But breakfast first.

Our last experience here wasn’t great but going to give it one more try.

First thing to note; the weird looking eggs.

In my opinion this is the wrong way to cook Sunny side up eggs. Lower temp with a cover. No color on these eggs and you can see the yolks starting to cook up the sides.

These sould be cooked quick and hot.

The bacon was crisp but cold.

The potatoes too mushy and under seasoned.

The fruit was good though.

So ya not a great visit again this time.

One more thing.

Does anyone know if the female servers are not permitted to wear bras while they work? It’s either a rule or they only hire hippies.

That’s still not enough get me to come back though.

4/10

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It’s a great atmosphere with very good service and very good food.

The duck confit hash.

The duck was so tender. The potatoes were awesome. That’s aot coming from me, one who isn’t the biggest fan of spuds. And that egg was a nice touch. The blackberry sauce cranked it up a notch.

Eggs Benedict

Again a really nice Benny

Eggs poached soft and those great crispy potatoes.

French toast.

This is something I would never get in a restaurant I would just do it myself. However it was very nice.perhaps a bit too much icing sugar, but still tasted very good.

Lobster scramble crepes.

Beautiful flavor here but as usual this type of dish it was very rich. I always find it hard to finish and you like this to be honest.

And they had the car out from under the cover this time.

What a great looking ride.

Everything about The Story Cafe so far has been excellent. If you’re in Richmond or don’t mind a little bit of a drive go check it out

9/10

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From my understanding the restaurant has been pretty much left untouched since 1976.

It’s been used as a setting for multiple films, including the movie Casino and Showgirls. Casino is a great movie. Showgirls? Ya don’t think so.

Definitely has an interesting vibe.

As for the food?

Standard American fare.

Nothing was jumping out at me from the lunch menu so I just went with bacon and eggs.

It was a decent bacon and eggs. Just a little expensive, like everything else in this town.

It was quite interesting to see the cocktail waitresses walking around in their fancy dresses though. I didn’t make it into the far side Lounge section of the restaurant but it looks kind of neat. Something to check out during the evening next time I’m in town.

If you’re into nostalgia then it would definitely be worth your time to come visit.

8/10

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The standards have always been very high and the location is perfect situated directly across from the Bellagio fountains.

So it was with great expectations that I went for breakfast here this morning.

For some reason while most of Vegas slept, it was 7:15 am after all, there was already a wait to sit on the patio. Not once in the many times I’ve been here has this happened. And it’s a rather large patio. John isn’t patient enoughto wait so we had to sit inside. That’s disappointment #1. I didn’t have to wait too long for disappointment #2.

As my friend did not want to wait 30 minutes to sit on the patio we reluctantly agreed to sit inside.

As we walked to our table we couldn’t help but notice many tables on the patio unoccupied. I would guess the patio was only half full.

Though whatever, the view isn’t the end of the world.

I’m here for the outstanding Eggs Benedict. They even make the English muffins in house.

I usually start with the fruit plate. It’s always loaded with lots of berries and other fresh fruits which are accompanied by a little vanilla yogurt and brown sugar to sprinkle on top.

As usual it was excellent.

But then breakfast fell right off the rails. Actually it crashed into a brick wall.

The very first thing I noticed was the Hollandaise. That’s pretty much the absolute minimum you could get away with.

My eggs were overdone. Not badly, but enough to put me off a little.

The worst though was the English muffin.

I found it extremely different to cut through. The reason quickly became apparent.

That’s more than just a little burnt.

I was very disappointed to see that on my plate.

What chef is letting that leave the kitchen? Especially in a restaurant with such usual high standards.  I’d maybe expect that at I.H.O.P. Certainly not here.

I did go against my usual practice and showed this to the manager. I normally wouldn’t. But I like this restaurant too much to let this go unnoticed.

To his credit the manager did offer me a free fruit plate to try to rectify the situation. I sure hope he addressed the situation with the kitchen though.

Regardless, the sheen is off Mon Ami Gabi. And there are no shortage of high quality restaurants in Vegas.

Time to branch out and find a different one for breakfast.

6/10

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Ok I’ll admit up front I went into this meal with some very high expectations.

First, I’ve heard good things.

Second, we have tried to come here twice before. It’s been lined up out the door both times.

Third, it gets at 4.6 rating on Google.

So yeah why shouldn’t I think I’m in for a good breakfast.

I challenge you to flip through their Instagram or online food photos and tell me that it doesn’t look good.

Perhaps that’s why this is one of the most disappointing meals I’ve had in a long time.

The server came and took our order within a reasonable amount of time. But then the wait.

Today was not a particular busy day at the Big Flat Pancake. We actually had to wait a few minutes to be seated even though there were multiple tables open.

Then the wait started. First first our drinks. Then coffee refills. Then for our food.

Why so much waiting when it’s not full?

One answer might possible be:

They were too busy over cooking our eggs?

I had the Blacksmith Benny.

This is bacon, cheddar and avocado on the traditional English muffin with Hollandaise.

I found the cheddar flavor to overwhelm most of the flavors of the Benny. The”crispy” bacon was anything but. The eggs? Overdone.  In my case not to the point of being inedible but still overdone. The hash browns are flavorless. Looks deep fried to me

Merilynn went with The Big Swim

First thing to note: that’s a $24 plate.

The lox was fine. The toast was bread. Hard to screw that up. The eggs though were so dry they were inedible. Seriously bad. Best part of this plate was by far the fresh fruit.

The teenager went with the Lois and Clark Benny. Ham, gouda and avocado.

