25 essential things to eat in Vancouver …
Credit to Author: Joseph Ruttle| Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2019 20:38:30 +0000
Special to Postmedia Network
Vancouver is a banquet replete with delicious things to eat and drink. Here are some of our favourites.
Breadbasket at L’Abattoir.
1. The breadbasket at L’Abattoir. Seriously swoony baked goods from the pastry team led by Hilary Prince: bacon brioche, anchovy and parmesan straws, and spiced flatbread. The bacon brioche and executive chef Lee Cooper’s baked oysters will have us coming back here forever. labbatoir.ca
2. Mushrooms on toast at Tableau Bar Bistro. Don’t let the demure name fool you: This is a rich, deeply flavourful dish of mixed mushrooms simmered in a brandy cream sauce and mounded on buttery brioche toast. tableaubarbistro.com
3. Cheese toast at Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar. Gooey, melty, cheesy deliciousness that’s a pretty sweet bargain during happy hour. Be warned: You can’t have just one. hysteakhouse.com
Bone marrow and sherry “bone luge” at Wildebeest.
4. Bone luge at Wildebeest. Messy, sure. But that’s not stopping us. Take a cracked, roasted beef bone. Savour the unctuous marrow inside. Then scrape up what’s left, pour a shot of sherry down the bone and into your mouth, and revel in the goodness. (We also love the bone marrow pizza at sister restaurant Bufala.) wildebeest.ca
Rustic country pate at Jules Bistro.
5. Homemade country-style pâté at Jules Bistro. Chef-owner Emmanuel Joinville’s rustic family recipe was passed down by his grandmother. Classic and comforting. julesbistro.ca
6. Belgian truffle pâté from Oyama Sausage. If there’s one thing that will get us to brave the Granville Island crowds on a Saturday, it’s this rich, creamy and fragrant pâté. Well, that and the 300 or so other products John van der Lieck and his team have created. oyamasausage.ca
The xiao long bao (soup dumplings) at R&H Chinese Food in Lansdowne Centre, Richmond.
7. Xiao long bao at R&H Chinese Food in Lansdowne Centre. We can argue whether Dinesty, Shanghai River or Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen makes better soup dumplings, but we can’t resist this low-key Richmond food court stall where the cooks make the XLB right in front of you. lansdowne-centre.com
The crab cake at Gotham Steakhouse.
8. Crab cakes at Gotham Steakhouse. Basically a fist-sized portion of pure Dungeness crab meat, lightly breaded and fried. Ridiculously good. gothamsteakhouse.com
The Aburi Oshi sushi at Miku Restaurant.
9. Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi from Miku. The flame-searing technique lightly caramelizes the fish, adding a smoky-sweet flavour and delicately crisp texture that we cannot resist. mikurestaurant.com
Roasted Brussels sprouts at The Flying Pig.
10. Brussels sprouts at The Flying Pig. Crispy, cheesy, a little spicy, totally tasty and good for you, too. Right? They are vegetables, after all, even if we’re eating them like potato chips. theflyingpigvan.com
Fish taco at Tacofino.
11. Fish taco at Tacofino. The taco that started it all. Pacific cod lightly battered and fried, served with salsa fresca and chipotle mayo in a soft tortilla. Enjoy with a Margarita (or two). tacofino.com
The Pourhouse burger at Pourhouse.
12. Pourhouse Burger. Dry-aged Cache Creek beef. Aged cheddar. A slab of crispy pork belly. Optional egg, chicken skin or foie gras. A bun that’s just the right size to contain all that goodness. We are so there for this. pourhousevancouver.com
13. The hot dog at Two Rivers Specialty Meats Shop & Eatery in North Vancouver. From the people who supply all your favourite restaurants with all the best meat comes a dog that will change your perception of the much-maligned tube steak: a natural beef foot long with house mustard, sauerkraut and bacon jam, on a buttermilk hot dog bun. tworiversmeats.ca
Spaghetti and meatballs at Pepino’s Spaghetti House.
14. Spaghetti and meatballs at Pepino’s Spaghetti House. Holy cannoli, that is one huge meatball! Three of them actually, in this retro throwback of a red sauce pasta dish from the team behind Savio Volpe. pepinos.ca
Dan dan noodles at Heritage Asian Eatery.
15. Dan dan noodles at Heritage Asian Eatery. A sophisticated take on the spicy, peanuty Szechuan takeout fave. Consider it comfort food with a kick. eatheritage.ca
16. The aka ramen at Marutama Ramen. In a city awash with great noodle bowls, founder Tetsuya Kudo’s signature creamy chicken broth, spiced with red chili flakes and ground nuts (“aka” means “red” in Japanese), stands out for warming kick and brilliant colour. marutama.ca
Barbecue pork at Parker Place Mall Fresh Meat and BBQ in Richmond.
