custard, too much icing (too swet), too much crust (too dry). Too bad, because I love almond slices and almond desserts.
  
• Lemon Love Note
  
• Sweet and tart at the same time. More sweet than tart though. I ordered this because you can't really find it everywhere. It's one of those traditional classic desserts that people forget about. It was pretty good, but then again I can't really compare it to anywhere else because it's rarely on the menu.
• **Brownies
• Not the best brownie you've had in your life. But still really good, and very "grandma-like recipe". It's a traditional homestyle brownie, not a gourmet one. Rich, moist and chocolaty. People like to order them in multiples.
  
• The Tea
  
• They have a large variety of teas, but the quality isn't the best. The brand is not bad, and I guess for the price you pay it's reasonable. Not premium teas, but still good.
  
• Small pot: $2.50 Large pot: $5
• The table sugar is coloured - mix of regular sugar with some pastel pink, blue, and yellow sugar crystals. Really cute touch!
• The Fudge
  
• Complimentary sample that comes with your bill and you can buy it to go as well.
• I've had better fudge. These ones are a bit sugary for my liking and the flavours are too artificial.
  

Nice Cafe

Spinach & Feta Omelette with hash browns and toast


Restaurant: Nice Cafe
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/Diner

Last visited: August 30, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC

154 East 8th Ave

Price Range: $10 or less

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

Food: 2

Service: 2

Ambiance: 1

Overall: 2

Additional comments:

• Focus on breakfast/brunch items - lunch available
  
• Attracts locals/regulars/hipsters
• Whole menu under $10 - really cheap breakfast
• Go back because it's cheap, not because it's good
  
• Line-ups/crowded
• Very casual
• No fuss, simple breakfast
• Fresh hash browns grated in house, homemade jam
• Overcooked pancakes & eggs
• Most of it was overcooked
  
• Chocolate milk is powdered chocolate milk
  

**Recommendation: I guess the hash browns, because they're fresh not frozen. They also do a good job soft poaching eggs (upon request).

I would come back to Nice Cafe because it was cheap, but not really because the food was good. I wasn't expecting gourmet food, but I was expecting a bit more because it's always busy. It's a standard breakfast you would expect to get at any small diner breakfast joint. It's the non-chain version of any other breakfast chain...if that makes sense? It's crowded and busy and you can tell it's frequently visited by locals that live nearby. For a foodie - this place is a no-go, but if you're not picky about your breakfast and just want something cheap and filling then come here. I would rather pay a couple bucks more for something better...breakfast is relatively cheap anyways.

On the table:

• Traditional Sausage & Egg Breakfast 1.5/6
• 2 eggs, 2 sausages, hash browns, 2 slices of toast
• Eggs a bit overcooked for my liking, too rubbery
  
• Sausages - the breakfast sausages you buy in a package from Superstore
• Hash browns - the best part for me, fresh not frozen - shredded in house, and you can tell because sometimes you'll come across a chunk of potato (the chunk is actually the end piece of the potato that is too small to grate)
• Traditional Ham & Egg Breakfast 1.5/6
• 2 eggs, ham, hash browns, 2 slices of toast
• Again eggs are overcooked. You can tell by the picture they're overcooked.
  
• Ham is standard. Hash browns were the best part.
• Pancakes 1/6
  
• 3 pancakes for around $4.95
• They taste better at McDonald's. If you want rubber tires for breakfast you should order these. They were so tough and I had to saw through them with my knife. They're tasteless and really flat. Need to eat it with a lot of syrup and butter. Overcooked and not fluffy at all. Don't order these - so horrible. they should have been free.

  

• Alberni Benny 3/6
  
• Smoked salmon benny served with hash browns.
• For this type of restaurant, this was a good attempt - not that they really tried to make it extra good or anything. It was one of the better things we ordered. The hollandaise sauce is from a powder and it's really runny and watery in texture. What made up for it was the poached eggs. We requested them to be cooked soft and they did a great job in ensuring this. They were quite perfect, the knife sliced into them perfectly - probably the only thing they didn't overcook.
• Spinach & Feta Omelette 1.5/6
  
• The spinach they use isn't even baby spinach...AND they included the stems. You should always use baby spinach and never include the stems when you're using it in an omelette. I felt like I was eating a lot of plain spinach that was blanched in hot water with an egg wrapped around it. More spinach than it is an omelette.
• The Feta was a shredded Feta and it was the only thing giving this omelette flavour - hint of saltiness. They call all their omelettes "fluffy" omelettes, but they aren't as you can tell. You can tell by the picture that they overcooked our omelette, just like they did with our pancakes and scrambled eggs too. Even by overcooking our omelette they still didn't manage to melt the Feta cheese...I could have made a better one at home.

