Tossed

Tossed on Hornby and Robson is one of the recent restaurant/fast food joints that have opened up around downtown like Chopped Leaf or Freshii. I don't have any problems with that! I really like the concept of these restaurants: fresh, fast, healthy and customizable. Tossed also offers online ordering so to make your lunch go that much faster.

Thierry Patisserie

Sometimes I like to treat myself to something a little bit fancy. It was on one of those days that I ended up at Thierry Patisserie. If you are a fan of pastry and chocolates, you have probably heard of Chef Thierry. He was the pastry chef at Cin Cin and west and the opening of his cafe on Alberni and Thurlow was highly anticipated by pastry lovers, of which I am one. It took me a while to get there, but the anticipation did make the occasion special.

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant, from the outside, looks like one of those places that serves everything but doesn't seem to focus on anything. Going from what you can read when you pass the outside you can get: breakfast, lunch, snacks, salad bar, dinner, all day breakfast and authentic Vietnamese. I am a bit wary of the serve everything under the sun places as but, I heard this was the closest soup restaurant and I was looking for some pho.

Benkei Noodle Shop (Thurlow)

Ramen is one of my new obsessions and with Big M coming downtown for a lunch date, I thought it would be a great idea to try out Benkei Noodle Shop on Thurlow. It looks like they have 3 locations and the one on Thurlow is the closest ramen to my office.

Urban Grill & Urban Sushi

One of the first things I did when our office moved was to find a new sushi joint. There is certainly no shortage by my office. According to Urbanspoon, there are 53 downtown sushi restaurants. How do you start? I went to the closest one. That would be Urban Grill and Urban Sushi on Granville St.

Mario's Coffee Express

We have been in our new office building for just over two weeks now and Mario's Coffee Express is fast becoming a favorite, quick lunch spot with my coworkers. Tucked into a building on Howe and Dunsmuir St, it would be easy to miss except for the signs outside claiming "the best coffee in town". Every time I see this type of sign I want to run into the restaurant and re-enact the scene from Elf. Awesome. I have yet to do that, but I did stop in for a "famous grilled sandwich" (no video clip available)

Tomahawk Restaurant

Can you believe that I have lived in Vancouver for 16 years and I have never been to the Tomahawk Restaurant in North Vancouver? I went through the broke years, the vegan years, the no cars years and then finally, thanks to the amazing Sarah, I made it to the legendary Tomahawk.

Gyudon Ya

Gyudon Ya is a Japanese fast food restaurant on the corner of Robson and Richards. For all you old-skool Vancouverites, it is the Cafe Sil Vous Plait location. (I miss their cornbread.) They used to be very recognizable from their giant orange canopy outside the restaurant but I guess they decided to tone it down and now the signage is red. They serve one thing, Gyudon-a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce.

Peaceful Restaurant (Davie)

I am going to be upfront and say I really wanted to like this restaurant. I love handmade noodle shops. I love meals in soup. I really thought that Peaceful Restaurant on Davie was going to be an awesome meal. Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives went to the Broadway location when they came to town. I will also admit that I may have made a menu mistake and maybe something else would have made me come away with a better experience. That being said, I was sadly let down by this lunch.

Eat, Drink & Perch at the ARC Cafe

Eat, Drink & Perch has been on my wish list for as long as I have been back on the drive. Located at the bottom of Commercial Drive, it is one of the closest breakfast joints to my house. It was a lovely Saturday morning when I finally made it down there. I had just finished an early morning exercise class and decided to reward myself with a new breakfast experience. So much better than I had expected.

Something Healthy Wholesome Meals & Juice Bar

That is some name! No beating around the bush with what you are going to get here. Something Healthy Wholesome Meals & Juice Bar was a surprise to me. I ride my bike past it almost everyday, yet I didn't realize it was there until I stumbled across a description of the restaurant on another website. I was quite excited to try it as I am always on the lookout for good, affordable and healthy lunch options. It can't always be ramen...

Something Healthy is located down the street from International Village Mall in one of the new condo buildings. I am assuming they are fairly new as their website is nothing but a place holder, which I find strange in this day and age. There are a few pizza joints on this block and the Skytrain exit is right across the street so I imagine they must get some street walk ins.

