The Red Wagon Cafe, Vancouver

Based on the recommendation of fellow foodie Ed Lau, I decided to give The Red Wagon Cafe a try. It’s located at 2296 East Hastings Street, one block off of Nanaimo.

I’ve always been a big fan of breakfast, regardless of the time of day. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a great steak and eggs at 9 o’clock at night. Seeing how The Red Wagon isn’t even open for dinner (they only open until 4pm each day), it’s clear that they have a focus on breakfast, brunch, and lunch.

Since I didn’t have my trusty Olympus E-PL1 on hand, I resorted to the camera phone functionality of my Palm Pre 2 instead. The Red Wagon Cafe has a retro, greasy spoon appeal, but they’ve kept the menu contemporary and innovative.

The Red Wagon Cafe, Vancouver

The Red Wagon Cafe, Vancouver

There really isn’t much seating, so you’ll usually have to wait for a table. You’ll also notice that they didn’t do anything fancy with the menu itself; on the weekends, it’s a single sheet of thicker paper, maintaining that “retro diner chic” appeal.

The Red Wagon Cafe, Vancouver
Crisp Pork Belly: Confit pork belly and two eggs, served with homefries, griddled tomatoes, salsa verde, hollandaise, and toast. ($10.95)

Here is what Susanne ordered for her breakfast. The idea of combining eggs with some kind of pork (ham, bacon, sausage, etc.) isn’t exactly novel, but they’ve decided to use pork belly instead. Despite its appearance, the pork belly didn’t taste all that fatty at all. It was still very tender, though, and the crispness of the surface was quite good.

The Red Wagon Cafe, Vancouver
House Pulled Pork Egg Benny: Served with homefries and hollandaise. ($10)

Since The Red Wagon only has pulled pork on the weekends, I had to go for something with pulled pork. I opted against the pulled pork pancakes and went with the pulled pork benny instead. This take on an Eggs Benedict was tasty without being too salty. The home fries weren’t quite as crisp as I had hoped, but I didn’t tell them that I wanted them well done either. The use of what I consider “Chinese” plates for a Western breakfast is certainly an interesting choice.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the Red Wagon is the best breakfast in town. It’s not particularly exceptional, but it is very good and I appreciate the slight hints of originality on the menu. You’re much better off visiting a place like this than eating a Denny’s breakfast (unless the latter happens to be free).

The Red Wagon on Urbanspoon