By Amy Van Veen (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 14, 2012
45639 Lark Road
Chilliwack, BC
604-824-5634
Prices: up to $11.95
Hours: Monday to Tuesday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday to Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Do you ever have those moments when you’re eating breakfast but at the same time you really have a hankering for butter chicken?
I do. And now I know a place that can satisfy both cravings.
Hide-A-Way Café is the place. The directions say to drive south on Vedder and eventually turn right on Lark Road, a bit of a long drive when you’re not prepared for it. After a little while, you may start to wonder if you’re going to end up in Yarrow, but not to worry, Lark pops up and Hide-A-Way hides away in a little strip mall on a one-way street.
It may not look like much on the outside with big poster-sized photos of the food they serve and a sign that offers free Wi-Fi—a selling point for any student—but once inside, it’s a place where people can eat and be. Void of any pretension, this all-day breakfast, lunch and Indian cuisine hotspot offers simple food at simple prices.
Their menu is bursting with classic breakfasts from basic bacon, eggs and pan fries to omelettes to eggs benedict, as well as other lunch options such as burgers, sandwiches, quesadillas (adorably spelled “quesidilla”) and a separate Indian menu boasting some savory smelling butter chicken.
As an aside, I was at first worried about sitting so close to the kitchen with the smell of butter chicken lingering in what would become my breakfast haven, but thankfully the smells and tastes never competed with one another.
Those I was with ordered a plate of the biggest eggs benny I had ever seen. The eggs sat atop a pile of veggie filled hashbrowns, drowning in a sea of hollandaise. Some restaurants feel they can get away with just a dollop of hollandaise on top of the benny, but Hide-A-Way does not shy away from spoiling its customers. I ordered the two-by-two-by-two, which was a hot cakes plus eggs plus bacon or sausage situation, but I asked for French toast instead of pancakes and was given them – at no extra charge.
You had me at French toast.
Thick slices of fluffy French toast topped with sprinkled powdered sugar befriended my order of sausage and eggs and left me completely satisfied for under $10.
The décor in the restaurant didn’t blow my mind, but it didn’t leave me feeling like I was sitting in a school cafeteria. Shades of blue, grey and black were the standard from wall to wall and their preference of booths over tables made me feel as though I could carry on a conversation with my tablemates without worrying about being eavesdropped on. With hotel lobby art and faux flower arrangements, I felt like they knew what they wanted to give customers and they gave it – a place to eat good food to put you in a good mood.
If their breakfast was any indicator of the quality food they serve in a simple diner atmosphere, I will return for their butter chicken, and I will love it.