Shady Island Seafood Bar and Grill

I have lived in Vancouver for over sixteen years now which means that it gets harder to find new and exciting things to do when my Mom comes to town. Some things we repeat, the Granville Island market is a favorite, and some things I will never do. I am talking to you, suspended bridge of doom. This visit was our first trip to Steveston. For living here so long, Steveston is still new to me. My first trip there was earlier this year for BBQ. This time we were there for the fish and chips.

Big M, surprisingly, decided to opt out of the trip to Steveston to poke around in the little shops and awesome Farmer's Market. So it was just Mommo and I as we hit the boardwalk in search of food. It was an amazingly beautiful Sunday so every place we saw was packed.  We randomly chose a restaurant which turned out to be Shady Island Seafood Bar and Grill.

Red Burrito (Robson)

I was playing around on the Urbanspoon site the other day trying to figure out where to go for lunch and a sidebar add came up showing a burrito. Perfect, as soon as I saw it, I could think of nothing but burritos. One of the closest burrito places to me is Red Burrito on Robson. Big M is a big fan of the Red Burrito on Commercial and he used to get burritos from there all the time when we lived on 5th. I hadn't been to the Robson location yet, so it was the natural choice.

Sake Maki

I have resisted going into Sake Maki  but not because of anything Sake Maki has done (I have heard good things about them) but because I really like the restaurant that used to be in that space.  They had an awesome peanut satay soup that I will never have again...  However, I put that aside and stopped in to fulfill a sushi craving on my way to the Trout Lake Farmer's Market a few weeks ago. 

The Noodle Box (Yaletown)

I had no idea that they had opened up a Noodle Box near my work in Yaletown until I read a Georgia Straight article about another restaurant opening near by.  So excited!  The Noodle Box in Kitsilano had been on my wish list for a while as I love noodles, but I rarely get to Kits.  I was so excited about the Yaletown opening that I took Big M there for a lunch date. 

Verace Pizzeria Napoletana and Enoteca

I am so happy that Vancouver is having a pizzeria explosion. Food on top of dough is almost as good as food wrapped in dough. Verace Pizzeria Napoletana and Enoteca is the newest offering within walking distance of my work, right beside the T&T Market, across from International Village Mall.

Ramen Jinya

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Ramen Jinya before it opened. They are located in the strip of restaurants just down from the Library on Robson; the old Ezogiku Noodle spot. They were also a ramen joint and I was never really pleased with their soup. My anticipation was building every time I went by the remodel, however, as they had a giant poster in the window stating that Ramen Jinya was named "one of the 10 best dishes of 2010 in LA". Well, high praise indeed and after my first taste of my soup, I was a believer.

Nelson the Seagull

Nelson the Seagull. I love this restaurant name. Something about having a proper name in there makes me think there is some kind of back-story. Was Nelson a pet bird of the family that saved their Grandmother's life and therefore deserves eternal fame and glory? I tried to get more information from their website, but it is in desperate need of an update. The best background I could find was from a Scout Magazine article from early summer. So, not as dramatic as my idea, but still pretty cool.

Initial impression: if you are a hipster and you need a really tasty sandwich or a place to hang out, drink coffee and ponder your next art installation- Nelson the Seagull is for you.

Cafe Deux Soleil

I lived down the street from Cafe Deux Soleil for 10 years. For seven of those years I was a vegan. I have eaten more tofu scramble than I could possibly put a number to. (Note to current vegans: I don't know if the tofu scramble is completely vegan. You should ask, I never did and just assumed it was. Back then the breakfast options were severely limited.) Cafe Deux Soleil has been on the Drive forever, or at least since I started hanging around in the late 90s.

Finch's Tea & Coffee House

Finch's Tea & Coffee House was a total surprise to me. I used to work a couple of blocks from the restaurant but would pass right by thinking it was just a coffee/bakeshop that was underneath a weird hostel. It wasn't until I was eavesdropping on a Twitter conversation (eavesreading?) between @YVRBcbudz and @foodologyca where Sean included a picture of his recent sandwich adventures that I took notice. She didn't end up going to Finch's that day, but I am so glad that I did.

