Last Sunday, early in the morning before my weekly visit to see my dad I decided to give the recently re-opened Save-On-Meats diner another taste test. You may remember that I tried their lunch fare in the first couple of days that they were open. That was a very pleasant experience so I thought I would see how they are doing now that they have had a chance to get any wrinkles out of the way.
If there were any wrinkles, they definitely have been ironed out. My breakfast was prepared quickly and exactly the way that I requested it.
I like my eggs cooked over-easy. I like the yolks soft but with absolutely no sign of that yicky runny white stuff on my plate. The Save-On-Meats diner crew perfected my eggs.
And have a look at that toast. The bread is made entirely in house. This is the kind of bread that I wish my grandmother made. I chose the whole wheat option. It was lightly toasted so that it was warm and crisp but not too crunchy. I asked if they use butter or a non-butter substitute product. It is butter, served on the side. Nice touch.
The heap of hash-browns were made up of small and very sweet new potatoes boiled and then pan-fried to a golden hue. There was a generous helping of the scrumptious hash-brown potatoes.
The bacon is a thick cut, rustic bacon. A lovely smokey flavour to the slice that is not greasy or fatty tasting. Very firm, almost like a thick slice of prosciutto.
Seeing as I wanted to sample the bacon and the sausage I asked my server (who was very attentive and made sure my cup ofJJ Bean coffee was always full) if I could have a split order of bacon and sausage. No problem.
Now, I have to say I am a huge fan of veggie sausage. I have eaten veggie sausage for so long I have a pretty high expectation of what a sausage should taste like. I do not like the taste of mystery meat and typically avoid these cuts of meat. However, in the name of science, I decided to try the sausage at Save-On-Meats seeing as, like most of the food served here, it is made in house.
The sausages were good. Not great, but good. I couldn’t put my finger on it but there was just an element missing in the sausages. Let me repeat though, they were good. However, given the choice, I would order the bacon again, not the sausage.
At the end of meal I felt it was duty to my readers to sample the homemade apple pie and ice cream. The ice cream is also made in house. How awesome is that.
The slice of pie is perfectly sized. It is not a massive slice, just a nice add-on to the meal. Good size chunks of apple with a just a hint of cinnamon. Another winner.
Both of my Save-On-Meats experiences have been very favourable. I would strongly recommend this place to anyone who enjoys quality, diner style food.
All in, coffee, breakfast with a meat option, a slice of apple pie and one scoop of ice cream cost me just over $12.
Save-On-Meats at 43 West Hastings is definitely worthy of a return visit. Sooner, rather than later.
Disclaimer; this review is based on my personal opinion. I did not receive any form of compensation from Save-On-Meats or anybody else for writing this review.