Saturday morning, a line-up of hungry patrons gathered outside Milano Coffee in Gastown, ready to find brunch bites throughout the neighbourhood. Organized by Vancouver Foodster, Dine Out Vancouver Festival Gastown Brunch Crawl invites diners to pick up a passport to explore the restaurants and cafes offering a tasting of their brunch menu.
Gastown’s restaurant scene is a varied one and the dishes on Brunch Crawl showed off the diversity.
Starting at Milano guests were treated to a sweet and tart bite from The Lemon Square before being poured a Butter Espresso or Velvet Cortado.
Then down the street to Lily Mae’s Comfort Cafe for some BBQ Pork Grits, Orange Cardamom French Toast and a shot of fresh Beet, Carrot & Ginger juice.
Around the corner, Jules Bistro’s served their french fare of Salmon Croissant, Mini Quiche, Cassoulet and Chocolate Terrine with Minted Oranges
At the corner of Hastings & Abbott we found the Jamaican Blue Cold Brew Truck serving Cold (or hot for a drizzly day) Coffee.
Then Purebread Bakery served up a table full of their scrumptious fresh-baked treats and a take-away box of Mexican Hot Chocolate with “Chubbie Nuts”.
Brioche Eatery dished up a hearty plate of Lobster & Crab Ravioli in a Pesto Rose Sauce, Pasta Salsiccia with Tomato & Pork, Eggplant Parmigiana and fall-off-the-bone Sicillian-style Ribs.
The mediterranean influence of Salida 7 Spanish Kitchen & Bar was felt in their plate of Salt Cod Croquetta, Sardine Montadito with White Bean Puree, Spanish Tortilla and a Fennel Salad.
Wrapping up at Rodney’s Oyster House, they showed they serve more than just oysters with a choice of a Smoked Salmon Croque Madam or Crab Cake Eggs Benedict.
After the tour around Gastown, Brunch Crawl gave more than just a taste of the neighbourhood it filled the patrons stomachs and built anticipation for the other upcoming Brunch Crawls, each weekend morning during Dine Out Vancouver Festival.