17. Barbecue pork at Parker Place Mall Fresh Meat and BBQ and/or HK Barbecue Master in Richmond. Each of these classic Chinese BBQ joints has its adherents; both are delicious. Expect crisp crackling crust, tender meat, a silky fat cap and a perfect balance of sweet, salty and savoury flavours. parkerplace.com | visitrichmondbc.com
18. Lamb popsicles at Vij’s. Since they first opened their restaurant 25 years ago, Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala have tantalized us with the complex fragrance and spice of South Asian cuisine. These dainty lamb chops in fenugreek curry continue to be one of their most popular dishes. vijs.ca
19. Chicken and waffles at Jam Café. Breakfast hasn’t been the same since Jam came to town in 2017, and the hearty chicken and waffles will set you up for the day, and then some. jamcafes.com
20. Whole fried fish at Kissa Tanto. Whatever Joël Watanabe wants to cook, we’re hungry for. But his fried fish is next level – crisp and salty on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, served with a daikon soy dipping sauce that we cannot get enough of. kissatanto.com
Game tourtiere at St Lawrence.
21. Game tourtiere at St. Lawrence. This restaurant is chef-owner JC Poirier’s love letter to his Quebecois heritage, and this savoury meat pie is its S.W.A.K. (sealed with a kiss). A buttery crust, rich venison filling and a lake of wine-soaked sauce. stlawrencerestaurant.com
Butter croissant at Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe.
22. Butter croissant at Beaucoup Bakery. Co-owner and pastry chef Betty Hung makes perfect croissants that shatter explosively when you bite into them, but inside are tender and chewy and beautifully buttery, just the way they are supposed to be. beaucoupbakery.com
23. Kouign amann (pronounced queen-a-man) at Thomas Haas Chocolates. Thomas Haas makes many delicious things – croissants, sparkle cookies, beautifully painted bonbons — but we are a little obsessed with this Breton pastry that is a celebration of butter and sugar and all thing crisp and caramelly. thomashaas.com
24. Mermaid’s Choice bar at Mink Chocolates. There is, to be sure, a lot of good chocolate in Vancouver. BETA5, Temper, Thomas Haas, Wild Sweets, ChocolaTas all produce exceptional sweets. But we keep coming back to this dark chocolate bar filled with burnt caramel, fleur de sel and rosemary, which won gold at the 2014 International Chocolate Salon. minkchocolates.com
Apple tarte at Thierry.
25. The apple tart at Thierry. Pastry chef Thierry Busset thinly slices apples and bakes them atop puff pastry, then flips the whole thing over so the apples roast in sugar and the puff pastry is light and crisp. A sexy, sophisticated version of traditional tarte tatin, and one of our favourite things to eat ever. thierrychocolates.com
This city punches way above its weight when it comes to cocktails. Bar lists all over town feature plenty of candidates for made-in-Vancouver modern classics. Among them: The Avocado Gimlet at L’Abattoir, Chinatown Sour at Keefer Bar, Hotel Georgia Cocktail at Hawksworth, Blue Fig Martini at Chambar, the Four Horsemen created by Jay Jones or the Chartreuse Milkshake created by Lauren Mote.
And then there are these five quintessential Vancouver drinks:
1. The Vancouver Cocktail, anywhere that serves it. This hometown blend of gin, sweet vermouth, Benedictine and orange bitters was allegedly created at the Sylvia Hotel in 1954 and is a classic for good reason.
The Rye ‘N Reynolds cocktail at Botanist Bar in the Fairmont Pacific Rim.
2. The Rye ’N Reynolds at Botanist Bar in the Fairmont Pacific Rim. A modern spin on a classic whisky cocktail, created by Max Curzon-Price as a boozy nod to Vancity’s own Deadpool star. botanistrestaurant.com
Spanish-style G&T at Como Taperia.
3. A Spanish-style gin and tonic at Como Taperia. Best enjoyed with potato chips and conservas, the way they do in Barcelona. comotaperia.com
The Inception cocktail at Prohibition in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia.
4. The Inception cocktail at Prohibition in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Head bartender Robyn Gray’s fantasia of a traditional Negroni suspended inside an ice sphere floating inside a white Negroni. rosewoodhotels.com
5. The Bloody Caesar. Yeah, yeah, we know it was created in Calgary, but in a city that’s as obsessed with brunch as we are, it was inevitable that we would make this hangover-curing spicy tomato-and-clam-nectar drink our own. Our favourites include the five variations at Timber Gastropub (we especially like the Pickleback, made with dill-infused whisky and pickle juice), but if you’re all about the garnish, check out the Checkmate Caesar at Score on Davie, which is decked out with a whole rotisserie chicken, onion rings, hamburger, hot dog, shrimp and a couple of brownies, because why not. timbervancouver.com | scoreondavie.com
Joanne Sasvari is a Vancouver-based food and drink writer and the author of the Vancouver Eats cookbook.