Edible BC really started the whole food tour scene  that is blowing up now, with lots of new companies offering great food tours to locals & tourists today (the most notable newbie – Vancouver Food Tour).

I’ve done a Commercial Drive tour and the Chinatown tour with Edible BC and enjoyed both of them. If you’ve never been on a food tour, well it’s pretty fun. You talk about food, you eat lots of samples, then you talk about food some more, and eat a little more. Really, how can this not be fun?

Here are highlights from our Chinatown Tour:

• A good thing about booking a tour on a cold February day – it’s not too busy! It was just my friend and I that were signed up, so we had a nice, private tour
• We started our tour over dim sum at Jade Dynasty Restaurant (137 East Pender St), where Dora ordered up traditional dim sum fare while explaining its background in Chinese culture. Dora’s most recommended dim sum at Jade Dynasty are the deep-fried sesame balls filled with black sesame paste. Very yummy.
• After dim sum, we walked through Chinatown and around the free side of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden (50 E. Pender St), while Dora gave us a historical overview of Vancouver’s Chinatown and pointed out key buildings and landmarks
• A tea tasting was next at Ten Ren Tea and Ginseng Company (550 Main Street), where we sampled different varieties of Chinese teas and Dora showed us proper tea brewing techniques
• After tea, we strolled through Chinatown’s plentiful produce stands, where Dora pointed out some exotic Asian ingredients,  and I picked up some Asian greens.
• More food was next at the Sun Fresh Bakery House, which specializes in fresh steamed pork buns, and the sweet cocktail buns filled with a sweet coconut and peanut filling. The pork bun was so good and juicy, the juice squirted out and ran down my entire jacket! A messy, but yummy affair. I also picked up a pack of freshly steamed red bean paste buns, my absolute favourite.
• After our snack, it was over to Guo Hua Enterprise, a store selling a crazy amount of Chinese herbal medicine and ingredients. My friend did a medicinal reading with a Chinese medicinal expert at the store and bought a week’s worth of prescribed herbal remedies. I have a brave friend as there were some totally strange ingredients in there! While we waited for my friend’s “prescription” to be made up, we munched on some Goji berries – a recent mainstream health food that’s been around forever in Chinese culture.
• Next was the Dollar Meat Store, where you can buy fresh meat from the butchers.  But more importantly, you can buy bbq pork, roasted duck, and Chinese sausages. So delicious! We bought a pound of BBQ pork and duck – believe it or not, we were headed to a dinner party after this tour.
• And finally, our last stop was at Ming Wo Cookware’s Chinatown location – the original and biggest store out of its five locations around Vancouver.
• The tour lasted the entire afternoon, starting at 1pm and ending around 5:30pm. An additional takeaway from the tour included a handout with details on the places we visited plus additional recommendations.

It was a great time – thanks to Dora and Edible BC for a fun afternoon!

Read more about Edible BC’s Tours here. The price is $65/person with the dim sum lunch, or $40 without the lunch. I’d definitely recommend having the lunch – it immerses you more into things.

Another tip – there’s a buy 1 get 1 free coupon in the Green Zebra Guide, which I used for this tour. The savings on this one item paid for the coupon book.

Edible BC also offers an excellent tour of Granville Island. Happy eating, on whatever tour you join!

My friend suggested we brunch and walk the village last weekend, and we had a great time. West Point Grey Village features a mix of excellent stores, restaurants, and great food shops. Here are some highlights from our  afternoon:

Brunch was at Provence Mediterranean Grill (4473 W. 10th Ave), a nice spot for a quiet weekend brunch. We dug into lamb panini, French inspired vegetarian eggs benedict, and a fluffy omelettes. The egg dishes come with the awesome breakfast potatoes, which are deliciously bad for you…fried until crisp and then sauteed in butter.

After brunch, we headed across the street to Mix the Bakery (4430 W. 10th Ave.) and picked up a couple loaves of their famous Super Grain bread. The bakery sells out of certain breads fast, so call ahead and reserve a loaf if you can’t get there in the morning.

With the Super Grain bread safely tucked away, we leisurely walked the ‘hood. Some of our favourite places:

The Natural Gardener (4376 W. 10th Ave.) – I’ve taken a few gardening courses here and always like browsing the plants and gardening supplies here. For a complete novice like me, this store is very helpful.

Tenth & Proper (4483 W. 10th Ave) – a store filled with beautiful, feminine clothing and dresses.

T-Room (4445 W. 10th Ave). – part tea and baked goods cafe, part  kitchenware store, there’s something for any foodie here.

Urban Yarns (4421 W. 10th Ave) – I’m no knitter, but I’ve met an inordinate amount of friends at this store – all of them looking for good yarn. The store also teaches knitting classes.

