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Commercial Drive
Breakfast in the republic
A few good choices for where to get your mojo
By Kevin Potvin
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Bacon and eggs are not for every morning, but nor, on the other hand, are they strictly mandated only for mornings. The dish has become a staple of Commercial Drive life, an icon of the studied indifference to the workaday clock that regulates the more regulated lives east, south, west and north of here.
There are four good bacon and egg stops on or around Commercial Drive.
The Skylight at Pender takes the Spartan approach. It’s mostly bench booths lit fluorescently. Here there is no music and the tables are big and traffic and turnover are slow—it’s the excellent read-a-newspaper-by-yourself spot. The utilitarian décor is matched by the service and offerings. The hash browns and toast are strictly basic—yes or no on the hash browns, white or brown on the toast. The scrambled eggs come in one lump, ideal for the ketchup found in re-used, re-cycled unmarked bottles on every table. Eva smiles and takes your order and comes back with your plate garnished simply with a slice of orange and nobody comes back to chirpily check how things are working out for you like a nurse might with the mentally retarded.
Theresa’s, further up Commercial between William and Charles, by contrast, has a far more pronounced social atmosphere. There’s a warmth to the recently renovated interior and the staff appear interchangeable with the clientele—a good sign it’s a local spot in every sense of the word. Here, the toast is special—thick-cut, organic, sumptuous and juicy with butter. The scrambled eggs are served in broken up pieces and one of the choices (of many) comes with avocado. The tables are small, the whole room is small, and consequently it’s a noisy happy social meeting place. Chasing potatoes and eggs around the plate here immerses one immediately in the buzzing energy that is Commercial Drive. A typical overheard conversation here, above the din of the well-selected unusual music, includes notes from far off lands just returned from or planned to go to. Everybody’s on the go on a global scale around here.
Down at the foot of Commercial and east up Powell is the J & K, attached to the Princeton Hotel. The key here is the large back room with huge windows overlooking the railway tracks and huge stacks of shipping containers. The big tables are movable, so it’s the place for meeting up with a large group, like half the soccer team after the morning game, for example. Sue, there most of the time, catches on to your regular order within three or four visits, and inside two weeks you can feel like an old timey denizen. The serving is ample—lots of eggs and potatoes, never too greasy, and all served in a no nonsense working class ambiance. It’s a big enough room to keep well away from others (like the table of cops) if hush-hush discussion is the kind of bacon and eggs you need.
Bon’s, a little more than a comfortable walk away at Nanaimo at Broadway, though also large, is usually packed tight and is exceptionally noisy. “Boisterous” would be the word here, and though there might be five or six servers looking constantly harried, you’re still better off getting your own coffee than trying to get their attention. Movie posters for some reason line the walls and on Sunday morning there are more hangovers in here than on an army’s clothesline come laundry day. It’s greasy but it’s cheap. It’s far from the fastest place but you come away just as full up on noise as tuck.
Those are your bacon and egg choices on or around Commercial Drive. Always remember this simple rule of good and friendly neighbourhood businesses: If you don’t go, they do. A Tim Horton’s (big ugly American-owned, don’t be fooled by the hockey name) is soon muscling in at the Il Mercato building.
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Storm Brewing
604-255-9119
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692 E Hastings
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604-685-1393
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1276 Commercial Drive
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1002 Commercial Drive
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1319 Commercial Drive
Artrageous Pictures & Framing
1256 Commercial Drive
Bouzyos Greek Taverna
1815 Commercial Drive
Magnet Hardware
1575 Commercial Drive
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1697 Venables
Highlife World Music
1317 Commercial Drive
Mark's Pet Stop
1875 Commercial Drive
Abruzzo Cafe
1321 Commercial Drive
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1000 Commercial Drive
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on CFUR Radio, Prince George
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402 Baker
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30 St. Andrew St
Future Bakery
483 Bloor St West
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148 Kerr
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The Republic of East Vancouver masthead
The Republic of East Vancouver supports no party, advocates
for no cause, represents no group, serves no master, and considers
problems with no preconceived notions. We hope to afflict the comfortable,
both materially and intellectually, and comfort the afflicted—of
both kinds as well, and we are trying to do both things at the same
time.
Publisher, Editor
Kevin Potvin
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Potvin
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Dan Crawford, John Daigle,
Jack Etkin, Janis Harper, Carl Johnson, Hilary Jones, Chris King,
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Bruce Alexander, Dan Adleman, Toby Alford, Kevin Annett, Santo Barbieri, Bob Broughton, Mike Bryan, Stephen Buckley, Matthew Burrows, Maria Calleja, Ron Carton, Chad Christie, Joshua Corber, Dan Crawford, Gail Davidson, Eric Doherty, Joe Donaldson, Lorena Jara Patty Ducharme, Shadia Drury, Taivo Evard, Reed Eurchuk, Farnaz Fassihi, Thomas Feakins, Anthony Fenton, Reza Fiyouyzat, Andrew Gordon Fleming, Ryan Fugger, Sasha Gagic, Matt Goody, Guy Hawkins, Spencer Herbert, John Irwin, Nick Istvaniffy, Junius, William Kay, Mike Keep, Kate Kennedy, Donald Kropp, Chris LaVigne, James Lindfield, Brian Lindgreen, Karen Litzke, Keith MacKenzie, Michael McLaughlin, Sonya McRae, Rafe Mair, Sonia Marino, Jennifer Matsui, Michael Millard, Isaebel Minty, Michael Nenonen, Wendy Nylund, Derrick O’Keefe, Stephen Osborne, Sean Orr, Evan Augustine Pederson III, Stephen Peplow, Kim Peterson, Kevin Potvin, Mary Rawson, Andrea Reimer, Erin Riley, Phil Rockstroh, Becky Scott, Jason Scott, Chris Shaw, Jeff Steudel, Alex Tegart, Scott Turner, Elbio Grosso Trentini, Patrick Vert, Chris Walker, Sean Wilkinson, Brad Zembic
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