Joe Brown's Cafe — Restaurant in Vancouver

I visited Joe Brown's Cafe for the 4th time this morning. It was quickly becoming one of my favorite places to stop for grub after delivering in Portland. I live in Tacoma and drive for a living, and I like to find really good places to eat and become a regular but that all ended this morning. I've always felt welcomed at Joe Brown's and even though I have to pay for parking to visit, the food has always been worth it. Today however, I was turned off from ever returning and it wasn't the food that caused my feelings. I parked just outside of the greasy spoon and paid my $2.60 for parking. I then went inside where they do not have any signs that state either seat yourself or please wait to be seated but I stood there out of respect, waiting for a bit of direction. One of the guys in the back near the kitchen waved at me and gestured to go ahead and sit wherever I wanted and so with that prompt, I took a booth near the window. While the guy who had motioned for me to sit wherever brought over a nice tall glass of ice water for me, the young waitress stepped up and informed me that I would not be allowed to sit in the booth I had chosen because I was alone and she wanted to keep it available for parties of 2 or more. It was a Tuesday morning at roughly 10:00am and the place had more than enough seating available but I obliged. I did however make a comment along the lines of "so much for first come first served" and that rubbed my waitress the wrong way. I then opted for a smaller, table for two directly in the middle of the tiny restaurant and began to look over my menu. I waited for what seemed like a very long time before she came back to take my order and after I had confirmed that yes, all I want is the Texas specialty omelet, she replied to me with "GOOD"! She didn't ask me what kind of toast I would like and therefore, I assumed, (my mistake) that my omelet would be sans bread and potatoes. Well, it wasn't. When I received my breakfast, it came with a side of hash browns and some sort of toast that I had no option in deciding for. I later took out my phone and looked up the menu to read that I should have ordered my omelet ala cart and for that I take responsibility as well even though, I still remember my last visit where I had to ask for the toast and potatoes, but I digress. Because I am now abstaining from carbs, I finished off just the omelet but then felt ignored because of the amount of food still on my plate. When the waitress finally came around again to ask if I needed a takeout box, I was finished and ready to go. She informed me that she would get my bill but returned a few moments later stating that their system was down. I had planned on paying cash from the beginning but what if all I had, had been a debit card? Would I have been stranded there waiting for some system to come back online? The waitress took my cash and returned with my change but did not bring me a receipt. My usual $12.99 meal has now been inflated to $17.99 with tax plus coffee so with tip, my whole breakfast came to $23.00! FOR ONE OMELET and a cup of coffee!!! I'm done! I've already stopped frequenting a lot of establishments and after this morning, I will no longer visit Joe Brown's Cafe! Terrible service, very high prices and neither of which does the food make up for! Too bad too because I can actually have that omelet ala carte on my carnivore lifestyle. Guess I have to...

Joe Brown’s is an icon, a classic, a journey to a different time… maybe the 60’s, maybe even earlier. From the tattered panoply of photos on the wall to the neighborhood feel of the crowd it is an echo of old movies and matter of fact waitresses.

Now the problem with icons is that they tend to be set in their ways like bugs stuck in Amber. The food at Joe Brown’s is dated, the burger was nothing to write home about. The vibe is great, but the execution should be executed. It was uninspired. Boring bun, tasteless standard premade patties, and the tomato bland. Open da box, take out da food.

Now the waitress was great, the ambience on point, the location convenient, it was only the food that fell short. Nostalgia will only go so far to satisfy the questing soul.

It’s hard to say how this could be fixed, these things are complex systems with many parts. Better food might attract more yuppies and push out the common folk, the dive atmosphere might suffer, maybe we have come to expect too much. Maybe community is more important.

Obviously they are well loved by the Vancouver family. They have found a niche and changes might ruin that. Although personally I would appreciate better onion rings at least, or lemon with my tea… and a little more ice.

And maybe it’s just a problem with what I ordered and I should circle back for the breakfast menu....

A great little family owned diner in downtown Vancouver that has managed to hold on to the vintage charm of eating at a lunch counter in the 50's.

Opened in 1932, Joe Brown's touts itself as the oldest restaurant in Vancouver. The fact that they are still there today is no accident. We stopped in on a Friday, late morning. We were quickly able to seat ourselves at a booth and our drink orders were taken promptly. The atmosphere is absolutely magnificent. It would be easy to see this place get crowded quickly on a weekend morning.

I ordered my standard breakfast, Biscuits & Gravy. My wife had the Country Breakfast which included 1 Biscuit & Gravy, hash brown's, 2 eggs, and 2 slices of actual bacon.

The biscuits and gravy were mediocre. Joe Brown's uses a cakelike biscuit that is cooked in sheets and then cut to serve. The biscuit was a bit dry and crumbed far too easily, quickly creating a crumby gravy concoction that was not really appealing. The gravy was great, a bit spicy for my wife (but then, so is ketchup...). The hash brown's, eggs and bacon were all top notch. The food took a bit longer than a typical diner might but not so long that I was annoyed.

The total cost, with two drinks, came out to $28 before tip. I will definitely return to Joe Brown's to sample more of their fare, but I likely will not be trying...