Weekend One Hundred and Thirty Two: Floyd's Take Away

Today after leaving our secret location for a dog walk, we saw that Floyd's had reopened. The menus were posted in the window, the servers took our order at one door, and the food was available for pickup at a different door. Very good social distancing! We checked out the menu, and we found some favourites. After a photo opportunity with the #BeardedMuppetDog, our food was ready! We scampered home, popped it onto plates, and enjoyed Floyd's at our own kitchen table.

Catie chose theTraditional Benny, adding two strips of bacon instead of the sliced ham, while I selected the BC Hash, featuring bacon and sausage, eggs, onions, and peppers. My meal was huge! In related news, it tastes really good the next day, heated up for another breakfast! The coin-sliced potatoes were crispy, and the cheese/salsa quantities were just right. Catie especially enjoyed the Hollandaise sauce, and said the bacon was a delicious upgrade.

All in all, breakfast from Floyd's in our kitchen was pretty great! Will it be tasty at your kitchen table too?

Weekend One Hundred and Thirty One: Shine Cafe Delivers

Social distancing stylez continue as Covid 19 dominates our lives, but brunch survives! This entry takes place within our secret location.

Shine Cafe is open and bring you food, literally, they deliver or you can pick up. Dave and I choose delivery. I had the Cali Benny and Dave had the Breakfast Hash. Our brunch was delicious and filling. The hollandaise travelled well, just like the rest of the food. 

It's a super challenging time, but brunch from a fantastic local restaurant really helps! Thanks Shine!

Shine Cafe, 1548 Fort Street

Weekend One Hundred and Thirty: Brunch with the Morning People

We left our secret location for a seemingly normal dog walk. Bearded Muppet Dog lead us across the park in his normal fashion and followed his nose into Cook Street Village. Before we realized, he was moving us towards a gated courtyard. A brightly coloured food truck with chalkboard menus and cheerful umbrella was in the alcove waiting to serve up breakfast. 

They are called the Morning People. They have local, ethically sourced food and it smelled delicious. I decided upon the "I just had the best dream" Sandwich with added bacon and a $1 coffee ($1 when ordered with a sandwich), while Dave chose the Smashed Hash with added sausage. Initially, we weren't sure we were cool enough to eat here, but the friendly staff made us feel totally welcome. They take all forms of payment (cash, debit, visa), so don't worry about having the correct kind of money. 

We picked a little table and took in the sights of Cook Street while we waited, which wasn't long. Our food arrived quickly and disappeared quickly too. My sandwich was the best dream. It had enough sauce to be tasty, but not too much to ruin the structural integrity of the sandwich or make the greens slimy. The egg was cooked perfectly too. The coffee is from Cafe Fantastico and is an added bonus. Dave's Smashed Hash was covered nicely in the delish garlic aioli and he truly enjoyed the added sausage. The peppers, onions, and mushrooms were super tasty and his potatoes disappeared so quickly, he isn't sure where they all went.

The Morning People tell us that they will be in the courtyard at 325 Cook Street for a while, Wednesday to Sunday from 8am to 3pm. Check them out and get some breakfast! They make awesome food at good prices and supporting local shops is the bomb!

The Morning People - Food Truck, now at 325 Cook Street Courtyard. 

Street Food App for their location.

Weekend One Hundred and Twenty Nine: Coffee, Sandwiches, and Pastry around the town

This weekend we continue with our social distancing theme. We want to support our local brunch business, so we left our secret location to sample the morning offerings around downtown.

First on our tour is Frankie's. Dave's sister, Jane told us they have a good and cheap breakfast sandwich. Jane was right, the sandwiches are delish!

Next on our tour is Union Cafe! I sampled the brie and pesto crossiant and a coffee while Dave had the ham and swiss crossiant. Yum!

Starting to feel full, we visited Le Roux. We saw the cinnamon danishes and had to stop. Total Yum!

Finally, on our way home we stopped at Fresko Cafe. They don't sell European food, but the do make and sell super delicious Latin American food. We picked up some sweet pastry, but ate it at home because we were so full. Dave heartily recommends the Cuban Sandwich!

Weekend One Hundred and Twenty Eight: New York Fries at MayFair Mall

This "brunch" was devoured pre covid. Stay safe and keep distancing!

We left our secret location and were searching for magic hair potion. Our travels took us to the exotic lands of Mayfair Mall. After finding the potion, we realized that we were hungry from our adventures. What luck! The food court was open!

We had eaten at New York Fries before, and we knew of their creative poutine selection. We went all in, ordering both the Pulled Pork Poutine and the Butter Chicken Poutine.

After carefully sampling both offerings, we were in agreement. The Pulled Pork Poutine was better than the Butter Chicken Poutine. Compared to the barbecue-y spicy flavour of the pulled pork, the butter chicken poutine was anemic.

Now you know, dear readers - pulled pork poutine for the win!

New York Fries at MayFair Mall, 3147 Douglas St

Weekend One Hundred and Twenty Seven: Heron Rock Social Distancing

Well, Covid is still here and social distancing is something that we need to do. We also need to support our local businesses, so this post reflects those two ideas.

