Menu review: Breaking the fast at Seb's Market Café

Banana bread French toast, elk medallion bennys, scrambled eggs with caribou meat and sundried tomatoes, bacon and caramelized apple omelettes... for interesting takes on traditional breakfast fare, look no further than Seb's Market Cafe on 592 East Broadway (about five blocks east of Main St.).

Eager to sample elk for the first time, I selected Seb's for this Sunday morning's breakfast date with three friends -- D, KK, and J. Opting for an early get-together, we arrived at Seb's well before the morning crowd, at 9:15am, and were seated immediately.

Seb's has a bunch of interesting smoothies and juices on their menu, including a melon celery drink, I believe. D had carrot, celery, and ginger juice (she likes her mom's fresh-made juice better, but will now ask her to add ginger too); KK had the coffee, and J and I settled for waters, all of which arrived promptly.

I ordered what I came for -- the elk medallion benny ($10, up from $9.50, which it apparently was just last month): two decent-sized disks of medium-rare elk, served on yummy savoury biscuit halves, smothered in sauce, with a side of homecut fries (not too greasy), and fruit (watermelon, honeydew, strawberry, and pineapple, which I thought was a nice touch). The bennys were a bit on the small side -- about the size of my fist.

Seb's offers three different sauces for their bennys. I think they must change their sauce offerings from time to time, since I've heard they've had such flavours as blueberry chipotle and curry pineapple on their menu.

The waitress was kind enough to let me have my benny halves with two different sauces. I went with her suggested pairings of havarti sauce and chipotle wildberry (they also offer thai curry coconut). D, who had a benny with pan-fried sweet peppers, onions, and basil ($9; featured below), also had the chipotle wildberry sauce. Neither of us enjoyed this particular sauce very much. I don't think it pairs well with egg, but to be fair, I'm not a fan of berry-flavoured things.

Since I'm not much of a red meat fan either (I only eat chicken and fish at home), the elk was just okay to me. It tasted a bit like beef (I won't get into its gamey-ness, since I haven't eaten enough red meat to be able to authentically distinguish what counts as "gamey"). I did really enjoy the egg and biscuit though (far tastier and richer than a plain old English muffin would have been).

The Havarti sauce was quite tasty. I would definitely go for the thai coconut curry sauce in a future hypothetical visit though (it's my policy to eat at restaurants just once, so that I can try more of them).

My favourite dish was what KK ordered -- a crab and avocado omelette (I can't recall the price, but it should have been in the $9-10 range; see below), which came with two thick pieces of toast, homemade preserves, and the standard sides (fries and fruit). The egg was delicious. He's a big foodie though, and he thought it was just okay.

J's order was the most intriguing of them all -- banana bread cooked French-toast style ($8.50; pictured below). It tasted exactly like you would expect -- like banana bread -- and came with two little pots of strawberry preserves and maple syrup, as well as side of fresh fruit and potatoes. KK and I thought it was okay; J and D seemed to enjoy it.

The French toast tempted D so much that she accidentally took J's leftovers with her after he dropped us off for dragonboat practice (note the lack of quotes around "accidentally", since D would never intentionally make off with another person's leftovers ;P).

The consensus was that Seb's has a great ambience and is a cool spot to hang out in (the decor is hip and casual at the same time, and KK liked the environment), but the food is just okay.

Still, it's been referred to as a "hidden gem", "the busiest place that no one has ever heard of", and "Vancouver's best-kept secret", so why not give it a try and see for yourself?

It's open weekdays from 6:30am to 4pm and weekends from 7:30am to 4pm.

If you've dined at Seb's before and have anything to add, please lend your perspective.

Thanks a bunch to D for the cellphone pics! Being one of the few people who still prefer and use good old film, I forgot to bring a digital camera *sheepish face*.