Silvestre Deli and Bistro

Wandering around Gastown on Saturday morning around 9:30am. Not many restaurants were open serving a big breakfast. We originally wanted top try Calabash; however they did not open until 10:00am. We were hungry and ready for breakfast. Along  Water Street, a store that looks like a gelato shop was serving all day breakfast, sandwiches and their regular Peruvian menu.

Tortilla Ham Breakfast ($12) came with warm and crispy ciabatta bun and a choice of coffee or tea (English Breakfast). Tasted average and was not worth 12 bucks.

Side sauces: wow these three side hot sauce were delicious. They tasted homemade with distinct levels of hotness. We both thought that the sauce was lovely in addition to our meal.

Tortilla Chorizo Breakfast ($12). This omelette like dish was topped with lots of meat and garnished with parsley.This was really salty for veggie girl's palate. To make matters worse, it was a tad greasy underneath the dish. There are many other places we could check out if we waited until 10am.

The service felt rushed as a group of 6 was coming in. They wanted to combine our table of 5 with another 4 top.  We were waiting for the rest of our party to return from the restrooms, and while this was going on they started whiping our table while we were still sitting there, and the next group to arrive was standing awkwardly, and apologetically behind us waiting to sit down.  There were plenty of other tables available, and there was no request from the staff for us to move.  We would've been happy to move if requested, but we were not expecting the group to sit in our table, and felt this was not the best way the staff could've handled the situation.  Ultimately this experience will be tarnished by the events that occured at the end of the meal.

OVERALL:

+ Has dinner potential with authentic Peruvian menu
+ Good location for gelato and convenient to get to
+ Casual dining and funky decor

- Service was non existent: didn't get to ask about the hot sauce, did not get coffee or tea refills
- Expensive for breakfast and dinner options

Meat and Bread (Cambie)

Veggie Girl has grown up eating the great food Vancouver has to offer, Reuben on the other hand is just discovering it.  One of the most popular new restaurants is Meat and Bread, with two locations downtown.  One afternoon we met up at the Cambie location for lunch to get some sandwiches.  

We arrived to a short line, and were greeted by the friendly staff.  Immediately the first thing I noticed was how cool the interior was.  Aside from the Porchetta being sliced in front of us, there were communal tables, a punching bag in the back, and stumptown coffee available.  There was a real gastown vibe.

The menu is very simple, with 3 permanent sandwich choices and one special.  On this day the special was a Perogie Sandwich ($9.00) which contained Braised Ham Hock, Carmelized Onion Sour Cream, Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potato, Sauerkraut. Veggie girl ordered this, while Reuben went with the Porchetta ($8.00) with salsa verde, because it was his first time eating at Meat and Bread, and it seems like their specialty.

First of all, the presentation was unreal for a sandwich shop.  The cedar plank with waxed paper, and dallop of sauce almost made us feel bad for eating it.  

Reuben's porchetta sandwich was good, but did not live up to the perhaps too high expectations.  The flavours seemed mild, and the texture did not stand out.  With that said, it was gone within a few short minutes so it was by no means bad.  Next time he will probably try one of the other options.

Veggie girl's perogie sandwich was very good, and in hindsight perogies are always good.  The smooth perogies contrasted the crunchy sauerkraut.  The flavours also really blended together, which is impressive given the number of ingredients.  This was definitely the favorite.  

Summary:

+ Very cool restaurant

+ Very unique specials

+ Good sandwiches

- Porchetta didn't meet expectations, but perhaps these were unrealistically high.  It was still very good.