There has been a proliferation of early day meal service restaurants on the North Shore in recent years. Lift Breakfast Bakery, Table 153, Meat at O’Neill’s, Douce Diner: all have a stake in the breakfast and lunch game, capitalizing on the global meta-trend of elevated classic fare, or, put another way, the seemingly insatiable appetite of diners to see familiar, even nostalgic, typically homemade dishes like French toast reinterpreted with more worldly influences.
Some of these new places are decidedly high concept, boasting of blue chip culinary pedigrees or rare and prized ingredients in their fare. Accordingly, it is not uncommon to see $30 or even $40 per head bills in these venues, especially in those where diners are prone to embrace add-ons, like freshly squeezed orange juice or mimosas, Beyond Meat protein alternatives, or sides of fresh fruit. Established venues like Boulevard, Cindy’s and The Bakehouse have long enjoyed the fruits of their daytime labours.
Meanwhile, quietly building a loyal following with reasonably priced, made-to-order fare served just off the beaten path, is Daisy Sandwiches & Such, a warm and unpretentious café-style eatery off Lloyd Avenue in a commercial neighbourhood of North Vancouver. Daisy is not far from where I live and so I have, over the years, dropped in from time to time to keep up with the odd menu update. The small, three-table patio out front is a peaceful spot for a late-morning meal on a sunny weekday while the colourful earth tone and wooden-accented interior offers a welcoming sanctuary from the winter rain.
I know from correspondence with the café’s owner, Brigitte Besner, following my original column on Daisy back in 2014, that the approach of the business is to operate as though every patron is earning entry-level wages and is seeking exceptional value from their hard-earned money. In so doing, Besner and husband David (who mans the kitchen on the early shift), hold themselves to a consistent standard of output, offering accessible breakfast and lunch fare with thoughtful additions but without crossing the line into the esoteric or unaffordable.
For instance, on my most recent visit, a stop-over on my way into work, I ordered Eggs Benny made with spicy candied bacon and avocado. The elements of the plate were classic: medium-toasted English muffin topped with cured pork protein (the original Eggs Benedict recipe, also on offer here, uses ham), soft-to-medium poached eggs (I’m sorry, but if the egg yolks don’t run onto the plate when poked with a fork, the dish does not qualify as Benedict), and Hollandaise sauce. Here, the requisite cured pork took the form of truly delicious bacon brined with a touch of sugar, imparting a unique sweetness and pleasantly chewier texture, and chili flakes, which cut through the sweetness and contributed a noticeable but not overwhelming bite on the back palate. Slices of fresh avocado (not too soft) added richness and texture, while the expertly made Hollandaise was subtle and silky, not overly viscous, and revealed only the faintest hint of citrus. Hash-browned potatoes were simple and classic, one centimetre cubes with a crispy exterior and soft interior. Jumpin’ Johnny’s hot sauce (made nearby on Welch Avenue) is placed on every table; the mouth-puckering, cumin-heavy sauce is a great boost to the hash browns.
Impressively, despite getting hit with a breakfast rush of about five simultaneous tables right upon opening, my Benny took fewer than 10 minutes to arrive and featured textbook perfect poached eggs, yolks ready to burst.
Daisy clients, many of whom are neighbouring business staff and contractors working on local jobs, have become regulars over the restaurant’s eight years of operation. The place can be hopping early in the morning and quite often swells to capacity during lunch service, when a roster of eponymous sandwiches (the category includes chicken burgers), soups and salads comes to life.
Patrons initially order from the counter and then dishes are run to tables by front of house staff. Breakfast items start at $5.75 (for a well-portioned Breakfast Burger made with fried egg, black forest ham, lettuce, tomato, cheese and mayo on a Kaiser bun) and top out at $14 for the candied bacon Benny described above. Lunch items are priced between $4 and $13, with most dishes falling in the $8 range. If you need a break from breakfast as high concept and want a down-to-earth, good value homemade meal, Daisy’s is likely going to hit the spot.
Daisy Sandwiches & Such closes at 2:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday and is closed on Sundays and holidays.
Daisy Sandwiches & Such, 1089 Roosevelt Crescent, North Vancouver. Daisysandwiches.com.
Sound Bite
Lower Lonsdale continues to transform at breakneck speed.
I have had many inquiries from readers about the status of beloved pizzeria, Il Castello, on East 2nd Street. The restaurant has had a “closed for renovations” sign up for a very long time and details about re-opening have been sparse. A recent news release cleared up the mystery: the space is to be taken over by cult pizza powerhouse Farina, the original location of which is on Main Street on the border of Chinatown. The new venue, to be called Farina Pizza a Legna, is a collaboration between the group responsible for East Van/Chinatown juggernauts Ask for Luigi, diBeppe, and Pourhouse, as well as the family behind revered Gastown coffee house Revolver. The venue was scheduled to open at the end of August, but the venue’s social media sites promise an opening “very soon” at the time of publication.
The North Shore’s pizza game is exploding. The awesome Nicli Antica is already trucking away in Edgemont Village, while the beloved, diminutive Denman Street favourite, Nook, is poised to open another location down at the Shipyards. Nook serves stellar wood fired pizza along with a thoughtful menu of crostini, creative antipasti, and housemade pasta. Meanwhile, North Shore success story Bowen Island Pizza is putting the final touches on its renovated space down at Lonsdale Quay.
