Dine + Play

Vancouverite lover of thrifting, reading, eating, learning, traveling, all that makes one content in life, etc. Here's the focus on food and fun.

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Brewt. 2 cup tea steeper. Place it over your cup and it pours out of the bottom. Pick one up at your local Rockford Restaurant (Vancouver).

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Salty. This is probably the best seaweed I've ever tried; Costco's Kirkland brand.

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Red Light District. The Narrow (Main St and 3rd) is a difficult place to stumble across. The only way to spot it is to watch for the ominous red light above the doorway. It's tucked into the corner of a block of industrial shops and as you walk through the cement hallway you question if you should keep going. But once you enter the bar itself you get a very welcoming feel. Vintage paintings, pioneer portraits and moose antlers litter the walls of the narrow space. It probably holds about 35 people but the crowd is always chill and diverse. They have some amazing $11 cocktails and a range of beer/wine selection. Their food portions are on the smaller side but it works out paired with a filling drink. For a light appie try their cucumber salad served in its own little jar or the chilli lime popcorn. I also have a soft spot for salads and their asparagus salad is amazing, served warm with feta cheese covered in a basaltic reduction. If you are up for the hunt then The Narrow is a place to try, though attempt an early drink for it fills up fast.

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¿Dónde está la fiesta? I've never been a huge taco fan but I stopped in at La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop (322 W Hastings St) for a quick dinner and it's the service that makes me want to go back. They are very very friendly and the guy taking the orders gave such individual service to everyone. I ended up with a minced pork taco and chorizo chicken. I loaded them both up with the pickled onion. So good. They also have a good array of condiments like green salsa. The shop is super small, very narrow but they have the most colourful decor and mirrored walls to open the place up. Each taco is around $2.50 or $9.50 for 4 which is a pretty average price. Definitely a place I would check out again for an early dinner. They changed their hours recently and only open until 6PM.

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Meat and Bread.

It’s basically what you get at this Vancouver lunch spot. But minimalism means quality at Meat and Bread (370 Cambie St). Only open at lunch but serves up some crazy good sandwiches with simple side soup and salad. They only have one or two sandwiches available therefore not catering to the picky eater but the tasty condiments are worth the limitations. So good they are that you can buy them in shop as well. It’s very rustic in style with long communal benches and wood slabs as plates. They also make your meal right at the front counter with fast service and hip cooks. It’s good fast food you need to try.

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Sushi time.

Vancouver has as many sushi restaurants as coffee shops; littering every street corner. To be honest the quality is pretty consistent but Green Leaf Sushi (3416 West Broadway) has presentation that’s hard to come by. The decor is fresh and minimal and they don’t use the kitschy Asian dish-ware like everyone else. Pro! The food is so beautifully displayed and they are very creative with their rolls. For the Lily and Rose roll (tuna, salmon, crab) they replaced the rice with thinly slice cucumber which I’ve only ever seen once before. Their prices hover around $10 for specialty items but for basic rolls it drops to $3. Sushi is never really a wallet breaker in Vancouver. The best plus was the tea tasting like tea and not watered down. Though it’s a bit of a trek to get to, it’s a great place to grab lunch and relax in a locale that takes care of itself.

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Nubatown. A picture speaks 1000 words and makes you drool all over the keyboard! Nuba (207 W. Hastings St) is an amazing Lebanese, vegan, gluten free resto that has a bunch of locations in Vancouver. Their food is amazing. That's basically all I've got. I can't even find the perfect word to describe the awesomeness. Pictured above is the Eggplant Stew from their lunch menu at $11.25. For dinner or a social gathering I absolutely recommend Le Grand Feast. It can comfortably be shared by 3 and you get a taste of almost on the menu; meat skewers, najib, roast potatoes, pickled cabbage, hummus, hummus, hummus! Most dishes comes with an assortment of sides that are much tastier than normal fries and green salad. They even have cucumber flavoured water if you pass on their popular sangria. Their space is always full of patrons with a buzzing atmosphere and the service has never disappointed me. Definitely a place to check out and rmbr, Le Grand Feast!