Moricotta (4429 W. 10th Ave) – Expensive but beautiful Italian and European housewares.

Sasamat Seafood and Sushi Market (4515 W. 10th ave) – A small seafood shop that also makes sushi trays to order with fresh fish brought in daily from Japan.

The Butcher on 10th (4529 W. 10th) – Great butcher shop with good quality meats and good selections of sausages and pates.

Pane e Formaggio (4532 W. 10th) – This shop is near the end of the strip, across from Safeway, but don’t miss it. It’s an Italian artisan bakery, cafe, and grocer. Browse the shop and have some fresh gelato while picking up a selection of cheese, meats, and fresh bread. I also picked up a light and crunchy pine nut cookie for the walk back to the car.

My friend and I will return to West Point Grey Village again. It was a great spot to spend some calm time together while brunching, shopping, and walking.

The Drive is an interesting spot in the city.  People usually call Commercial Drive Vancouver’s “Little Italy.” It is very Italian, but I can’t say there are any Italian restaurants on the Drive I need to eat at. Don’t assume the Italian food is good just because you’re in the Italian district (that said, people would tell me Lombardo’s and Marcelo’s are okay bets. But just okay to me. And only the Commercial Drive Lombardo’s, not their other location).

The Commercial Drive Website has a nice guide of the ‘hood online here (pdf).   I usually spend my time between E 1st ave and E 6th ave. But if I have the time I’ll walk further north towards Kitchener and Charles St, which has more restaurants and a slightly different vibe.  Grandview Park on a summer day is always lovely, as is ice skating at Britannia Community Centre.

But, back to Saturday. Our focus was mainly food, and we only had a couple hours, so we hit what I think are the best spots:

First, brunch at Cafe Deux Soleils – casual vegetarian eatery with big portions and tasty cheap eats. Organic coffee, fresh baked muffins, smoothies, and breakfast eats like veggie hash, eggs benny, veggie sausage.

Next, Prado Cafe for me, as the coffee at Cafe Deux Soleils didn’t quite have the punch I needed. One shot of espresso and a shot of water. Perfectly smooth and strong. Prado is one of many good coffee houses on the Drive. Look for JJ Bean, Prado, Joe’s, Continental, or anything independent. Not Waves or Starbucks.

Suitably caffeinated, we got distracted shopping at Barefoot Contessa (lovely, girly things) and Wonderbucks (for cheap housewares).

And then came the food shopping.

- The First Ravioli Store for fresh pastas and Italian ingredients like olive oil packed tuna, olives, and all sorts of pasta shapes.

- Fratelli Bakery , which always smells amazing when you walk in. Italian pastries (plus a few French pastries for good measure). In additional to breads and cakes, they also carry a big variety of little tarts and squares that are great for dinner party desserts. The best deal here is their frozen pizza dough, which comes in white or whole wheat for cheap (I paid $1.25 last time I bought it, but that was a while ago).

- La Grotta Del Formaggio. My go-to place for Italian meats, pastas, olive oils, cheeses, and San Marzano tomatoes.  I often see the same olive oil they carry at Urban Fare for $5-10 more. Their sandwich bar is very popular – piled high with different meats & cheeses and grilled.

- JNZ Deli. There was a line-up out the door when we arrived. We patiently waited and were rewarded with the lovely smell of smoked meat when we opened the door. I bought some bacon, which was AMAZING. So good.

- Belgian Fries. The fries and poutine here are good, but they are really just carriers for their wasabi mayo dip, which is addicting.

After a big cone of fries and lots of shopping we were broke, full, and happy….and done! If we had more time, we would have ventured north on Commercial Drive, but we’ll save that for another day.

See map for location details of all places.

After the tacone, my hubby and I walked into Granville Island and were feeling thirsty, so we dropped by Granville Island Brewing for some Winter Ale. Next, onto the Net Loft so I could check out the newest outpost of Dream Apparel, which specializes in Canadian made designs. Some really great items at the store, many on sale too…but I managed to resist this afternoon. I’ll be back.

Okay, back to the task at hand – buying food for dinner! We walked into the market and were distracted by Lee’s Donuts (you need to get a Lee’s donut every time you’re on GI!) and bought a few honey dips. THEN we scurried around picking up food and took a lovely walk home along the sea wall.

An unexpected lovely Sunday afternoon in Vancouver.

I live in Kitsilano, so my first go-to shopping street is 4th avenue.

I’ve taken many people shopping on 4th. To me, it’s a must-go place for any shopper – I’d take 4th ave over Robson Street any day.

The main shopping stretch on 4th ave runs starts at Cypress St. and goes westward, ending at Balsam St. There are also a slew of skate & snowboard shops nearby, east of Cypress, but I don’t skate or snowboard, so this tour does not take these into account!

