Beyond Robson
Thursday, May 21st, 2009Ahh, breakfast this morning was a potato focaccia from Terra Breads factory (on East 5th) on the way to the Vancouver Guild meeting. All those simple carbs are running straight through my bloodstream and I’m in a food kind of mood right now.
We are lucky to have a pretty extensive Vancouver blog here called Beyond Robson that details all the inner goings on of the city in terms of music, art, food and generally cool stuff. But when visitors come to Vancouver, it’s hard to refer them to a site like that because they’ll have no idea how to decipher it. It also tends to be a bit political in it’s reviews and opinions and so, is kind of more for locals. So, when people say they are coming to Vancouver, I send them a list of my most favourite restaurants and places in Vancouver.
The Foundation Eatery
2301 Main St., Vancouver, BC
http://www.foodvancouver.com/restaurant-review.php?restaurant=508
Vegetarian, but amazing. The very best nachos (and guacamole) in Vancouver (served after 5pm). Ask marirob… they went twice.
Chambar
562 Beatty Street, Crosstown, Vancouver BC
http://www.chambar.com/
Belgian beer and food. Mussels Congolese… really really good. It seems like it might be a bit pretentious, but the restaurant is really quite casual. “Crosstown” is just outside of Gastown, near downtown.
Grub on Main
4328 Main Street, Vancouver
http://grubonmain.ca/
One of the newest restaurants on Main street. Everything is super fresh… and they make a random vegan dessert every day which is remarkably good. That photo to the left… Prohibition Punch in old-school punch bowls with melamine ladles. A combination of Pimm’s lime syrup, ginger beer, cucumber, strawberries, bitters and apple slices… perfect for a warm sunny afternoon on Main Street.
Sweet Revenge
4160 Main Street, Vancouver
http://www.sweet-revenge.ca/main.html
For late night dessert!
Dragon Ball Tea House
1007 W King Edward, Vancouver
http://www.dinehere.ca/restaurant.asp?r=300
This place is good for late night bubble tea cravings… you’ll have to wait your turn though.
Finch’s Tea & Coffee House
353 West Pender, Vancouver
http://www.dinehere.ca/restaurant.asp?r=808
This is my absolute favourite café in Vancouver. I’ve written about it many times here… They make really wonderful baguette sandwiches and fresh soup every day. Masala chai tea. Everything is made fresh, so sometimes the lunch lineups can be long and frustrating (since they always run out of seating too)… but I think it’s worth it. This is just outside Gastown, so if you are visiting old historic downtown Vancouver, this might fit in…
Slickity Jim’s Chat & Chew
2513 Main Street, Vancouver
http://www.vancouverplus.ca/portal/profile.do?profileID=671929
Mostly brunch/breakfast things. During the weekdays that you’ll be here, it most likely will be easy to get in. On the weekends, the lineup is insane.
People emailing me about Vancouver usually want to visit yarn stores too, so the ones that I send them to are Three Bags Full, Urban Yarns, and Maiwa’s new yarn store on Granville Island at the Net Loft.
This summer, the Vancouver Art Gallery is also showing a pretty massive exhibit, “Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art” which includes a single Vermeer painting and over one hundred pieces of artwork from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. If you’re in Vancouver sometime before September 13th, this is worthy of at least one visit. I’ve been twice already and it’s still not enough to absorb all of the work. The detail and skill in some of the works is inconceivable.
And sort of related, is the Saturday Circus that meets outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Saturdays… I found Christa Giles, local knitwear designer and knitting instructor, there teaching people the art of hooping this past weekend!
And there are a few newer-to-me places where I would take my empty stomach on any night of the week:
Jang Mo Jib
1719 Robson St, Vancouver
http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/korean-food-at-jang-mo-jib/
Handmade Korean dumplings. Hot pot that is to die for.
Book Kyung Ban Jeoum
1638 Robson, Vancouver
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/515627
It has the Korean version of my beloved Za Jiang Mein. Wheat noodles smothered in black bean sauce and onions. It’s item number one on the menu and rings up under $7. I could eat this every day of my life, happily.
Motomachi Shokudo
740 Denman Street, Vancouver
http://www.beyondrobson.com/restaurants/2009/02/motomachi_shokudo/
If you can’t wait in the line up for ramen at Kintaro on Denman, go to Motomachi. It’s run by the same people… just a little bit more upscale and organic.
I’m off to find some dinner now before tonight’s spinning class…