Save on Meats Coffee Shop

Big M and I decided to celebrate Canada Day by bike riding around the city.  Our first stop was to be the celebrations down at Canada Place and then over to Granville Island.  All this bike riding would require some sustenance and we decided to take the opportunity to check out the newly reopened Save On Meats Coffee shop.

I will admit that I had never eaten at, or been to, Save On during it's first incantation.  I didn't even see the No Reservations Vancouver episode where Anthony Bourdain ate there until after the restaurant closed.  I will also admit that I love me a good bandwagon so I was excited to go to the new shop.

Legendary Noodle

I know that I have previously mentioned my love of street festivals.  Walking down the middle of streets that are normally teeming with traffic gives me no end of joy.  Italian Days on the Drive was beautiful and sunny;  car free days were not.  It was so cold!  I walked right past the Commercial Drive car free days (how many booths of sarongs does one place need? In my opinion, nine is too many.) and on to Main St.  By the time I walked up the street I was so cold that I felt it was a perfect opportunity to partake in my second favorite thing, dumpling.  Legendary Noodle House was calling my name.

Nu Greek Street

I will admit that I was one of the curious who walked up and down Georgia Street the day after the stupid hockey riots and although I love Vancouver, I didn't feel the need to write on the boarded windows of the Bay.  I don't think I could have made it through the crowds anyway.  I did however, fight my way through the crowds to the Nu Greek Street food cart. I am so happy that I did!

Cafe D'Azur

I am really excited about my office move coming up, now in October.   I do most of my blog eating at lunch time and I have hit most of the restaurants that I am really excited about in the area.  I am on to the ones that are in the area, but don't excite me that much.  Whether that be in the food that they serve or the look of their signage.  (I do judge a restaurant by it's cover).  This does leave me open for a pleasant surprise in some lunch spots but sadly, not this time.  Just off Robson is a little French cafe, Cafe D'Azur.

Ragazzi Pizza Truck

Remember that one really nice day that we had this month?  Yes, that one where the sun was shining and we all got a bit of a sunburn because it was the first sunny day and we forgot to wear sunscreen.  The one where we thought, finally- summer is here!  That was the day of Italian Days on the Drive.  I wanted to ease everyone into the sunny pictures that you are about to see.  On that one sunny day, I ate pizza at the Ragazzi Pizza Truck.



I loved the Italian Days decor they had going.

Fresh Local Wild

Previously on Fresh Local Wild...

To catch you up to speed, the FLW cart I reviewed previously is now the Kaboom Box at the same location on Granville and Robson. Do not fret, they still serve the awesome poutine. I am happy to report that Chef Josh is back on the streets with his new cart Fresh Local Wild on Burrard and Hastings.

And what an impressive cart it is! It has a patio and is carbon neutral. Chef modified the generator to run on the used fryer oil. That means the more french fries I eat, the more I save the world. Thanks Chef! Talking to him about the cart he said that he designed and built a lot of it himself as the cart has some very unique features like the patio and the saloon-type doors that open into the trailer.

Boneta

Big M and I celebrated our one year anniversary on May 29.  We had talked about returning to Vegas, where we got married, but instead we spent that money on a trip to Red Deer for my Mom's birthday.  Red Deer is just as awesome as Vegas.  (Hi Mom!)  But that did leave us with what to do for anniversary dinner. I always enjoy a chance to dress up and be fancy so I sent Big M a "short list" of about 12 restaurants from my wish list and he chose Boneta. Hooray!

I was working in Gastown when Boneta opened up on the corner of Cordova and Carrall St back in 2008. I will admit that at the time, I thought this was a crazy choice and they wouldn't last. This was before the Woodward's building were complete and pre hip restaurant explosion in Gastown. Prime Time Chicken was the closest competing restaurant. Well, I was sure wrong on that prediction.

Theresa's

I have been going to Theresa's, in one form or another, for years now. Back in the day it was a favorite breakfast place of the old band, Hurricane Kitty. We liked it because they had a good vegetarian breakfast and because of the owner, Theresa. She remembered every person who came in and what they ordered. I have always been amazed/jealous of people who could do that.

