Quantum Cafe & Bistro

By Andy Monday July 16, 2012

At Andy Eats A Lot, I, Andy, believe in equality. Who says that we need to restrict ourselves to the harrow streets of Gastown or Richmond in order to get a good, wholesome bite? Of course, this is analogous to dealing with two patients in an emergency, which may occur at obscure jazz concerts. Imagine a scenario in which a portly, silver gentleman, who is clearly eons older than the rest of the crowd, happens to trip over an empty can of PBR while separating himself from a group of minority students. At the same time, say one of these students accidentally cuts themselves on a broken bottle that the elderly gentleman chose not to properly recycle, and the student suffers a major hemorrhage in their chest from the broken glass. Do we draw more attention to the former or the latter? As humans, we would often give priority to the individual spewing out copious amounts of blood, as this is more exciting to us.

The consideration of such predicaments was done in my First Aid Course, which happened to take place in New Westminster. Lasting for about eight hours a day, I was somewhat at a loss as to what I could consume for lunch in the area. Walking a couple blocks up the gigantic hill that is 6th St., I essentially discovered Quantum Cafe & Bistro, something far off the beaten path and, perhaps, a bit less exciting than a bleeding young adult.

Seeking an establishment that diverged from your typical fast food chains, I stepped into the small cafe. A quainter space, Quantum had a modern feel to its exterior and interior; it heavily employed darker colours set against a brighter lime green. Quantum is a small operation ran by a courteous Middle Eastern man who seemed eager to serve. In case you were wondering, no, Planck’s constant and the emission spectra for hydrogen are nowhere to be found in the cafe.

Perusing your typical options of sliced bread and sources of protein, I opted for a roasted beef panini with a cream of tomato soup. The panini was toasted up for me relatively quickly as I sat down at a table, the cafe’s sole patron given the later lunch time. Upon arrival, I found the roast beef to be flavourful and accompanied favourably by a pack of fresh vegetables. That said, one thing that I would have preferred would be a crispier texture to the bread, even in spite of the obvious signs of the panini press. As for the soup, it was thick and tasted relatively standard and fulfilled its role of accompanying the panini.

Overall, I would probably not drive all the way back out to New Westminster just to visit Quantum again. However, if I were somehow in the area and in search of a lighter, non-chain meal for lunch, I wouldn’t say no to this place. I suppose this is exactly the crowd they literally cater to, given the number of offices and other work areas in its proximity. After all, whether or not you’re bruised or severely bleeding, everybody needs a certain amount of attention.

Conclusion: Andy ate a fair amount.