In the article, entitled ’I’m Dining Out in a Restaurant Every Week. Here’s Why’, Lee Man details why dining out has always been so meaningful for him and his family and how the current COVID recovery challenges facing restaurants has made him find an even deeper appreciation for restaurants.

His piece lays bare the good, the bad and the ugly and where he sees promise for the future as restaurants reassess not only their own raison d’être but that of the industry as a whole in a time that has been dynamic, unrelenting and, in many ways, revelatory.

“I eat out with an even greater sense of appreciation and connection, now,” he writes. “I’ve always been willing to pay for good food, but now it is important not to shy away from the real cost of a meal. If we continued with the race-to-the-bottom pricing that marked many parts of the industry before COVID, the health and well-being of restaurant workers would inevitably be put at risk. No meal out is worth that.”

This tempting spread comes courtesy of our good pal Robbie Kane and his team at Vancouver brunch institution Medina Cafe, which was one of the 23 members of the local restaurant scene that came together back in March to help us launch Breaking Bread.

Medina waffles ain’t no frozen Eggo deal, friends. This is a luxurious Belgian Liège-style waffle situation, made with yeast-leavened dough — as opposed to batter — to give Medina’s rich and chewy signature menu item that trademark molten texture. In this case, made even more silky delicious thanks to a generous side of the restaurant’s toothsome Salted Caramel topping.

Whether you choose to visit Medina or brunch in the comfort of your own crib this weekend, you can get your mitts on these babies from Medina friends and partners like Legends Haul, Caffe La Tana & Canucks Marketplace.

It’s June 25, a.k.a. ‘Bourdain Day’ — a day proclaimed by renowned chefs Eric Ripert and Jose Andres to be set aside to honour the birthday of celebrated gourmand, chef, scribe and culinary ‘enfant terrible’ Anthony Bourdain, who passed away two years ago.

As his longtime colleague and compatriot Ripert outlined on the inaugural occasion last year in an article by Washington Post writer Natalie B. Compton, “We will make sure that Anthony is being remembered on his birthday, and not when he left. We will keep this tradition year after year.”

Cheers to you, Chefs Andrés and Ripert. And Cheers to YOU, Anthony. We miss you and we celebrate your efforts to bring us all to the table to break bread, share stories and explore what connects us, no matter what separates us.