When I shop, it’s all about good kitchenware (I’m a big cook), beautiful clothes, and shoes.

Here’s are my go-to places for shopping on 4th. Make sure you hit the below stores, but also just enjoy the street and wander into any store that looks good…and maybe grab a latte at 49th parallel first.

The best of 4th Ave. Shopping (generally in order from  East to West)

4th & Maple:

Moulé
One of my favourite stores ever. Moulé carries lines for children, men, women, and home decor. Lots of frivolous stuff (ie. a silver plated pig piggybank), but also lots of practical items (ie. Very thoughtful collection of kids toys). They also carry Canadian designer Rachel Mara, who makes some beautiful clothes for women. You can buy anything from jeans and a t-shirt to a full-out gown. Big range, lots of selection, many brands. Not cheap. BUT, they have fantastic sales. I’ve purchased many items at 50-70% off there and wear them often, including 2 pairs of Chie Mihara heels, which are incredibly made & designed, but I bought them for the same price as a pair of Aldo shoes.

Chocolate Arts
Make sure you stop by the front window of Chocolate Arts and admire their chocolate sculpture of the moment. It’s always some beautiful creation. Chocolate Arts carries their own gourmet and organic chocolates, and the store always smells fantastic when you walk in. During Christmas, they also have their famous “lump of coal” chocolates, which I use as stocking stuffers. Again, a higher end place. Go to Purdy’s down the road if you want a cheaper, but still good, chocolate fix.

Spank & Spank Shoes
Spank and their sister store Spank Shoes are both on 4th and both focus mid-priced clothing & shoes, with an emphasis on unique and Canadian design. Spank carries lines like Soia & Kyo, Industry, Mat & Nat, Chulo Pony, and others. Spank shoes i’m less familiar with, but they seem to have a lot of Biviel and Jeffery Campbell. Focus is on funky casual clothes/shoes, outerwear, and dresses.

Beauty Bar
Beauty Bar carries several cosmetic and skincare lines for men and women. I am not a big make-up person, so whenever I visit I just tell the salesperson that I want _____, and they hook me up good. They introduced me to the Kevin Aucoin cosmetic line, which I love.

Lululemon and Oqoqo (Oqoqo now closed)
Once upon a time, Lululemon was one independent shop and 4th ave is where it all began. I don’t buy much lulu now, but I will always remember my lulu phase. Oqoqo is Lulu’s natural & organic clothing line. Very soft fabrics and flattering cuts. Prices have gone up since they first opened, but it’s still a nice store. Lotuswear is also right by Lulu and Oqoqo, so visit them all for a trifecta of yoga stores.

Ming Wo
There are sevearl kitchen stores on 4th – all good – but Ming Wo is probably the best for me in terms of price and selection. I buy my good grips gadgets there (usually marked 20% off).

Fab [June 23 2009 - Note: FAB has now moved to Kerrisdale and is no longer on W. 4th Ave]
Fab is all about premium  ($$$) denim and casual wear. Think Paige, Seven, Citizens, Joes, Rock & Republic, William Rast, James Perse, Velvet, etc. I spend way too much money here.

Gravity Pope Shoes & Gravity Pope Tailored Goods
These are 2 stores, right next to each other. First, Gravity Pope started off as am amazing shoe store in Edmonton & Calgary. They opened in Vancouver a few years ago. The best thing about Gravity Pope is their selection – a HUGE range of shoes, styles, and price points. I can get a pair of Steve Madden shoes there, or I can buy a pair of $1100 Givenchy beauties. Range. And it’s fun to see so many different types of pretty shoes for men and women.  Tailored Goods is the clothing equivalent, but less range in price – it’s all $$$ there.

American Apparel
I always stop by to see the crazy mannequins and colours.

Ethel’s Boutique
Great stop for casual, well-priced clothing and all sorts of selection on hosiery.

———-

There are SO many more stores, but these are some of the best. Make sure you have an afternoon and have fun!

Quick Takes: If you’re in need of food during the trip go to any of the following for good & quick sustenance:  The Noodle Box, Terra Breads, Capers (go to the deli), Gypsy Rose Crepes, Kits Coffee. I’ll detail eating places in a future post.

Basics:
First – get a map online of the island and if needed, mark all the below locations on your map.

We’ll spend most of our time in these areas:
- Public Market
- Net Loft

Vancouver Good’s Food Lover’s Granville Island Tour (Short Version)
Estimated Time: 1-2 hours, depending on how much you stop!

Start in the Public Market in-line at JJ Bean coffee. Grab the caffeine of your choice, and then go right to Lee’s Donuts and get yourself a honey dip donut. In the morning they are still warm and soft, melt-in-your mouth sugary goodness. Best donuts in the city!

