Jethro's Is Why Breakfast Was Invented In The First Place

On Labour Day weekend, I finally had the opportunity to try Jethro's Fine Grub on Dunbar &18th. I had heard amazing things about this breakfast joint but because its slightly out of the way, poor-vehicle-less students like myself find it a bit of a chore to make the trek out there.


Fraser's parents were in town that weekend and my friends were all back after the summer break. Breakfast (BF) at Jethro's was definitely called for.


Review Snippet
Overall: In the list of my fav breakfast places in Van
Food: Delicious, creative and intimidating (pancakes mostly)
Price: Reasonable; $12 per person (incl. tax & tip)
Ambiance: Cosy; a little hipster
Service: BAD. The only downside of this eatery

So let's just get the bad stuff out of the way as I am a positive person. The only thing I disliked about Jethro's was the lengthy wait. Usually, couples or quads wait about 30 mins in line to get in...we were a party of 8. Imagine my horror. Enrico got up to some mischief along the way...

Finally menus! We were pondering over our choices during the interminable wait so the order was snappy.

Enrico's dish: Huevos Rancheros. I can't speak for it given that I didn't try this dish. Encompassing warm corn tortillas topped with tomato salsa, 2 basted eggs, black beans and rice, it didn't look very appealing to me. But this is probably because beans are a total turn off.

Riley's dish: South of Denver. Smokey pulled pork,sauteed onions, smoked gouda, peppers and jalapenos, served with hashbrowns and toast, I was very tempted. But I somehow never get omelets at BF places.

Miranda's heavenly Apple Cobbler French Toast. The alternative to my choice. BF is always a tough choice for me- I always want the sweet stuff ie. french toast/ pancakes/waffles but its always the time of day when I crave something savoury. This time, I had the traditional eggs benny (top of my BF favs) but I definitely want to get the french toast next time! This was not too sweet and the toast remained crispy from the cinnamon crunch batter. The french toast was also perfect  as an alternative to their crazy pancakes- still creative but in manageable portions.

Finally, I saved the best for last. I went for the classic eggs benedict because I feel that this is often the test of a good BF place and there's something enjoyable about the simplicity of english muffins, poached eggs, ham and hollandaise sauce. It sauce was rich thick and creamy, eggs were runny, ham was overflowing, hash browns were substantial yet crispy around the edges. This was pretty darn good.


Next time though, I definitely want to try their pancakes. Most go to Jethro's for their crazy pancake concoctions and I felt I missed a little piece of the action by not ordering it. I definitely would have if not for its monster of a size.... Riley said his leftovers weighed 1kg (2.2 lbs). -Sara