Cafe Medina (Vancouver, BC)

This post was actually a long time coming - seeing as it is now February and I went to Cafe Medina when I was noshing for waffles around the time that I visited Patisserie Lebeau and Damien's Belgium Waffles.

Upon seeing Frank at Vanfoodies at the East is East dinner, he questioned whether I was done writing Cafe Medina. I remembered that I had, in fact, bumped into him there. (Rather - we were milling about in the "waiting crowd" outside on a weekend morning for brunch.) I was reminded again as he posted about it a couple days later.

I visited Cafe Medina with two of my favourite ladies in the world, MYY and F-to-the-Izzo (my favourite Izzo of them all, that is. :) (Fine, lets make that FMace, as in favourite Mace of them all, while we're at it.) Cousin Nate was also along for the ride and be still your hearts, his six-year-old-full-of-frenetic-energy body actually lasted the long 20-30 minute wait he had to endure!

We started off with an assortment of hot beverages (clockwise from top left): a matcha tea latte, a mocha, hot chocolate, and a London Fog. Pretty and delicious at the same time!



Cousin Nate ordered a duo of waffles with milk chocolate lavendar. We were a little afraid his pint-sized tastebuds wouldn't appreciate the lavendar, but he liked it just fine! It kept him busy for...about ten minutes.

What'd the ladies have? We ordered the Les Boulettes, the Tagine, and the Fricasse. As per the menu, the Les Boulettes includes "2 poached eggs, spicy Moroccan meatballs, cilantro, hummus cucumber tomato salad. Grilled Foccacia.", while the Tagine had "2 poached eggs on spicy tomato stew and red pepper, merguez sausage, sundried black olives, and cilantro. Grilled Foccaccia.". Meanwhile, the Fricasse had "2 fried eggs on braised short ribs, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, arugula and smoked applewood cheddar. Grilled Foccacia."

It was a lot of egg, and a lot of meat. That being said, it was flavourful. The Les Boulettes (F'maces' choice), shown above, had perfectly poached eggs that were perfect for dunking the foccacia into. The meatballs, although billed as being spicy, were lightly spiced and were a touch dry. The sauce was spicy, though, and made up for the lack of spice in the meatball. The sauce was also enjoyed on the focaccia.



The Tagine (above, left) was ordered by yours truely. the sausage was a little on the dry / lean side again, but the dish was executed nicely with spicy sauce and the occasional olive. Poached eggs again on this one.

The Fricasse had to be the heaviest meal of them all. Roasted potatoes, onions, cheddar, and braised short ribs. The meat was the best by far in this dish, and although Fizzo tried her hardest...she couldn't finish it.

What? Did I forget something? Yes, I went there for waffles, right? The waffles were, as rumoured and enjoyed by many, were delicious. The accompanying dipping sauces were yummy as well. 

While Nate had ordered the milk chocolate lavender early on, we finished with a single white chocolate pistachio rosewater dip - to share. *That* is how full we were from our meals. While the milk chocolate sauce was light on the milk chocolate, the latter had nice white chocolate, hints of pistachio, and just a whisper of rosewater. I'd order the latter again.

In light of the Olympics, Cafe Medina will be open late every night during the Olympics, and will also have a take-out window for all your yummy street-eating needs!

Cafe Medina
556 Beatty Street
Vancouver BC
P: 604-879-3114

Patisserie Lebeau (Vancouver, BC)

Remember how I was on the hunt for a good waffle a while ago? That search led me to Damien's Belgian Waffles in Richmond. For waffles closer to town, however, Patisserie Lebeau offers both sweet and savoury waffles, as well as waffle-wiches!! (How else was I going to drag M out to try sweet waffles, not once, but twice, since Patisserie Lebeau is closed on Sundays??)

Situated near Granville Island and just a few doors down from a great cookbook store, Barbara Jo's Books, Patisserie Lebeau makes loads of sweet Liege waffles, waffles with savoury add ins mixed into the batter, and waffle-wiches with goodies stuffed inside a pair of waffles.



With all the options, M chose a savoury (of course!) chicken and brie wafflewich. The crisp waffle was a nice, sturdy package holding in a beautifully melted brie with poached chicken filling. There was a nice contrast between the oozy cheese and the crunchy waffle. By the way, M found his wafflewich much too tempting and took a bite out of it before I could get my camera out and take a photo. Oy.



