Breakfast, Booze, and a Good Cause
It's been a while since Erin and I went for brunch. Vietnam does awesome breakfast, just not the kind a westerner would recognize. But as happens every once in a while, we had a hankering for bacon and grease. So we did a little internet browsing and found the Bread of Life. Bread of Life is a restaurant in Đà Nẵng, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's known for offering a fantastic brunch, something that got our gastric juices buzzing. But it's also famous for it's work with the local deaf community. The restaurant makes a point of employing deaf people in their kitchen, and a portion of their proceeds used to go to supporting charitable causes for the deaf.
Now, I should note that the place has changed owners recently, so I don't know how much of that is still true. The website still touts their work with the deaf. And when we went, it was a fantastic experience. Our waitress spoke fluent English and was happy to help with questions. She dropped a menu, but we almost didn't need one. The chalkboard on the wall already had us salivating.
Our meals included a glass of wine, which we decadently paired with our Vietnamese coffees.
Did I mention it was good wine? Like, startlingly so? Because it's hard to get decent wine in Vietnam. This is not a country known for its vineyards. And Bread of Life serves some nice, dry red.
Then our American Breakfast came. We had a hard time restraining ourselves long enough to snap a pic.
I will admit that french fries for breakfast felt a little strange, but the pancakes were perfect, decadent buttermilk, the bacon was disgustingly good, and the garlic bread toast was wonderfully satisfying.
After the meal, we talked with the waitress a bit. We explained that we were only in Đà Nẵng for a few more days, but we'd heard about the restaurant and had to try it. And she apparently decided she was going to help us make them the best couple days we could ask for. Seriously. I've never had a waitress this awesome. She offered to come with us on a trek up Marble Mountain. She was learning English, and wanted a friend with whom she could practice. She also told us about the homestay they offer at the restaurant, and she mentioned that if we were ever back in town, Bread of Life does a lot of holiday meal specials for foreigners - turkey and stuffing at Thanksgiving and that sort of thing.
We left just a little tipsy, and a little sad we hadn't found the place earlier. But the next time we're in Đà Nẵng, we're going back. It's delicious food, fantastic wine, and a good cause. Win-win-win.
-Sam
If you want to find Bread of Life, here's a map.
It's about a twenty to thirty minute walk north of the dragon bridge. It is tucked away a bit, on a side street just a few buildings down from the roundabout. But if you keep your eyes peeled, its not hard to find.
PS. Thanks to us being busy and all, Erin and I will be returning to a weekly posting schedule, on or around Sunday.