But, I have been eating! Here’s a drive-by review of some memorable ones…

Downtown: Thierry Patisserie – I have been a regular at this lovely French cafe since they opened a few months back. Good coffee but the pastries, desserts, and macarons are what this place is all about. My faves: The apple turnover, layers of flaky delicate crust filled with tart and sweet apples – perfect. The blackberry macaron, with a actual blackberry in the middle it’s the perfect texture and flavour contrast in these cookies that are beautiful, but quite sweet. For chocolate lovers, the chocolate succé cake is dense, rich, and full of chocolate. I only needed 1 bite, but it was a good bite. Prices are a more than your average cafe, but worth it in most cases. However, I cannot grasp how 100g of candied maple pecans can cost $14.95. Or how a small tub of ice cream can cost $14.95. But then six lemon madelines for $6 is pretty good! Make sure you look at the price for no surprises.

Downtown: Bel Cafe – When David Hawksworth opens a cafe, you run to it! I did. Although, I walked into the cafe distracted and manged to look like a complete ditz right in front of David Hawksworth – not one of my better moments. However, is the food good. A crispy ham and cheese sandwich like no other and a smooth roasted tomato soup made a memorable lunch. And the macarons, despite being everywhere now, are quite tasty. The outside macron layer just shatters when you take a bite and the flavours (ie. black sesame seed and yuzu, raspberry and rosewater) are interesting and delicious. Again, expect to pay restaurant prices at the cafe, but the food you get is worthy.

Downtown: Hawksworth Restaurant, visit #2 – I was at Hawksworth for a second visit this week and it was a great dinner. Service was much improved from my first visit as well. I just LOVED my salad – pear, speck, burrata, and greens, which came beautifully plated on a wooden board. Amazing combination.

Downtown: My daily lunch spot is now Italian Kitchen 2 Go. A tasty sandwich with a fresh salad for $6.50? Best deal anywhere. They also have great pastas, and pizza. The line-ups are long, but the staff is fast and efficient.

Downtown: RIP amazing chorizo sandwich from La Brasserie Street – You know, I enjoy the now famous La Brasserie Chicken Sandwich, but I just LOVED their new sandwich of chorizo, arugula, roasted red peppers, and spicy tomato sauce. It was so delicious, saucy, and included vegetables! I just can’t bring myself to have a vegetable free lunch on most days. Sadly, so many people demanded the chicken sandwich that this amazing chorizo never stood a chance. They phased out the chorizo for chicken after a couple weeks. *sigh*

Kitsilano/Point Grey: La Ghianda – Keeping to the trend of “great restaurant opens a cafe,” La Ghianda is also a good one. From the owners of the excellent La Quercia is La Ghianda, an excellent Italian style deli and cafe. Go there for the huge Italian sandwiches (mortadella, mmmm), or made to order pastas.

South Granville: Go Fish 2.0 – Part of my summer is at least 1 long line-up and feast at the Go Fish shack by Granville Island. But a second Go Fish location is now open! This version is Go Fish restaurant style, in the former Bin 942 location on Broadway near Granville. I attended a menu tasting while back and it was excellent. My best memory was really the passion I saw in the chefs creating the food. They spoke about all the menu items with such zest and enjoyment – love that! The menu is different from the fish shack location. The fish and chips are still there, but the tacones are not. There are appetizers, mains, and desserts. I loved the “chips and dip” – a great little snack. Lots of Latin-influenced flavours on the menu. Definitely worth a visit.

Main St: Bob like Thai Food – Someone at work tipped me off on this place, telling me it was the most authentic Thai food they’d eaten since being in Thailand. With an endorsement like that, I ordered takeout from them that night. And I’ve ordered it again and again since. A menu with the usual items plus lots of interesting and authentic dishes you don’t see at other Thai restaurants. The pad thai is awesome. It’s different from the amazing Maenam pad thai, but just as good. With lunch specials for $7.50, it’s an affordable, yummy option. My friend just raves about the mango sticky rice, too.  The restaurant itself is super casual (but cold!).

Happy eating.

And Meat & Bread is a lunchtime destination in Gastown these days. The place is packed everyday with a long, but quick-moving line of people ordering some seriously mouth watering sandwiches.

As the name indicates, Meat & Bread is a simple concept – just 4 sandwiches on the menu, all done well plus an always changing soup and salad. When you march into the place you’re greeted with the smell of slowly cooked meat (mmmmmm) and then you see this beautiful juicy porchetta with crispy fatty skin, and you think…I’m ready to eat.