Theresa moved away and the restaurant then became a worker owned and run co-op cafe that they named Theresa's. They renovated, I don't miss the corrugated metal wall that people wrote on, and slowly the things that I enjoyed about the restaurant changed. The service became a bit standoffish, the potatoes and bread changed. We slowly stopped going. Then Big M and I moved to Burnaby and the restaurant had a kitchen fire (not related). Now we have moved back to the Drive and the restaurant has reopened (also coincidence) so we thought it would be a good time to go back.

Caffe Barney

Today's post is brought to you by the awesomeness that is the Legend of Bonefish. Way back in the day I worked in theatre and my favorite shows to work were the sketch comedy shows. (I once ran the lights and sound for a show with the cues written on a napkin two minutes before the show started!  Without mistake, I might add.) With that work I was lucky enough to meet award winning actor, writer and man about town, Peter New. 15 years later, he took me to lunch at Caffe Barney on Main Street.



We had wrapped our green screen filming before we were able to go to our next location so actor Peter New took Mike, Phil and I out for lunch to Caffe Barney as it was near our second shoot destination. I was excited about this lunch as another friend loves this place and I have been past there many times and there is always a crowd. That has to be a good sign, right?

Campagnolo Roma

I like to flatter myself into thinking that I have my finger on the pulse of all that is hip and cool. For instance, Big M and I bought a condo near Hastings and Commercial because Hastings Sunrise is going to be the next big thing. The Waldorf had just reopened and then Red Wagon came along and now Campagnolo Roma opened up right across the street from Red Wagon. All awesome. Finger on the pulse (not a phrase that I coined, BTW).

Campagnolo Roma is the newest restaurant in the Refuel, Campagnolo family. I was amazed by the speed that they opened this restaurant. It is in the old Caribbean Hut Express location, and if you know that building, it is not pretty. A lovely example of 70s architecture that is all brown, cedar panelling and set back from the road a bit. Big M and I wondered how they were going to make this location look cool. We should never have doubted.

Frankie's Italian Kitchen & Bar

Frankie's Italian Kitchen is the new restaurant in the Georgian Court Hotel, where the William Tell and the Beatty St. Grill used to be. We get very excited when new restaurant opens near our work (someone needs to take over the old Dix space!), so it is no surprise that the day I went to Frankie's two other groups of co-workers came in.

I have worked down the street from the Georgian Court for a couple of years now but I had never gone to the William Tell. The Beatty St. Grill had been a favorite of a few co-workers. I was happy to see the bartender of Beatty St. had been kept on as a waiter in Frankie's. I feel bad that I don't know his name, but he was always the highlight of the Beatty St. Grill.- happy and always quick with a joke every time we went in there. He said that the pub side of Beatty St./Frankie's Kitchen was not going to be open for lunch for a while but would be open at night. They have an excellent patio and always do some sort of BBQ for game nights.

Hog Shack Cook House

Roller derby has brought many wonderful things to my life. One of those things is the amazing, funny and talented Cherry Grant aka Vicki. So when she emailed me and said "Let's go eat some meat", how could I say no?

I almost did though, because she wanted to go to the Hog Shack Cook House... in Steveston! I realized that in the 16 years that I have lived in Vancouver, I have never been to Steveston. Mainly because I didn't have a car for 13 of the 16 years and Steveston is really far on the bus. I made Big M come with me in case I got lost in the wilds of Richmond. Such a strange road that has farms on the one side and suburbs on the other.

But, we made it to the BBQ house!

Next Noodle Bar

My hours at work changed recently which gives me an earlier lunch time. I now lunch from 11:30-12:30. For a lunch time blogger, this has been an excellent change. I can now hit the more popular restaurants before the lunch time crowd gets there.

Next Noodle Bar is one of those places. On my 12-1 lunch times I was never able to eat here as there would be a line up by the time I made my way up Robson St. Now, I can walk right in and get a seat. I have taken advantage of this on more than one occasion now. This will be an amalgamation of three lunches! (spoiler- I like this place)

Falafel Maison

You know that game where you have to pick the one food you would be stranded on a deserted island with? For me, it would be a hard toss up between the pan-fried vegetarian dumplings from the deeply missed Sha Lin Noodles, or a shawarma plate. I L.O.V.E. shawarma. Think of the heavenly smell of walking past a shawarma place with the meat rotating on the spit.... Sigh.

