I left my recent breakfast at Glory Juice Co. feeling nourished, sated but not stuffed, and more than a little righteous, if I’m being totally honest.
The highlight of my meal, the most important of the day, they say, was a Glory Bowl with cauliflower and quinoa.
Now look, I dig a big juicy breakfast sausage, crispy bacon, and eggs smothered in Hollaindaise as much as anyone, but this meal was a departure, a journey into creative cooking that left me wanting nothing, including, as is sadly so often the case with self-professed healthy and organic fare, bolder flavour.
Glory Juice Co. occupies a space that perfectly symbolizes its approach to food: clean, bright, uncluttered, and warmly accented, revealing both intelligence and personality.
Truthfully, I did not expect to enjoy my meal half as much as I did, as I had made assumptions about the business based on the glowing yogi clientele and prolific use of lentils, hemp and fermented things that I had observed in casual passing since its recent opening. These assumptions were prejudicial; Glory’s food is really good and, as it happens, wholly without pretence.
I took the family there for what was meant to be a juice or two and possibly a very light breakfast on a recent Sunday morning. We arrived to find the spacious, high-ceilinged, bathed-in-white spot sparsely occupied despite the daunting brunch queues at nearby, signature Vancouver casual chain locations, including Browns just at the end of the block. We installed ourselves at the far end of a long, crisply white communal table and went to browse the menu; at Glory you order and pay at the till.
Menu selections range from light liquid fare like cold-pressed juices and potent health boosting juice shots (fermented cabbage and beet, anyone?) to heartier fare like the selection of Glory Bowls, most of which feature a frozen acai berry puree. Salads, soups, and complex smoothies featuring almond or seed mylks round out the offerings, along with coffee beverages (JJ Bean is the purveyor of choice here).
We opted to work our way through a number of different dishes, starting with a simple but delicious Avocado Toast, comprised of spiced puree of perfectly ripened avocado spread atop two thin, uber-crispy rectangles of gluten-free chia flatbread, topped with pickled purple onion and bright green sunflower shoots. The flavours were pure and simple, a great mix of creamy and crisp, rich and acidic.
We also sampled another iteration of Glory’s sandwiches, the Breakfast Toast, this time made with nut butter, sliced banana, honey and a dusting of cinnamon, also on chia flatbread. The bread itself has a pleasing toastiness to it and lent itself well to the round, sweet flavours of the toppings, though I would suggest its thinness and extreme brittle crispy texture was overwhelmed by the weighty toppings, resulting in considerable breakage during its passage from plate to palate.
My wife DJ’s favourite dish was the Original Glory Bowl, a tart, colourful and refreshing mixture of frozen acai berries (which yield a moderately sweet, sherbet-like base), blueberries, raspberries, almond mylk, and maple syrup, topped with Glory’s excellent housemade granola, drizzled with honey. The dish positively bursts with fresh flavour and makes for a more than adequate morning meal that will not leave you feeling guilty or gluttonous.
For my taste, the savoury Cauliflower and Chickpea Glory Bowl, with a quinoa base, roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, red onion, sweet and smoky tahini, maple and paprika dressing, topped with spirulina-infused hummus, pickled onions and cashew garlic dressing, was the star of the meal and among the more inspiring things I have eaten lately.
This dish was a perfect balance of textures and flavours and achieved a truly remarkable depth of flavour. Easily the most filling dish of the meal, like the Original described above, it did not leave me feeling like I needed to hike the Grind three times as penance for my indulgence.
I had a well-made, straightforward Americano with my meal, DJ had a turmeric latte, which made sensible use of this year’s most prolific and fashionable health-minded ingredient (the mylk was lightly scented with the heady yellow spice celebrated for its anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties), while the kids shared a juice of grapefruit, orange, and lime.
Glory sells bottled juices-to-go, as well as a small selection of retail items on the shelves that line the back wall.
Our fun and guilt-free meal was $65 before gratuity. 25 Lonsdale Ave. gloryjuiceco.com 604-770-3453
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Casual dining giant Joey restaurant has announced its plans to open its first North Shore location at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue in Shipbuilders’ Square late in 2018. I’m having a hard time envisioning exactly what space they will occupy down there, but it sounds like it will be close enough for a roasted Brussels sprouts food fight with Tap & Barrel, another imposing multi-outlet figure also situated squarely in the Shipyards.
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I was sorry to learn of the closing of Eagle Harbour venue Hugo’s, a spot I thoroughly enjoyed on the way home from frequent forays to Whytecliff Park in the summer. Hugo’s had created a niche as a live music venue, its high-ceilinged, alpine chalet-style architecture lending itself well to room-filling sets. As yet, there is no word on whether or not owner Bonnie Sauder will try her hand at a new enterprise on the North Shore.
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. North Shore News dining reviews are conducted anonymously and all meals are paid for by the newspaper.