Eat up your donut, drink your coffee, and walk. Walk around a bit, take in the ambience and get to know your surroundings in the market. If it’s still early you’ll see the vendors setting up and the day beginning.

Now, check our these food vendors. The order doesn’t really matter, but the order I have them is reasonably efficient.

Seafood City
There are many seafood vendors in the market, but when I did an Edible BC tour with chef Brian Fowke, this is where he went. I’ve been buying most of my seafood here ever since and have not regretted it. They often have lots of fresh, whole fish out for you to see, plus they carry Qualicum Beach scallops, which are divine .

South China Seas Trading Co.
This is probably my favourite place in the market. If you want to see some different ingredients, this is the place. I took my friend here so she could see and buy some real wasabi root. I bought pandan leaves here on Sunday, along with fresh tumeric, galangal, kaffir lime, and an assortment of chiles. Great service – the staff loves talking about their products, so feel free to ask questions.

Edible British Columbia
If you don’t want to a DIY tour of Granville Island and have the bucks, sign up for a chef-guided tour of the Granville Island Market at Edible BC ($65/person for a 3-4 hour tour). They will personally give you a tour and let you meet many of the vendors. The premise of Edible BC is that’s it’s a celebration of British Columbia food. You’ll find many locally sourced food items for sale here. They also do cooking classes and cool food tours like Audi weekends and kayak weekends. This is British Columbia in a storefront. Prices on items are a little expensive, but if you’re a tourist or in a hurry, it’s a good one-stop shop.

The Stock Market Around the corner from Edible BC is The Stock Market, which specializes in freshly made soups, stocks, and dressings. If I don’t have time to make my own, I’ll buy my stock and creme fraiche here. They also sell hard to find/make items like demi-glace and veal stock.

A la Mode In the same area as the Stock Market you’ll see a nondescript looking place called A la Mode. From a far it doesn’t look like much, but once you get closer you’ll see a wade array of fresh savoury and sweet pies. They also do soups and stews ladled into earthenware mugs covered with delicious pastry. There is just something about poking your spoon into crisp pastry and eating it out of a mug. Pure comfort.

Armando’s Alright, now let’s look at meat. On Granville Island, I buy about 90% of my meat at Armando’s. The staff is always super friendly and willing to custom cut. I find prices quite reasonable considering the location, although many of my friends will disagree with me. I just love looking at all the varieties of steaks they have laid out. And then lamb, and polderside farms chicken. Mmmmm.

Oyama Sausage Co. If you ever have good sausages at somebody’s house, they are likely from Oyama. Just writing the word Oyama has my mouth watering. Visit them early for best selection as they get busy. Super busy. They always have a fantastic selection of sausages in all sorts of flavour combinations. This is also where you come for pate, terrines, cured meats, and cheese. I love getting the creamy mountain mushroom pate and having it with a baguette. They also sell goose fat, which I will one day buy in a tub and make fried/roasted potatoes in them. mmmm.

Terra Beads
Five words for you: Blueberry bread with white chocolate.
I’m telling you, the first time I had this, it hooked me for months. I had one every week for half a year! In addition to my favourite item, Terra Breads is a great stop for cookies, scones, and artisan breads. But don’t buy the baguette there. It’s good, but it’s not La Baguette’s.

Local Vendors Every day, different vendors will set up in the market. They won’t have storefronts, but will have stands in the middle of the market. Depending on what’s in season, lots of yumminess exists. It’s apple season right now – I bought 6 different kinds of apple varieties the other day [note: I originally wrote this tour for a friend in September, true Apple season here!]

Just outside the Public Market:

La Baguette
All right, remember where you got your JJ Bean coffee? Go back that way and out the doors. Across the way you should see La Baguette, French bakery and home of the best baguettes in the city. I will often buy par-baked baguettes and store them in my freezer for bread satisfaction at home. The classic French baguette and the potato baguettes are my favourites, but it’s all good.

The Net Loft: Right across the Public Market is the Net Loft. Our last stop!

Walk through and check out the artisan shops, including the excellent stationary store Paper-Ya and the Hat Store. There’s also a kitchen store in the Net Loft – nothing too notable to mention – but those strange, colourful things outside the store are banana protectors. The best souvenir you can get, I say. I have one – they work!

…and that’s it!

A morning full of food and the best of the Granville Island Public Market.

Now where to?

My first choice would be to head to Railspur Alley, find Agro Coffee House, order an espresso, grab a seat (outside if it’s nice), and enjoy the island life as it passes you by. Or, take a walk just outside of Granville Island and find Go Fish! for lunch – expect good food and long line-ups.