In addition to the porchetta, there are roasted chicken, meatball, and grilled cheese sandwiches, although I’ve never gotten past the porchetta. The soups and salads are all delicous, but really you are there for the sandwich. My only minor quibble is the bread. It’s a good ciabatta, but the sandwich would be even better if it was slightly toasted or warmed.

All sandwiches are $7-8, a steal of a price for what you’re getting.

Hail to the sandwich!

Meat & Bread
370 Cambie Street (@Hastings)
Vancouver
604-566-9003
Open Monday-Saturday, 11am-5pm

Rotisserie chicken – shredded and tossed in gravy, mounded on a pillowy soft buttermilk bun and topped with crispy fried onions. That’s it. Simple and super yum. The gravy makes the sandwich moist, but not soggy, and the whole sandwich smells and tastes great. Add a dollop of grainy mustard and you’re all set.

In a perfect world they’d have a salad I could have on the side, but I will never so no to such a tasty sandwich. The truck is open until 6pm everyday.Go get one.

Download the street food app to find this and all food trucks in the city.

The menu is simple but interesting. One soup prepared daily, five salads (all vegetarian), five sandwiches, a daily quiche, a cheese plate, and a charcuterie plate.

I enjoyed Mike’s Reuben sandwich with a beets & cheese salad. The sandwich was rich from the excellent corned beef*, a smattering of sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, and melted swiss cheese on rye. On the side, my marinated beets with frisee and goats cheese was a light, fresh accompaniment.

My dining partner went for the meat ball sub, featuring the now famous meatballs from sister restaurant Judas Goat. The meatballs were rolled in a tomato sauce, tucked into a soft bun, and topped with shavings of ricotta salata cheese. Delicious & moist with a salty bite. On the side was the Mediterranean macaroni salad, tossed in a tomato dressing with arugula, olives, and feta.

Dishes I have my eye on for the next visit: Good ‘ol potato salad, a TLT (T=smoked trout), and the grilled cheese with smoked jarlsberg, brie, and caramelized onions.

Sandwiches range from $8-9 dollars, and you can add a salad or soup for $3 more. Great value for what you’re getting. The restaurant is also open for breakfast, serving coffee & baked goodies.

Weekday lunches are looking up!

Everything Cafe
75 East Pender Street, b/w Carrall & Columbia
Vancouver
604-681-3115

* The supplier of corned beef is Mike Vito, of J. Beethoven’s corned beef fame. If you ever see them at Granville Island, do yourself a favour and buy some for dinner at home one night. INCREDIBLE!

Au Petit Cafe, 4851 Main St (b/w 32nd and 33rd ave)

Two Saturdays ago we hit up Au Petit Cafe, famous in Vancouver for their excellent Vietnamese sandwiches, which we ordered in addition to our vermicelli bowls. Have you heard all the raves about this place’s sandwiches? People go on and on about the fresh French bread. Well, my first Vietnamese sandwich at Au Petit Cafe was certainly the best Vietnamese sandwich I’d eaten – soft & crusty French bread with nicely seasoned pork and veggies…but it was still just a sandwich. I’m not in a hurry to return for it, but it was tasty. The vermicelli bowls were great with crispy pork spring rolls and fresh vegetables. My husband says the portion was a little small though.

The restaurant itself was small and busy, with a line-up out the door when we arrived and the staff running around to keep up with the crowd. You’re not there for the ambiance, but the place was clean and service prompt.  I’d definitely return. For two vermicelli bowls and a sandwich, the price was about $20 plus tip.

Pho Tan Vietnamese Restauarant, 4598 Main St (@ 30th Ave)

This restaurant was given Bronze for best Vietnamese by Vancouver Magazine this year, and is about 1 block north of Au Petit Cafe, so we gave Pho Tan a try this weekend. Business is good, as Pho Tan was also packed with a line-up out the door when we arrived. A ten minute wait later and we were in! The staff was busy as hell, but very good at clearing tables, seating tables, and getting orders taken. Not always an easy feat when you’re slammed. My husband deemed Pho Tan’s vermicelli bowls to be big portions, cheaper and equally good as Au Petit Cafe, so this is his new number one. I enjoyed it also, but found Au Petit’s was slightly fresher and tastier – but also saltier. We also drank down some  lovely iced Vietnamese French coffee with sweetened condensed milk – always a tasty treat, and nicely made here. At $7.50 per vermicelli bowl, this was good cheap eating.