Raffles Cafe

Restaurant: Raffles Cafe
Cuisine: American
Last visited: August 27, 09

Area: Las Vegas - Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
3950 Las Vegas Blvd
Price Range: $10-20

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

Additional comments:

• Open 24 hours
• Menu shows signature items
• Casual dining
• A nice 24 hour restaurant (not fast food 24 hours)
• Offers breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner/late night
  
• Tropical (borderline tacky) decor
• Huge portions
  

**Recommendation: Banana and Pecan Stuffed French Toast, Raffles Signature Dessert Burger and Exotic Coconut Pancakes which I didn't order, but have heard rave reviews about.

I only tried 2 things on the menu so I don't think it's fair to give it a full review. Therefore I'm only going to focus on the things that I ordered - which were freakin delicious!! I need to give them their own review. I went at 4am and I didn't have my camera on me, which I totally regret because I can't seem to find a picture of these anywhere. The pictures would speak for themselves - you'd definitely want to book your tickets to Sin City if you saw the pics. I hope my description and review does these 2 items justice. For a 24 hour restaurant the chef is wide awake, because the food is fresh, unique, and there was even presentation - which I don't expect from a 24 hour diner.

On the table:

• **Banana and Pecan Stuffed French Toast 6/6
  
• This french toast was soooo soft and fluffy! It was almost like they used brioche bread. It was thick slices of brioche bread dipped in an egg batter and lightly fried. Then sandwiches between the slices of bread was the thick creamy custard! It was soo decadent and indulgent! Really rich and heavy so you can't eat it by yourself - such a treat! The bananas are cut up in slices, so not mashed and they're slightly cooked and warm and then placed on top of the french toast with toasted pecans. The whole thing is sprinkled with icing sugar.
  
• This is definitely a dessert! It's one of their signature items and it rightfully earns a spot because it's so amazing. We ordered it with chocolate and vanilla ice cream - it's good with or without ice cream - it's just amazing. The custard is thick enough to not ooze out on it's own, but it oozes out when you poke your fork into it. I'm drooling...
• **Raffles Signature Dessert Burger 6/6
  
• (I don't think it's the official name, but I can't find the full menu)
  
• This is another signature item! Thank god I remember the description because I can't find it anywhere. This was such a creative dessert and it really deserves attention. Great concept! Kudos to the chef for creating it. Very well executed.
• The dessert came in a mini burger - the size of a slider. It totally looked like a beef slider. The "bun" was made of a homemade sesame pound cake. The "cheese" was a thin slice of apple flavoured jello (at least that's what it tasted like). The "burger patty" was some sort of frozen chocolate mousse. I think there was also a hint of raspberry coulis for ketchup.
  
• Wow! This was really really good. It held together really well and didn't crumbly apart or anything. It was nice and sturdy like an actually burger. It wasn't even messy to eat. The apple cheese thing was soo unique - I've never had anything like this. Teh combination of flavours worked really well and the pound cake was delicious! I'm glad the portion was a bit smaller because it was just enough to satisfy. So impressed with this dessert coming from a 24 hour restaurant.
• It also came with "fries" - which were deep fried pastries that looked exactly like fries. They were dusted with icing sugar and it came with "ketchup" or raspberry coulis for dipping. These "fries" were not good though - they tasted like nothing. They help in the presentation and complete the concept and that's about it.
• Exotic Coconut Pancakes
• I didn't order these but I hear really good things about them. I'm ordering them for sure next time.
  

The Bread Company

Restaurant: The Bread Company
Cuisine: Bakery/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/American
Last visited: August 15, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
363 Bernard Ave
Price Range: $10-20

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

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Serves breakfast and light lunches
• Order and pay at cashier, food brought to your table
  
• Cafe and catering
• Casual cafe, but more gourmet than The Bohemian Bagel across the street
  
• Focus on freshly baked breads and pastries
• Artisan breads
• No refined sugars in breads
• Only vegetable/olive oil used in breads
• Loaves to go
• Familiar to locals, line-ups, busy
  
• Toonie Tuesday Lattes

**Recommendation: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Fig & Anise Loaf, stuffed French toast is popular too, but I didn't try it.

So I tried this restaurant for brunch the next day. It's across the street from The Bohemian Bagel, and it's casual but not as laid back. The baked breads are definitely more artisan breads and better than the homemade bread baked at The Bohemian Bagel. You don't get as much of that "home cooked" feel as you do at The Bohemian Bagel, but I thought overall their food was a bit better. The Bohemian Bagel offers food lighter than pub food, but heartier than The Bread Company. The breads at The Bread Company look amazing and they taste great! I wish you could sample them before buying them though. All baked goods are in the display cases so you can seen everything and order/pay at the cashier. For hot food, they give you a number after you pay and serve you at your table.

