Oceanside has a lot of really good spots for morning coffee and light lunches. A favourite is THE BRAZEN POPPY BAKERY CAFE in  PARKSVILLE. Located in Shelley Centre on Island Highway & Shelley Road. 

BRAZEN POPPY bake their own pastries and turn out wonderful Almond Croissants and Cinnamon Buns, Muffins, Poppy Seed Buns among other tasty and tempting treats. They also serve great coffee and excellent lattes. You order at the counter and most often your selection is delivered to your table. If the weather is good there is outdoor seating. Coffee in the sun! 

They are open for a breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday. The made to order Breakfast Skillets are a popular breakfast choice. For lunch there are soups and a variety of made to order sandwiches or burgers. 

The BRAZEN POPPY is bright, friendly place with very nice owners. It’s a great place to meet friends for coffee as I do frequently. 

Check out their website at https://brazenpoppy.ca where you can see more of their offerings. 

Lots of parking too. 

Just saying…

It had been many years since setting foot in the Beach Club Resort in PARKSVILLE. Once there for dinner and once for brunch on the beachside patio. Recently we wanted to meet brother in law, Murray for Sunday brunch so he and Jackson could catch up. Why not try the Beach Club and discover if it’s a good spot. 

We arrived at 1130 and were seated promptly at a table for 4 with a bit of a beach view. It’s really quite a nice room, nicely appointed. We were keen. Unfortunately the breakfast /brunch service shuts down at 11:00. Don’t most hotels run Sunday brunch until 1 or 2? Not this one! Rather disappointing.  

However the lunch menu looked promising. Sheila chose a Caesar Salad.  Murray selected the Seafood Chowder, Jackson the Mac & Cheese and for me the Beef Dip.

Our server was charming and efficient and the food arrived quickly. The chowder looked really good and was, as was the Mac & Cheese. Not so the salad.  A poor excuse for a Caesar Salad actually. I had a side of it with my sandwich. The Beef Dip was OK but not as good as my favourite at the CROW & GATE PUB. 

We all expected better from this restaurant and were particularly miffed at the brunch unavailability. 

You might want to try the Beach Club but for now we will give it a pass. Maybe try it for breakfast outside this summer. 

Here is the menu: https://www.beachclubbc.com/menus

Just saying…

January & February are,  for me, kind of the winter doldrums. Not much going on. But last week my Toronto based Digital Media son came for a visit. ‘We must go out’ was his pre arrival request. Sounded good to me especially since he usually insists on picking up the tab. 

He arrived on HULLO from Vancouver, a first time trip with which he was very impressed. Smooth and comfortable ride apparently. Since we both needed lunch we headed past home and pulled into Deez Bar & Grill at the north end of Qualicum Beach. 

I had dined at Deez many years ago but this joint has changed ownership twice since then and since last spring has been operated by the Water Street Cafe Group who also run the Qualicum Beach Cafe and the Nanoose Bay Cafe. They seem to have a grasp of serving good food. 

Deez looks the same as it always has with a raised bar area and dining area surrounding it. Service was prompt. We liked the menu, which is casual pub style fare,  and ordered a Blackened Chicken Sandwich for Jackson and Eggs Benny for me.  We were not disappointed. The Benny was perfect served with excellent roasted potatoes. The hollandaise was just right too. The Chicken Sandwich was excellent, which is a big compliment for a guy from Toronto. 

With warmer weather in the future we look forward to dining on their patio. 

Deez’  full menu can be found here. https://www.deezbarandgrill.com

Open everyday for lunch & dinner. Weekends 10-10.  And they also do WINGS on Wednesday. 

Deez Bar & Grill.. 3353 Island Highway West, Qualicum Beach 

We are going back soon for brunch. Try it. I think you’ll be impressed. 

Just saying…