The brunch location that Dave and I most visit during normal times is Heron Rock. Dave loves the Huevos Cubanos and I super heart the Blue Cheese and Bacon Benny. The late night happy hour is also phenomenal and you should check it out, now or when things are normal! And you can check it out now because Heron Rock is doing take out and delivery of their food and drinks. Please support Heron Rock or insert your favourite local business here.
Heron Rock staff are amazing and taking extraordinary precautions to keep themselves and customers safe. Remember to tip your server even though it is takeout or delivery.

Dave and I called as soon as Heron Rock opened (10am everyday, as of now). We ordered our favourite brunch foods then ran up and picked up our food. Dress weather appropriate because you will be waiting outside.
We ran our food back to our secret location and unpacked the goodies. Inside we found thoughtfully packed food to keep everything from getting mushy. My eggs were cooked medium, the english muffin was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, the hollandaise sauce was delish (as always), and my potatoes were top notch. Dave's Hash was just as you would have in Heron Rock itself. Totally Tasty.

It's a rough time for everyone, including small local business. If you can, order some food; it will make you feel better too.

Heron Rock Bistro, 4-435 Simcoe St
Check the website for menu and take out info.


On a similar note, Jones BBQ is doing take out and delivery. Check their website for more info!

Weekend One Hundred and Twenty Six: Rum Runner

This "brunch" was devoured pre covid. Stay safe and keep distancing!

It was a sunny day, and our friends DES and NMBL from Motorcycle Hammock Camping were in town. We planned to meet up and go for a motorcycle ride through the wilds of Saanich, ending up at the Surly Mermaid for their tacos. Everything was going well - our helmet radios worked well together, the sun was sunny, and the roads were uncrowded, and after a while, we ended up in Sidney.

However, the Surly Mermaid had a 45 minute wait. That's too long, as NMBL and DES had to catch the ferry back to the mainland. Fortunately, the Rumrunner Pub shares a parking lot with the Surly Mermaid, and it had a much shorter wait. We even got a table by the window!

It was a late brunch by our standards, and our menu selections tended more to the "unch" than the "br" of the name. I had the Cuban Sandwich with a Caesar salad, while Catie enjoyed the beef burger and yam fries. DES was particularly excited by the beer and brie soup, which he accompanied with the all-in grilled cheese special, and NMBL the fish burger and a salad. The food arrived pretty quickly, considering how busy the restaurant had become, and we settled in to eat. Good company and good eats made this a nice mid-ride stop-off, and I'm sure that it would be just as enjoyable if you, dear readers, met here after a Sunday drive.

We hope to make it to the Surly Mermaid one day, but we were happy to end up at the Rumrunner!

Rum Rummer Pub, 9881 Seaport Place Sidney

Weekend One Hundred and Twenty Five: Social Isolation Brunch

For this brunch we stayed in our secret location and shared brunch with Andrew and Jen in their secret location. This brunch takes place in the Covid-19 world where we are all asked to practice social distancing to "flatten the curve".

Dave, myself, Jen, and Andrew utilized facetime (but you can use your favourite video chatting service). This was Andrew's first video chat experience. We all prepared brunch while chatting. Catie and Jen both drank tea while Andrew had coffee (two cups!) and Dave had orange juice.

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Andrew and Jen made Andrew's famous hash: peppers, celery, potatoes, cheese, and bacon. They also had over medium eggs, bacon, and maple syrup.
Catie and Dave made Potato Pancakes with sour cream and salsa verde and bacon. Dave ate his bacon while the potato pancakes was cooking. It was super tasty.

We all enjoyed our breakfasts and the chatter over the video chatting, even River dog and Charlie dog got into it.

Stay healthy out there!

Weekend One Hundred and Twenty Four: Sunnyside Cafe

This is an unexpected brunch. We left our secret location to look at motorcycles with my Mom and Dad. My Dad is in the market for a new-to-him motorcycle and thought he might find it at Action Motorcycles. Dave and I showed up a bit early and were drawn to the Sunnyside Cafe below Action Motorcycles by the delicious smells.

It is a small and unassuming space. It is homey and cool at the same time, chalk boards and rumpus room wood paneling. The ladies behind the counter were patient while we decided our order then quickly prepared our order.

Dave ordered the Breaky Burrito ($13.50) and I ordered the Buccaneer Benny (half order $11.50) and a coffee. The food was super tasty. Dave devoured his burrito and enjoyed every mouth full. I loved my benny. I can't get enough of a hollandaise, cheese, and avacado combo. I could have used more hollandaise sauce. I really like when there is enough for every mouth full. Dave and I both agreed that the hash browns for be crispier. But over all is was super.

My parents followed their noses and found us in the Sunnyside Cafe. They decided to join us and funnily enough ordered the same meals we had. You can see them in the photo behind Dave ordering their food. They agreed this place provides a solid YUM.



Sunnyside Cafe, 101-1234 Esquimalt Road