Quite often, I refer to Urbanspoon for my dining destinations. Admittedly, it is not the end-all for all the best places to eat. Thus, I turned to Yelp! this time and found Finch's Tea & Coffee House. In actuality, I already knew about this place; but it was nowhere on my radar. Well... since Vandelay and I were nearby munching on tacos at La Taqueria, I decided to try out their popular Pear, Brie and Prosciutto sandwich. Obviously, there are other items on the menu including breakfast, soups and beverages. But there is no mistaking their signature sandwich.
Seeing that seating was at a premium, I decided to get my order to go. In addition to the sandwich, I got a Tomato Bisque. As I was waiting for my order, I kept thinking to myself about how the picture would turn out if they wrapped up my sandwich. Would it be smushed? Would it look unfresh? My OCD took over and I went up to the counter and asked if they could let me take a picture of it before they wrapped it up. With an excellent picture of the sandwich on my camera, I left happy as a clam.
One bite into the sandwich and as Kevin would put it best, I had a "foodgasm". With taste buds exploding and soft brie oozing out (sorry for the visual), it was really good. A perfect marriage of sweet, salty, aromatic and tart, this sandwich is one of the best I've had in Vancouver. In fact, for about the same price, I'm not even sure why people line up at Salumi in Seattle. Granted they make their own meats there; but this sandwich at Finch's kicks the ones I had at Salumi. The bisque was also quite good. With the taste of fresh tomato and basil, the soup was smooth and not tart at all. It was creamy without being creamy, if that makes any sense. I don't get excited about sandwiches very often; however, you really must try this sandwich out, it'll blow your mind.
The Good:
- Fresh ingredients, freshly made items
- The food just tastes great
- Friendly service
The Bad:
- Not cheap
- It's small, go for takeout
Finch's Tea & Coffee House
Posted by
Sherman Chan
on Friday, November 20, 2009
Labels:
Breakfast/Brunch,
Coffee,
Downtown Vancouver,
Sandwiches,
Take Out
17 comments:
Guess what? After you mentioned you went to Finch's, I couldn't help myself I went myself. And, yup, I got the exact same sandwich! It was good but... :)
But? LOL... I bet it was the price... It ain't cheap. And maybe the bread, it could've been softer.
but, maybe Kim had a foodgasm too.
Look at that smile.
Sorry, Alex, the "but..." refers to my pickiness (to quote Kevin and Sherman - *shakes fist*)!
That explains the extra mayo in the sandwich
YAY! Finally Kim checked it out!
@ Sherman: LOL at the foodgasm comment. (Love that term!)It was a perfect balance of salty, sweet, and creamy. OH yum! Now I want to get one.
And the discussion goes sideways... LOL...
ahh... pear and brie = instant happiness. i'm glad you took the picture before the squashing occured! you must get pretty tired of having to explain yourself though... :)
Hi Trisha, I guess I'm used to it by now. At least they were very accommodating. That is not always the case!
O snap. I guess I will have to check out Finch's.
Everytime I walk past their sandwich board, I think of something....that wouldn't be what a restaurant would be advertising.
My, this post and its discussion are all so very, very dirty. First the foodgasm...oh that's me. Then the extra mayo...
Thanks Sherman. :) I really should get on trying more places within Gastown, seeing as I'm there everyday..
I must be on crack. I have mistaken Finchs for smth else that is on Cambie & Hastings.
Ignore! I will still go anyways, haha.
Finch's has a good sandwich. Having said that, there is a lineup several blocks long at Salumi every day it is open, I don't see a lineup at Finch's.
By the way have you tried their pork cheeks sandwich? I would stand in line for 4 hours in the pouring Seattle rain for that sandwich. Also, I saw that you love the cheeks at Taqueria, but you did not gravitate towards that at Salumi?
Fair enough, I have heard that the hot sandwiches at Salumi are indeed better. Probably I will try it someday. With that being said, if a lineup is a prerequisite for good food, then Anton's, Stepho's and even Kent's Kitchen should be in theory excellent. Of course we know that is hardly the case. Thus, I still stand by what I said and the sandwich at Finch's trumps what I had at Salumi. Of course that may change in the future, but for consistency and credibility sake, I stand by what I say.
One thing that still bothers me is the premade sandwiches at Salumi. I didn't see any of that going on at Finch's. It is unacceptable for a place that prides itself on great sandwiches to have premade ones, no matter what the reasoning is. There is really no defense against that.
I understand where you are coming from but you can't compare Salumi with Stephos, Anton's or Kent's Kitchen. Those are cheap restaurants offering quantity over quality. People line up at those places for cheap inferior food.
When you went to Finch's you ordered the best sandwich on the menu. But you did not get the the best sandwich at Salumi, which are either the pork cheeks or meatballs sandwiches. From your other posts, you like pork cheeks, and the pork cheeks sandwich at Salumi is "foodgasm" in itself. If you gotten the salami sandwich at Finch's then you would be disappointed, and that would be a better comparison to those sandwiches that you ordered at Salumi.
Alright, I'll say it... I'm very, very tired. Very tired of people giving me a hard time about my Salumi post. In fact, you can even say I'm peeved. Once and for all, you must understand, I had what I had at Salumi and I didn't like it. That's that. I know people are passionate about places they like. I get that. But I didn't like it. And I still... Still! don't get any response or defense about their premade sandwiches. So, that's not an issue when I'm paying $10USD for a sandwich??? There is NO excuse.
Also I'm not implying that Salumi is equal footing of the places such as Anton's. I'm merely replying to your comment on lineups. Lineups do not imply something is great. Lineups usually imply that somewhere has a reputation that people will wait for despite the actuality. So my point is... I didn't like Salumi and until I try something there that I like, my viewpoint stands. If I had to fold to public pressure about a place, I will have no credibility whatsoever.
Sherman, you shouldn't get worked up by these comments. You are describing the experience you had in both places and you preferred one over the other.
The odd thing I have noticed is that, until now, almost everybody who has blasted the Salumi post did not provide a good explanation/reason against what was written, other than the "long queues" argument. Everybody, if you disagree, prepare to give a good explanation why. A "just because" argument is not usually good enough. Now that finally the point of what should have been ordered has been settled, let's leave it at its current status quo. Until a reassessment can be made further arguments are pointless.
Having said that, Sherman, road trip, when?
Thanks Kim. I don't get it either. I do understand people are passionate about their favourite restaurants. However, if my experience was not the same, it's not an excuse to keep hounding me over it.
Sure, let's both go to Salumi and maybe you can give your opinion.
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