As I'm the sweeter one in the couple, I opted for a peach and custard wafflewich. It wasn't too sweet, which was nice, and again, the crisp yet tender waffle held its own against the soft silky filling.

We also had a ham and cheese waffle, where the ingredients were cooked into the waffle batter - while it was nice, our top pick would have been the brie and chicken. We ordered another chicken and brie wafflewich after taking photos and demolished it shortly after!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to try their authentic Belgian waffles, but I have to leave options to try next time!

If Patisserie Lebeau is still too far for you to visit, you can purchase their Belgium waffles frozen in your local Capers, Stong's, Whole Foods, Nesters, or IGA. They are also available at The Gourmet Warehouse (on Hastings at Clark), on The Drive at Drive Organics, or Meinhardt's on South Granville.

Patisserie Lebeau
1728 West 2nd Ave
Vancouver BC
P: 604-731-3528

Damien's Belgian Waffles (Steveston, Richmond, BC)

I've been craving a great waffle - and no, not the stale, freezer-burned "Eggo" waffles of my childhood, a waffle that is fluffy and warm, crisp yet chewy. After a brief "googling", I discovered several options and embarked on my journey.

First up, Damien's Belgian Waffles set in picturesque Steveston Village in Richmond. Yes, it is *extremely* out of the way, but on the afternoon that I visited Damien's Belgian Waffles, I *extremely* needed to be removed from the workweek. (It was just that kind of day week. Don't make me get into the details.)

In the recent downpour (read: Pineapple express) that the Vancouver area has been having, it was a real relief to have a dry, slightly sunny patch in the afternoon. I stopped by Steveston Village and found Damien's in a small strip mall. It is located near a cake decorating store, so for you pastry chefs out there, it might be worth a stop to pick up some supplies and a treat as well!



Damien's offers single waffles to eat in or to go ($2.25 - $2.50) as well as some waffle treats with ice cream, chocolate, whipped cream and/or fruits (~$5). There is also a selection of tea and coffee to go with your waffle treat. For those wanting to enjoy the waffles at home, there are packs of waffles to go (singles or mini waffles!). The waffles are made from wholesome ingredients and utilizes honey or maple syrup as a sweetener instead of refined sugar. Okay, so they use imported Belgium pearl sugar as well, but that is a necessity of the recipe, so why fight tradition. :)

The waffles come in a variety of flavours such as original, matcha, maple, and cinnamon. The vanilla flavour also comes dipped with a milk chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate.



I tried their Melba Magic creation, which consists of a vanilla (original) waffle warmed slightly, with ice cream, whipped cream, raspberries, and a white chocolate garnish on top, as well as their ginger raja tea, which was freshly brewed in a tea press (nice touch!). The waffle held up nicely to the ice cream and the sweetness of both the waffle and ice cream was paired nicely with the tart raspberries. What I didn't like were the disposable plates and cutlery. Not only are they not environmentally friendly, but it's tacky and impractical. Trying to saw through a waffle with a plastic knife is not fun. :( Flavour is there, the experience is not.

Waffles for a late lunch (I got there at around two-thirty in the afternoon!)? Why not! It was relaxed and laid back in sunny Steveston. :)



I bought a matcha and milk-chocolate dipped waffle to go. They're packaged in small leopard- print paper bags - it was like a little present!

Damien (I am assuming...) instructed me to warm them in the toaster or toaster oven on a low to medium toaster setting. I found my waffles warmed to my liking, slightly crisp on the outside, and chewy on the inside. On the odd occasion, there was a slight crunch from the pearl sugar that was cooked into the batter. Nice!

While the matcha flavour left a slight bitterness on the tongue, the milk chocolate was a simply sweet (and selfish! :) breakfast the next morning.



It was a nice reprieve from work - I'm glad of that. If you don't want to make the trek out to Steveston Village to visit Damien's Belgian Waffles, try catching them this weekend at the craft show at Nikkie Place in Burnaby, or Steveston Buddhist Temple. There's also some winter and craft markets that they'll be participating in, check out their event calendar for details.

I felt much more relaxed after Damien's. Let's hope they stay around for a little while!

Damien's Belgian Waffles

#2 - 3891 Chatham Street
Richmond BC
P: 604-304-2884