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Oui, Poutine! Nothing beats poutine to fill a late night craving! Or for lunch, or dinner, or an after lunch or dinner snack ;) Canada's unofficial official food can be had at its best at Fritz European Fry House (718 Davie St). They decorate their space with awards and recognitions for their fries and poutine, and I've never been disappointed. Real cheese curds and the darkest gravy, cannot go wrong! The location is a very tiny space but it makes up for it in the variety it offers! The extra dollar is worth the garlic dip and any of the other (feta onion and mango curry to name a few) sauces they have! The prices may seem un-proportionate to the portions but fries, gravy and cheese can fill you up fast so don't be discouraged about price and size!

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Love Lhaksa. Most lunch time outings will have me at Tamarind Hill (1440 Lonsdale Ave) for some amazing Malaysian food. It is probably hands down one of my favourite restaurants ever. 
A hidden gem in North Vancouver, it’s always packed at lunch so show up right at opening at 1130AM. I’ve tried almost everything in the menu and can honestly say I love it all. Their most popular dish is their Lhaksa soup which comes in 3 varieties. Personally I’m a fan if the Sambal green beans and curried vegetables. But getting multiple dishes to share is the best way to enjoy the food
The only negative remark I can leave is that dinner and lunch menus are the same except the prices are raised a few dollars. Yet you don’t get much more food during dinner compared to lunch. So stick with afternoon meals and you’ll have nothing to regret I guarantee it.

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Baby Bell Bugs! Sweet snack for a tea party.

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Oh the Joy! Pho is always around the corner in Vancouver. Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant (551 Howe St) is one of the better Vietnamese places I’ve tried downtown. I was actually introduced to it by my parents who make special trips there for lunch. 
The variety is mostly pho, Viet subs, and rice and noodle dishes. They have a decent salad roll too but it lacks a certain flavour punch that I’ve experienced before. Prices average around $6-10 which is reasonable for the pho bowls but not necessarily for the plate of fried rice I ordered. But I can’t deny it was still tasty as I enjoy dishes on the salty side and with SriRacha, mmmmm. 
The space is small and is always busy around lunch so get there early. But you seat yourself and can order at the counter or with the waitress. You get a number and it feels quite fast food style but that’s the one downfall, they aren’t very fast at all. Service can be slow even if there are few patrons. But from the popularity, it seems to reflect that food quality is valued over speed.

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Bon Bon, Good Good.

Went with ma friend to Bon’s Off Broadway (2451 Nanaimo St) for a nice study break. $2.95 ALL DAY BREAKFAST. (Eggs, toast, fried potatoes, ham/or/bacon/or/sausages) And their whole menu is of similar value. Very filling too. I like the $3.95 pancakes.

It’s not the most well kept up location and it’s seat yourself and get your own water but that doesn’t deter from it’s popularity. It’s a super busy place on weekends and mornings so we make a date on weekday afternoons.

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Alibi Room

Continuing my love of Gastown„,

„,where we finally got into the Alibi Room (157 Alexander St). Previous attempts on weekends left us being turned away with waits up to 45minutes! It’s a very, very, very popular spot so it’s best to hit it up on a weeknight, and early in the eve. The bar sits a hop, skip and jump away from the railway tracks but the place is always so busy the crowd can actually drown out the passing trains. But holding a conversation isn’t too difficult as long as you keep your voice turned up a bit. It’s a beer focused bar where they have over 50 local and imported beers on tap. I’d like to let you the names of the beers we got but I honestly cannot remember them :( I know they were in the lager, belgian, pilsner & hefeweizen section and I had something with a shot of raspberry syrup which was so lovely. 

Our server was very knowledgable and helped us narrow down our selections, they have a 4 beer taster you can get, as well as a hoppiness scale to help you steer yourself in the right direction. It’s a great place to experiement and broaden your beer interactions. Though they have food most people come for the drinks but if you get the nibbles order their bucket of fries just because they have the most awesome chili garlic vingear. I’d probably like to drink that over the beer!

I advise taking a small group early in the eve to make sure you catch a seat. They are a communal bar with long tables that you share with other groups but I don’t feel like my privacy is being impeded on which is good. Tad loud but that comes with the territory and popularity of the place. I’d love to be back for drinks this summer!

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Six Acres

Must <3 Gastown. 