The eggs on this Benny weren’t quite so overdone. Overdone nonetheless.

And now our second wait began. The amount of time to get the table cleared and the bill coming to the table was far too long then it should be for a restaurant this busy.

Honestly I was appalled at the meal overall.

I did have a look on Instagram and Facebook at some of their other offerings that have been posted and the food looks pretty good. Maybe we just had a bad morning? Unfortunately they’re not going to get a second chance from us.

Not after spending $111. That’s one and done I’m afraid.

Greg 1/10

Merilynn 1/10

The teenager 5/10

Value Terrible

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Off early this morning to visit family on the island.

Thought we’d grab a quick bite on the trip over.

When am I gonna learn?

Terrible. Just terrible

The eggs were fried. Can you not have pots of water to poach eggs on a moving boat?

The English muffin was so tough I was wondering if it started life as the soles of the Captain’s shoes?

The potatoes were deep fried. I guess no water to poach eggs but gallons of 350 degree oil is ok on a boat?

If I wasn’t feeling ill before I am now.

Not just for the $20 we just wasted

2/10

(one bonus point for the view)

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With no real direction about where to have breakfast this morning we find ourselves putting on the proverbial blindfold and chucking a dart at Google’s list of best breakfasts in Nanaimo.

And the winner is The bee’s Knees.

Looks good so far. It’s in a residential building that looks fairly new. The only problem was there wasn’t much parking in the lot. We had to park on the street and walk in.

The interior is quite pleasant. Lots of windows with lots of natural light. It’s decorated nicely with lots of greenery and an eclectic mix of furniture. If you’ve been to a Cracker Barrel in the US, this is a hippiefied version of that.

The menu is quite large, but sadly lacking much protein.  Carnivores look elsewhere, you won’t be happy here.

But if you’re vegetarian you’ll love this place.

Spoiler alert: I’m not vegetarian.

We got the breakfast wrap.

As we were eating it I kept waiting for some actual flavor out of this. It never came. Pretty bland. Noticed the lack of protein? The best tasting thing on that plate was that coleslaw. I liked it. And that’s saying something from someone who doesn’t really like coleslaw.

I did save the best for last though.

They have quite a few baked items as well. I got this chocolate torte, which was really good. I’m gonna have to replicate this myself.

Very chocolatey, smooth and creamy. Delicious!

Due to its consistency I’d guess that it’s vegan. But that’s ok. Not everything began is awful. Just most things.

Was The Bee’s Knees the Bee’s Knee’s?

No.

But it was ok.

5/10

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We were off to Bellingham this morning so I polled the local FB group for a good breakfast place to visit.

Got a few recommendations and the majority suggested the Old Town Cafe.

First time I’ve been in this part of Bellingham and I found it quite nice.

There was quite a line up when we arrived. Usually a good sign. Unusually you put your name on the waitlist yourself. It took about 30 minutes for a table.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee if you like. Though I don’t really recommend it. It’s not even Starbucks quality.

The interior of the place is pretty neat.  An eclectic mix of art and antiques with lots of wood. It was homey and inviting.

After we sat down though I started getting a granola munching, soy latte drinking, hippie kind of vibe.

Ok there’s way too much tofu on the menu here. And all this organic food. I personally don’t buy into most of the organic hype. Seems to me to be a great way to charge extra for the same food. But we are here, may as well eat.

And I certainly do appreciate the local, farm to table approach when practical and possible. Supporting local growers is always a great idea.

I had the Huevos Rancheros.

This is the half order.

I will say those beans were excellent. The main dish itself was alright. I do personally prefer a flour tortilla when I make it myself. These were corn, the traditional choice. The sauce was pretty bland though. Had to zing it right up with some Cholula hot sauce. But they got the runny eggs right.

Merilynn went with the biscuits and gravy.

Now that was some of the best biscuits and gravy I’ve had. Great flavour. Just the right amount of gravy for the biscuit. Sometimes the gravy is too salty. This was just right. The eggs were tasty, not overdone. The potatoes were mushy though. If they were crispy they would have been better.

We added a side of chicken sausage. No pic, was distracted by the 3 guys wearing beanies sitting behind us.

The sausage was almost inedible. Not the chicken itself. The amount of sage they seasoned it with. There was so much sage it actually started tasting like lavender. It overpowered any taste the chicken had. But I don’t have a lot of experience with chicken sausage. Maybe it needs that much to disguise how bad chicken is in a sausage?

Next time we’ll get the bacon.

So there were some hits and some misses today.

Excellent biscuits and gravy. Mediocre (at best) potatoes.

Great beans. Not the worst Huevos Rancheros I’ve had.

It’s a cool spot. Good atmosphere, even with all the bohemians around.

Will we be back? That remains to be seen.

Food 6/10

Ambiance 8/10

Service 8/10

Overall 7/10

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Off to what is probably my favorite breakfast spot in New West. Well for the food anyways.

Have you seen all the cat stickers,? First time I really noticed.

Well I’m not here to eat the stickers.

We both ended up having the regular breakfast.

Merilynn got it without hash browns. Ham and scrambled eggs. That’s $8.95.

I got bacon, sunny side and hash browns.

That’s $10.95.

I mean how do you go wrong?

Ya ok maybe my eggs were slightly overdone for my liking. But the bacon was perfectly crispy.

One thing we did note, no fault of Jim’s at all, is how small the jam packages are getting. It’s almost comical.

I don’t think you’ll find me eating dinner here anytime soon. But I’ll have breakfast here anytime.

Food 8/10

Value 8/10

Ambiance Meow

Overall 7/10

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