On the table:

• **Lemon Ricotta Pancakes 6/6
  
• One of their signature items! Signature pancakes made with lemon and ricotta cheese, served with fresh blueberry compote and maple syrup.

• These were so good! I enjoyed them a bit more than the oatmeal blueberry pancakes I had at The Bohemian Bagel. They were the same style pancakes though, 3 mini pancakes that are nice and moist - not the thick traditional kind. The ricotta cheese is very light in the pancake batter and it adds more in terms of texture than it does in flavour.
  
• Adding ricotta to pancakes makes them really tender and delicious! This pancake has a nice weight and is not heavy - the lemon and lemon zest added a great dimension of flavour and lightened up the whole dish. You can really taste the subtle hint of lemon zest, it brightened everything up. The blueberry compote was also great! Naturally sweet and thick - a good amount was served on top of the pancakes. Not too much, and not too little - just enough to not make your pancakes soggy and just enough to balance out all the flavours so that nothing was overpowering.
• Banana Walnut Pancakes 2/6
  
• Signature pancakes made with banana and walnuts served with banana compote (more like mashed bananas) and maple syrup.

• The ricotta lemon pancakes were better. The banana compote served on top was a little like baby food to me. It was mushed up bananas served on top, which means it turned brown in colour and ruined the presentation. You could tell it was fresh and nothing was added, but it just didn't look that appetizing. The bananas were really ripe too, so the whole dish was a bit sweet. The pancakes have a really subtle banana flavour - not like banana bread or anything - good pieces of walnuts in them too, which it really needed otherwise everything just tasted too mushy and you get sick of it quickly.
• *Honey-Cured Ham & Havarti Frittata 4/6
  
• eggs, ham, Havarti, sauteed apples, sage and leeks, served with hashbrowns or "home fries" and buttered toast

• This was good but they should call it an omelette rather than a frittata. It tasted like an omelette. It was heavy on the honey ham and Havarti. The Harvarti was just slices melted all over the top instead of incorporated in - so yes it was good becuase you can see how much you're getting, but I think it would have been better if it was incorporated into the eggs, as well as a little on top for presentation sake.
  
• I couldn't taste the apples at all. I wish I did though because it would have added a sweet note that would really make this "fritatta" a stand out! The leeks were really nice and I actually even bit into some zucchini (found in their Feta & roasted vegetable frittata), which is weird because zucchini isn't meant to be an ingredient for this frittata. I still liked it though. If I went in knowing it would be an omelette and if I could have tasted the apples which would have enhanced the leek and sage flavour more this would make it as one of my recommendations...too bad it didn't...so I gave it one star.
• The "home fries" were just fried up diced potatoes - so a fancy hashbrown.
• We had this with multi-grain toast - their multi-grain is great! You can really taste the grains and it has this amazing crust. Nice and chewy with great texture! Can eat this on its own - doesn't need anything else on it.
• Pumpkin & Pecan soup 5/6
  
• A gourmet soup that is delicious! Nice pieces of pecans in it, I'm surprised they didn't sink to the bottom - small enough to float and big enough to see. Great flavour and homemade...WAY better than the soups offered at The Bohemian Bagel.
  
• **Fig & Anise Bread 6/6
  
• I won't say much about it here because it's so good I'm giving it its own review. I even bought a loaf home at around $5. But it is worth it because you can taste the quality.

Le Grande Orange Cafe

Pasadena, California

Restaurant: Le Grande Orange Cafe
Cuisine: American/Californian
Last visited: August 9, 09

Area: Pasadena, California
260 S. Raymond Ave
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 4
Service: 5
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Californian style, rustic contemporary atmosphere, bold flavours
  
• Fusion influence - Mexican, Japanese & Californian mix
• Focused on mostly organic & fresh ingredients
• The only freezer space hold homemade gelato & ice cream
• Hearty comfort food in a contemporary setting
• Familiar to locals and regulars
• Large portions
• Restaurant & Catering
• Serves breakfast, brunch, lunch & dinner
• Opentable.com "Diners' Choice Winner of 2009"
• "Best new restaurant in Pasadena" - Arroyo Parkway News
  
• Complimentary cookies at the door (from the in house bakery)
  
• Children under 12 eat free 4-6pm everyday and all day until 6pm on Sunday
• After 6pm the crowd is age 30+, attracts late night crowd
  

**Recommendation: Gilled Ahi tuna taco platter, English muffins

I came upon this restaurant while I was doing research on excellent Californian restaurants - that wasn't a chain. I'm glad I cam across this one. Its very reasonably priced for what it is, and the portions are again very large. The waiter recommended us to order a taco platter each, which thank goodness we didn't, because it would have been way too much! Mind you we still ordered quite a bit, as I usually do =). I didn't get to try as much as I wanted to, but the food, service, and atmosphere is good enough that I would revisit it. Whether its breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner they offer local favourites no matter what time of day. They also have an in house catering section offering savoury items as well as freshly baked goods. This is a large restaurant that's always busy, with big tables, portions, and flavours!

