Checking out Nanaimo with advice from Twitter

A gateway to Vancouver Island: Departure Bay, Nanaimo, B.C.

I put this question out on Twitter yesterday and was grateful for the suggestions I received.

Following a tip from @boutiquemac and @HiredGuns – we visited Mon Petit Choux Bakery & Cafe at 120 Commercial Street (at Wharf) in Nanaimo.

And it was great.

Tasty drinks, good food, Bob Marley playing on the stereo, and a comfortable, open space with big windows and a nice view.

For some reason, on a whim, I decided to try a London Fog for the first time.

The cafe we visited in Nanaimo today after consulting with the Twitterverse

I ordered a hot London Fog for myself and an iced one for my son.

We also split an order of French toast and it was a nice touch that the waitress asked the kitchen staff to put it on two plates for us. It was, as the waitress described it, like a bread pudding style, rich and tasty.

We have one more day, and plan to check out Bocca on Fitzwilliam or Serious Coffee on Commerical, suggested by @rcthink – and @amandabrittain has me curious about Modern Cafe near the convention centre. “Best mac and cheese ever!”

We saw this boutiquemac sign right beside Mon Petit Choux, so I stopped in to say thanks to whomever tweeted the suggestion. Turns out it was Jason, who came out from the back to say hi.

It’s always interesting to see the face behind the tweet – and so cool to be able to get advice on good cafes when you’re in another town. The Twitter community comes through again FTW!