Such a great neighbourhood for food in Vancouver. Tested out Six Acres (203 Carrall St) last night and it was superb. The Beet Salad was so amazing I almost ordered another one! I love roasted beets and with warm, wilted arugula and Macedonia feta cheese Six Acres has given me the best salad in a long time. They also have $6 fries that you can get covered in mayo and bacon so it's basically like poutine (which is also on the menu) and was so tasty. Their Mac n Cheese was super petit and isn't something to rave about but it was served in its own mini skillet which, come on, is pretty friggen cute. They have a wide drink selection and though I couldn't find a beer that was perfectly up my alley it was great to peruse their menus which are bound in old thrifted books. The portions are small but reasonably priced so get a group of 4 together and get sharing! I quote,

"Our food is meant for sharing, because we feel sharing food is the most fun way to eat. Learning to share was our favourite lesson from Kindergarten. That and learning there were better things to eat out there than our glue sticks."

It's a tiny location so get there early or with a small party, they also don't seat more than 6 people in a group and they are only open for dinner. But even with those limitations it's a place I am excited to return too! We had great service from our handsomely groomed server and the atmosphere was very casual and the buzz around us wasn't too loud. If you go make sure to spend some time in their bathrooms where they play radio plays and audio books like Dr Seus while you go about your business!

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NYC.

It was supposed to be a food adventure, unfortunately the city was so big and we had such little time. But we luckily stumbled our way to some great restaurants and food just walking the neighborhoods!

Our hotel on Bowery and Broome meant we had easy access to Chinatown where we hit up Tasty Dumpling (54 Mulberry St, Chinatown) for $1.25 dumplings. Best lunch and fastest service. We were also recommended Congee Village (207 Bowery) but GoogleMaps sent us in the wrong direction and we ended in a typical and mediocre chinese restaurant.

Soho & NoLita were full of great looking restaurants; small spaces but menus that all looked amazing, our budget was what held us back. Though we did manage to find The Grey Dog (244 Mulberry St) which was a tasty burger/sandwich place where the veggie burger was not highly revered except it’s pesto sauce but make sure to get any salad with the Green Goddess dressing. We even hit it up again for breakfast and fresh smoothies. Avg. $9-12 plates.

Time Square scared our wallets but we did manage to find one of the few Tim Hortons <3 though the building was a kind of a hole in the wall and the place is always paired up with KFC!? We were intrigued by Bubba Gump Shrimp (1501 Broadway) but the portions were tiny and the food pretty darn bad, avg. $11-18. But in hindsight I guess it is more for the experience and creative decor (themed from Forrest Gump) than high quality seafood. But still. Don’t get the Shrimp Mac&Cheese. 

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Chelsea was an area we didn’t explore much but The Rocking Horse (182 Eighth Ave) was an upscale Mexican restaurant I tried. Very dark interior which didn’t help with my ineptitude to read and understand the menu. Though I ended up with the Tacos de Dorado which had a great lime-y spicy flavour. Avg. entree $15+ but that doesn’t mean cop out on their margaritas!

Further afield from Manhattan we visited Tom’s Restaurant (2880 Broadway), the famous Monk’s from Seinfeld. Obviously the interior isn’t the same as the show but we stayed for lunch and were satisfied with the standard diner burger. The menu is extensive but everything hovers around $10 which was acceptable for the quality and quantity. In Williamsburg we were introduced to Vinnie’s Pizzeria (148 Bedford Ave). Very creative pizza styles avg. $2-5 and my fav, the $1 garlic balls. 

The Lower East Side was the last neighborhood we explored and our first happy hour experience. L’asso (107 First Ave) was our restaurant of choice, and while empty on a wednesday night we were a large group and entertained ourselves. $5 for 2 pizza slices and a beer 6-9PM. And the pizza was my favourite kind, severely thin crust, lightly charred around the edges. It had a simple tomato base but was topped with large chunks of melted mozzarella. Cheese is all you need. And Katz’s Deli (205 E Houston) had cheese, smothering towers of corn beef and pastrami and the best was that they gave you a free side of pickles!! That made up for the $15 price tag on sandwiches. 

Obviously we only had a tiny taste of the Big Apple but I know we would put more effort into our food explorations the next time we visit. Hopefully soon!

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Dine + Play.

I love travelling and there is nothing better than having a local resident take you around to all the good food and locales in a city. 

Here is my attempt at informing visitors and locals on all the sights and sounds related to food and drink in the amazing city of Vancouver. 

Vancouver is where I live and here I will be your online guide, giving you the details on some of the best and worst scenes in the city that you can explore when here.