Author: ervanave1979

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to have out. In North America it transfigures often into brunch and that, too, is popular. Au Comptoir serves breakfast on the weekdays it is open —- Wednesday to Friday — from early morning to 11:30 am and...brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 5pm. It was a rainy March Sunday and after standing in line at the Canada Post outlet at Shoppers Drugs on 4th Ave, happily served by its star customer service person, Luigi, and picking up some things at Shoppers, again getting great service from its service star, Mercedes, I fancied some lunch. It was just after noon and I knew it may be difficult to get in anywhere at that time. I headed to nearby Au Comptoir, and indeed the wait with social distanced tables was about 30 mins. I was able to get an outside table at Au Comptoir, as there were two tables free, given it was rainy and cold. I am trying to go back to being vegetarian, as I was many decades ago, when it was far more difficult to get vegetarian options. Brunch was being served through to 5pm and egg options were offered. I think getting omelettes and scrambled eggs done perfectly is a real feat — not too dry but also not too runny. I was at a reunion of Reuters’ foreign correspondent colleagues, all of us staying at the Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh, and its breakfasts — omelettes, scrambled eggs and an arrays of fresh Scottish salmon et al — were truly sublime. I have also had some good omelettes prepared in France. With those mouth-watering memories in mind, and my non meat and fish commitment, I decided to order the omelette, which came with French fries and a smaller salad at 16$. I had a 1664 larger (8$) and ended with a Fondant au chocolat which came with a nub of ice-cream, both of which were made in-house at the price of 13$. I had not thought about it before taking an outside seat but hot food gets cold very quickly outside, if it is cold, and there is a bus stop outside of Au Comptoir, which services some five bus routes. Thus social distancing, which requires 6 ft apart even outside in parks, can prove a problem, with some people waiting for a bus taking shelter under the awning at alternate tables needed for social distancing. Also people waiting for a table inside often wait under the outside restaurant shelter. Perhaps a better choice would have been to wait for a table inside. Of course outside tables can seem romantic but in these times of social distancing tables so close to ongoing bus pick ups and drop offs, and being in a rainy city like Vancouver, best to be mindful of being outside in those circumstances. Let’s hope that we soon can be less anxious about social distancing, and this cool and often rainy March weather turns to sunny days. Indeed hope for a time again when patrons can tuck back in at the counter, as Au Comptoir signifies. Posted by S FullerMore