On the table:

• Deviled Eggs 3/6
• This is a cafe favorite, offered during brunch, lunch and dinner...so I had to order it
• To be honest, I've had better. It was good, but it's just I've had better. Its not like there was some flavour in there that I couldn't put my finger on, it was just a well put together deviled egg, smooth in texture...a classic deviled egg served with rustic presentation. I guess I was just expecting more.
• **Grilled Ahi Tuna Taco platter 5/6
  
• Sushi grade ahi tuna grilled rare with chipotle aioli. Served with black beans, basmati rice, guacamole, charred salsa, and homemade corn tortillas (made-to-order)
• This was the best thing we ordered. The portion or picture may look small, but its actually really big especial when you start eating it. Nice big pieces of ahi tuna that is cut to fit the size of one taco. Seared on the outside and still nice and rare on the inside. The soft corn tortilla shells are made in house and upon order and are absolutely delicious and warm. Definitely a traditional tortilla recipe and experienced chef/cook that's making these. They are miniature and they serve you 4 at a time and they're unlimited.
• We needed about 8 mini tortillas to finish one platter. All the ingredients come separate so you can build your own taco - this is the ideal way to serve a platter becuase then you can actually see the quality and amount of ahi tuna you are getting. You only want to put one piece of ahi tuna in each taco because you want a good ratio of stuffing to tortilla.
• The chipotle aioli was a key ingredient to making this taco platter stand out.
• At $19USD it's well worth it!
• Short Rib Taco platter 3/6
• Served with pico de gallo, black beans, basmati rice, guacamole, charred salsa, and homemade corn tortillas (made-to-order)
• This was enjoyable, but I prefer the ahi tuna tacos. The waiter recommended this one after the ahi tuna tacos so we took his advice.
  
• The short ribs had a nice charred, hickory flavour. It wasn't dry, but if anything it was a tad bit on the drier side for me. But its ok because with the pico de gallo and guacamole it didn't matter.
• Station Cafe Tuna Burger 2/6
  
• Description on menu: "best ever" pan-seared medium rare with avocado
• My description: pan-seared medium rare tuna PATTY...so much filler.
• I was so disappointed because I felt the quality was lost because it was a patty. The tuna was all grinded up, so there were other fillers in there which sucks. It wasn't gross or anything, but it could have been so much better! At least the patty is as big as the bun though, which is really big. You get a generous amount of avocado slices, a big slice of beefsteak tomato, and shredded lettuce. You get the chipotle aoili that comes with the ahi tuna tacos with it as well. I also put some charred tomato salsa on my burger which made it better. On the side it comes with coleslaw, which is just your standard coleslaw. No unique twist to this.
  
• JOEY'S Ahi Tuna burger is MUCH MUCH better.
• Side of Mac n' Cheese 2/6
  
• Fresh, made in house mac and cheese, you get a regular sized bowl for $3USD
  
• Not that cheesy in flavour though because it wasn't a cheddar cheese they used. They used a white cheese, so it didn't taste that cheesy, which is disappointing - again I've had better...when I order a mac and cheese I want it to taste cheesy...wouldn't order this again
• **English Muffins
  
• They're their FAMOUS LGO English Muffins
  
• I saw these in their display case in the bakery corner, but I didn't get to order them
• You can take them to go 1/2 dozen for $9USD
• Will definitely try it next time, I wanted to try them fresh, and I was there for dinner, so I didn't feel like it would be fair to write a review on their famous English muffins from the end of the day.

Drinks

• Sangria

• I saw a lot of tables with pitchers of these. I didn't try it, but I'm not sure if it was good or if its just a good deal. A pitcher is $19USD and it serves 5. A glass is $6USD.
  
• I'm really biased with Sangria though because I lived in Europe for half a year and my Spanish flatmates spoiled us with homemade authentic Sangria

Dessert

• Red Velvet Cake
• Didn't get to try it, but I really really wanted to!! I saw people ordering it and it looks so rich and dense! It came with a big scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream too. This cake looked amazing. Next time!
• Olive Oil Cake
• Didn't see anyone ordering it, but I want to try it, so next time I will try it.
• Complimentary door cookies
• These are fresh from their bakery
• They are mini and you can take them as you wish at the front door.
  
• They had chocolate chip, white chocolate cranberry, peanut, and oatmeal raisin
• All were nice and chewy - the best was white chocolate cranberry.