Cafe Medina

We've been to Café Medina before, but haven't blogged about it yet, so we decided to rectify that last weekend!

As usual, there was a lineup, and we ended up having to wait for about half an hour before we were able to get a table, but it was worth it for the food that awaited us inside.

 

We each started off with one of their delicious waffles and added the dark chocolate dipping sauce.

Waffle + Dark Chocolate Topping

Their waffles are incredibly tasty, so light and chewy, and the dark chocolate is decadently delicious, a perfect combination. 

For our mains, flowerbunny had the Cassoulet:

 

Cassoulet - 2 fried eggs on baked beans, saussison

de Paris, double smoked bacon, and andouille. 

Grilled foccacia

The eggs at Café Medina are always perfectly done, and this is no exception.  Of the sausages, the andouille was definitely my favourite, nice and spicy.  The bacon was a bit underwhelming, as texturally it wasn't very crispy, perhaps because it was sitting in the beans.  The flavour also seemed to be less smoky than I'm used to.  The baked beans were outstanding, really nice and not too sweet like the version you get out of a can.  The foccacia is nice and fluffy and great for mopping up the leftover sauce.

I had the famous fricasse:

Fricasse - 2 fried eggs, braised short ribs, roasted

potatoes, caramelized onions, arugula, and smoked

applewood cheddar.  Grilled foccacia

This is perhaps their most well known dish, and for good reason: it's about as good as breakfast can get.  The short ribs, the perfectly cooked sunny side up eggs, the potatoes, the onions - everything combines to create one of the best signature dishes in Vancouver.  The arugula adds a nice hint of peppery-ness, and the cheddar adds some smokiness to it.  Not listed on the menu is the chunks of apple that are also in this dish.  They add a nice bite sweet refreshing crispiness that provides a welcome counterpart to the savory short ribs.

Overall Impressions: As long as you're ok with waiting in line, Café Medina remains a must-try brunch spot in Vancouver.  Make sure to try the waffles and the fricasse.

Café Medina

556 Beatty St.

Vancouver, BC

604.879.3114

http://www.medinacafe.com/home/