By Sasha Moedt (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 27, 2013
31401 Livingstone Ave, Abbotsford
7 a.m. – 3 p.m. every day
Prices: up to $13.95
We first noticed Rivers Restaurant when walking along Peardonville Road. The only reason we were walking down Peardonville was because we never go to that area and wondered what was there. Rivers was tucked along the side near a motel, a dumpy looking place that had a trailer look to it. Though it does say “diner,” that’s how it looked to me.
When we first walked in, all we saw was the front desk, a white board with the specials written for the day, and four or five tables. It was exactly what we expected. But when our waitress came to seat us, she led us around the corner to reveal a busy restaurant filled with clean booths with pleasant red trim. There were young families, old couples, and groups. It looked to me just like the IHOP of this part of town.
Our server told us that they’d been around since 1996. Part of me was surprised because I’d never heard of them… But there was part of me that felt they could’ve been around since the beginning of time.
I got a cup of coffee to start. Apparently, Rivers is one of the rare places that keeps your cup full. Servers kept popping over to our booth and offering to top me up. On that note, we never had to struggle flagging down a server for anything; the staff were very competent.
Rivers’ menu is surprisingly large. They specialise in breakfasts, but also have a huge variety of sandwiches, burgers and main entrees. I ordered a cup of broccoli soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. My boyfriend ordered Eggs Benedict with farmer’s sausage.
I tried the soup first. Most broccoli soups have a salty taste to them, but my server enthusiastically recommended it to me and it was only $2.50, so I gave it a shot. It was rich, creamy, and—for once!—not salty! I loved it.
The rest of the food came out promptly. Our plates were loaded. I didn’t realise that my grilled cheese came with a truckload of fries; their menu (even for burgers) says nothing about fries so I just assumed it was just the grilled cheese.
My boyfriend’s eggs Benedict was fantastic. I’ve never had farmer’s sausage with eggs benedict. It added a nice spice to the flavour that ham wouldn’t have given. The hollandaise sauce wasn’t as flavourful as I like, but the dish was good.
I think my grilled cheese sandwich was the highlight; It had the perfect amount of crispy crunch to it, and not too much grease (but enough to make it melt in your mouth).
Both the pan fries that came with the benedict and my fries weren’t the best. They were thick cut without a bit of crisp to it; it felt like I was eating boiled potatoes.
Rivers’ prices are good. For a regular meal, you’ll pay between $9.95 and $12.95. The portions are big and the food is—like every diner—quite heavy. Unfortunately, if you share a plate, $2.00 is added to the meal price. Kind of crummy for students trying to save money, and these dishes could easily be shared
River Restaurant is a diamond in the rough. Once you are inside, that dumpy look you see on the outside is gone. It’s a comfortable place to spend time over breakfast and coffee.