Back in the days before I found JC I used to have Shawarma Tuesdays (and usually Thursdays) every week. Apres JC, I have only been a couple of times. Like poutine, I have made the switch to make it a special treat rather than a regular occurrence.

So it was a special day that brought me to Falafel Maison on Robson St. They are located in that strip of restaurants that are across from the Library by Japadog and Viet Sub. A great place to go if you are not quite sure what you want...  I, however, had no doubts that I wanted a shawarma plate.

Cora

My favorite breakfast chain has finally come to BC! My first introduction to the Montreal based chain, Cora was in Newfoundland when we went to visit Big M's family in 2005. We had just gotten off the plane and the in laws took us there for a late breakfast. It was a long trip and I was a bit plane fatigued but I remember being so impressed by breakfast.  My first breakfast with  I wondered why they were not in BC as their focus on healthier, fruity breakfasts would be a hit on the Best, I mean West, Coast.

We had another couple of visits when they opened up a franchise in Calgary. I was happy to go, but it makes me crazy-mad when Alberta has things that BC does not. That is just not right. So my joy was increased when I found out that some smart person had opened up in Coquitlam, near the Coquitlam Centre mall.

Big M and I were so excited that we woke up early to go for brunch....on Mother's Day.

Pho Thuy Dong- Red Deer

My love of pho has no borders. It even follows me to Red Deer. After spending the day at Bower Mall, which is a good mall now but I miss MMMMmmmmMuffin and San Fransisco, we decided it was time for lunch. And for Big M and I, this brought on a craving for pho. Mom had taken me to a Vietnamese plade behind the Superstore (where I worked in the early 90s) before, so we went again.

Pho Thuy Dong Vietnamese Restaurant is much bigger and fancier since we were there last. They must be doing well as they have taken over the place next door and now run one of the biggest pho places, with the nicest decor, that I have been in. I said it before with the Momo sushi review, but wow. My favorite pho place in Burnaby is a hole in the wall with some pictures of Vietnam taped to the wall along with menu photos. Nothing like this:

Momo Sushi- Red Deer

Big M and I recently travelled to Red Deer for my Mom's 65th birthday party.  Mom suggested that we go for dinner on one of the nights to a cute place that was around the corner from her place.  It turned out to be a sushi restaurant!  When I left Red Deer in 1994 I had never been to a sushi joint.  I am not even sure if RD had any sushi places.  Back then my tastes ran towards Boston Pizza and Humpty's Egg Palace (an all night coffee house with grumpy waitresses who would let a bunch of broke college kids sit around and drink pot after pot of coffee as long as we ordered some fries and were willing to take their abuse.  Hi Susan!).

Momo Sushi comes quite highly rated on the Red Deer version of Urbanspoon. My Mom is quite and adventurous eater so we braved the snow and off we went for some sushi.

Roundel Cafe

I really, really wanted to like the Roundel Cafe. Breakfast here has been on my list for some time. Everyone I know raves about the food and it is now just up the street from me. I love the signage and the look of the interior is right up my alley in a retro/vintagey/hipster mismatched tables and wood style.



And then they served me what I have come to refer as....
PANCAKES OF DISAPPOINTMENT.

Britannia Sushi

One of the things that I love about Vancouver is our rush to the patio whenever there is even a suggestion of sun. Even if it is not warm. Just turn on the patio heater and bring on the sangria!

It was one of those days that brought me to Britannia Sushi on Commercial Drive. Britannia is the closest sushi place from my house when I head south on Commercial. They do have a patio but I really don't enjoy eating my food outside when the weather is below 20. I know, strange for a Vancouverite.

The Prophouse Cafe

I ride my bike past The Prophouse Cafe almost every day. They have one of the more interesting concepts for a restaurant in the area. From what I can tell, they originally opened the store as a movie rental/vintage shop and then they decided to add a cafe/coffee shop to that list.



I think the best word to describe this place is eclectic.

Marulilu Cafe

It was a rainy Sunday that found Big M and I at Whole Foods. Big M loves their muffins. On occasion I come with him and we have lunch at their food bar. It is a bit expensive but we have developed skills to avoid taking the heavy, pricey items. On this day we got there about the time they were switching from breakfast to lunch. Nothing that was currently out appealed to me that much so we decided to go elsewhere.

