Biting Into A Blast From The Past

Out in the city in the typical pouring rain this past weekend, my husband, mother and I were a tad bit hungry. No better place to drive by than Bon’s Off Broadway! We’d heard a lot about Bon’s just recently from an acquaintance and it had made the list for Best Breakfast in the Georgia Straight’s Golden Plates 2012 Awards. Excited to enter this red awning inconspicuous, now infamous eatery, it was clear when we walked in that first impressions are truly everything. Not going to lie, I smiled from ear to ear. It wasn’t a typical Vancouver joint it was clearly a hipster type place. Immediately bombarded with feelings of old school rough dive ambiance, I knew this place was going to be fun.

Gastronomical Adventurer biting into the egg blanketed Monte Cristo

This is a long lasting Vancouver staple, it’s been around since 1996, and if you’re from Vancouver that’s actually quite the duration in a foodie town. Looking around, there were lots of posters of old movies and artists from the past; we were surrounded by Chronicles of Riddick, Dude Where's My Car, Destiny's Child, Catwoman, and the Beatles. Flashy yellow textured walls with patrons’ names chaotically immersed as graffiti by the booths and blue painted movie film randomly dispersed on the walls. Really cool vibe, really chill and laid back.  Though the outside looks like a hole in the wall on the busy Nanaimo Street it has tons of character where no one bothers you. You’re not annoyed with the Jersey Shore wanna-be's, try-hards and show offs as there are all types of people from business men to families and grunge hipster types.

Bon's Off Broadway Clubhouse sandwich with fries

Bon’s claim to fame is the ‘All Day Breakfast for $2.95’. It has an honest menu, so much so that it mentions that they serve canned soup! We weren’t feeling breakfast so we decided to ask for the other signature dishes, they include: fettuccini alfredo, fish n’ chips, turkey dinner, Monte Cristo and much, much more. We opted for the monte cristo and clubhouse sandwiches. Let’s start with the side of fries, they were the old school cut fries that you might see come from a fresh frozen McCain’s bag, however, these were definitely no McCain’s fries! These fries were thick cut with ruffled edges, light crisp outside with hot mash inside. Both sandwiches were cut into fours, much like when I was a child and my mom would do so to all my sandwiches. My mom couldn’t get over how delicious her clubhouse was, to quote her “it brought me back to a moment in time”. The sandwiches were made from homemade thin white bread lightly toasted and it maintained the fluffiness on the inside, filled with real meat. What do I mean? I mean it was roasted turkey made in house, juicy and moist, the bacon in the clubhouse was full flavored good old fashioned crispy bacon and the mayo didn’t taste like any mayo from a bottle I’ve ever had.

Bon's Off Broadway Monte Cristo with fries

The Monte Cristo was dipped in egg giving a French toast twist and wrapping the entire sandwich in an egg blanket. The filling was house made ham, not processed honey ham, but house made!!! I’ve not had a real piece of ham in a sandwich at a restaurant in a very long time. Combined with the ham, were the juicy moist turkey and 2 slices of Kraft cheese singles. What an oxymoron, homemade bread, ham and turkey with processed cheese! But it is truly symbolic of the past, when women used to be more in the kitchen and less in the workforce a generational difference and a blast from the past. The entire meal was scrumptious and we can’t wait to go back for the signature breakfast, but most important, Bon’s provides affordable meals, with generational experiences and great food!