After lamenting the loss of Sha Lin Noodles, we chose to go to Marulilu Cafe which is across the street and the corner from Whole Foods on Broadway.


(sorry about the weirdo angle. It was crazy raining out and I wanted to stay under the awning)

La Brasserie Street

La Brasserie Street is a new street food cart, sort of. Kimono Koi Crepes has closed their lovely pink cart and reinvented themselves in a collaboration with Davie Street restaurant, La Brasserie.

They have a simple, and awesome concept. A good sandwich.

Chocolate Buffet at Flerui in the Sutton Place Hotel.

The story of the Chocoholic Buffet at the Sutton Place Hotel has been passed around like a legend for quite some time. I believe the first time I heard it was when I was at an underwear party and a fella was trying to impress me with how many ladies he takes to the buffet (not impressed, btw. He was barking up the wrong tree in those days. I finally had the chance to go as Liza planned her birthday party for the buffet.

The buffet is located in the Fleuri restaurant in the hotel. You will know where to find it as you walk in. You can smell the chocolate from the lobby. The official details for the buffet are:
• Seatings: 6:00pm - 8:30pm and 8:30pm - 10:00pm
• $28.00 per adult / $14.00 per child (12 years and under)
• Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday

They strongly recommend reservations, although we were there on a Thursday and there were maybe 4 groups there. I can imagine that weekends would be busier.

Red Pagoda

It was a rare sunny day that brought me out for a walk down Commercial Drive. A trip to Home Depot, some new pants at Spank and lunch at Red Pagoda were on the agenda.

Red Pagoda is one of the restaurants that appeared during my absence from living on Commercial. This spot used to be an Indian restaurant that I enjoyed, but I am happy to have a pho restaurant on the Drive! And even happier that it was good pho.

Cafe Des Arts

This post is more of an amalgam of meals rather than a description of one meal. Cafe Des Arts is the restaurant that is directly across from my office so I have enjoyed many breakfasts/lunches/snacks there.

There is a good chance that you would not have noticed a restaurant here.  It is located beside the old Dix building.   People in the area do know about it as there is always a line up, especially at lunch time. I am going to coin a phrase here and call it a "hidden gem". I hope that catches on.

Volcano Sushi

A recent self discovery about my restaurant habits is that I am attracted to fonts. I judge a restaurant by it's awning much like I judge books by their covers. I have subconsciously judged people who use papyrus as their main font. This could the be the reason that I have wanted to go to Volcano Sushi and Grill since we moved into the hood. I love their sign. The image it portrays to me is bad-ass sushi.

The Charlatan

I mistakenly left Commercial Drive for a couple of years, so I hadn't been into The Charlatan yet. I know that it was there before I left but I actually hadn't been in that spot since it was Bukowski's Pub. I spent a lot of time in Bukowski's Pub, back in the day.

Yvette and I set up another Drinks on the Drive date and we decided on The Charlatan as it is somewhere in the middle of where we both live. I found out from their website that they are the same group that runs The Five Point on Main St. Excellent, I like that joint.

Nuba (Waldorf Hotel)

I am going to start this post with an apology to the fine people of Silverton and New Denver. I am sure your part of BC is lovely and you are all very wonderful people. I just don't take my friends leaving Vancouver and you are going to bear the brunt of my anger because I don't know you.

Jay and Robin finally delivered on their threat to leave Vancouver and move to Stupid New Denver. Technically, New Denver is the big city to where they moved, Sucky Silverton- population 400. Now, 402. Since we live in the hood and Jay is a vegetarian who doesn't eat cheese, I thought it a perfect opportunity to go to the Nuba(Waldorf)!


Picture from the Waldorf website.

Warning. This dinner was epic.

Rasoee Indian Kitchen

Most times I choose restaurants to go into based on reputation or recommendations. Some serve food that I like to eat, some I go into because I like the look of them. I went into Rasoee Indian Kitchen on Robson Street because it smells so good! Every time I walk by it is like walking into waves of yummy Indian food smells.



Turns out, I also like the look of it. Excellent modern decor. The chairs look great, not so awesome to eat in as they are a bit low. The booths and tables to the side of them are perfect height.