If Vietnamese Saturday lunch continues next week, I think we’ll hit up Thai Son on East Broadway, which I’ve also heard good things about. There’s also Pho Hoang at 3388 Main St, but I find the food quite over-rated. Many tasty options.

When I do cook Italian, one of my go-to places is La Grotta Del Formaggio on Commercial Drive.

La Grotta is a small shop full of good things: extra virgin olive oil, San Marzano tomatos, vincotto and balsamic vinegar, pastas, coffee, anchovies, olives, Italian meats, and more…all at fair prices. I’ve seen olive oils at La Grotta for $10-15 less than what the gourmet supermarkets charge.

I recently visited and wrote about La Grotta Del Formaggio for Granville Online magazine. Read the full article here.

Terra Breads is a well known source for great artisan breads and available at many grocery stores. There are three retail locations, with two locations also serving up espresso, soup, and sandwiches.

My favourites:

• I went through a serious phase with Terra’s blueberry bread with white chocolate. I think I ate it every day for a month. Crusty bread, sweet & tart blueberries, and smooth white chocolate speckled throughout. So yum.
• Terra Breads makes some of the best granola ever. Mix that with some honey vanilla yogurt and your choice of blueberry or cherry compote and you’ve got a breakfast that keeps you moving.
• There are sandwiches, and there are sandwiches. Terra Breads sandwiches are a great reminder of how important bread is for a sandwich. Good bread makes anything better. My sandwich today is vegetarian focaccia – fresh vegetables and ripe avocado on light and crispy parmesean focaccia. The sandwich menu offers lots of variety, from roasted salmon, to lamb, to turkey, to hummus and cucumber.
• Each day of the week, they make up a fresh soup, which pairs perfectly with any sandwich
• And of course…it’s a bakery. Top off your lunch with one of Terra Bread’s excellent cookies. I have chocolate macaroons today.

The location on 5th & Manitoba is by far the biggest and most relaxed. The Kitsilano location on 4th is small, but the food is still good.

Terra Breads Bakery & Cafe

2380 W. 4th Ave (@ Balsalm) in Kitsilano
Open 7 days a week until 7:30pm

and

53 W. 5th Ave (@ Manitoba) in Mount Pleasant / False Creek
Closed on Sunday. Open until 6pm on weekdays, 5pm on Saturday

I was downtown early this morning so decided to stop by the Kolachy Co for breakfast and coffee to go.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but the easiest way to describe a Kolachy is to picture a gourmet style pizza pop. A fresh bread exterior stuffed with a variety of breakfast or lunch flavours.

This morning I had the Western, a kolachy filled with egg, bacon, peppers, and cheese. I’m also a big fan of the corned beef hash and veggie scramble varieties. For lunch, think spinach & feta, mushroom pesto, or bbq beef. Read the menu.

Why this concept works for me as the perfect on the run meal:

• Each kolachy is warm, but not hot. So you can eat it right away.
• No greasy exterior or super saucy filling. I hate it when food to go is so messy there is no way you are eating it without getting something on your shirt. This is yummy, clean eating with pretty much no clean-up.

I’ll definitely order some of these for my development team at work when we’re doing OT through lunch. It’s a great alternative to sandwiches for lunch meetings. Have it for breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack.

Prices are reasonable. My Western kolachy plus a small coffee was under $5 this morning.

Note – the main location is on Beatty Street. The Bentall Centre location was also sold this year (and turned into a bubble tea shop).

Kolachy Co. Stuffed Full of Goodness
888 Beatty Street (near Nelson)
604-488-0200

Bandidas Taqueria! Located at 12th and Commercial Drive, I stopped in for dinner last night with some girlfriends. The place was full and we had to wait for 15 minutes. On a Monday night I take that as a good sign for business.

The menu is small, but yummy. What we ate:

• A plate of “Los GLD” nachos generously topped with roasted pineapples, cheese, black beans, sweet peppers, onions, corn, and jalapenos.  We devoured it.
• A hearty bowl of Tortilla Soup full of tomatoes, chipotles, avocado, and a side of homemade corn tortillas. (note, make sure you are a fan of chipotles if you order this soup).
• Camillo tacos: Spicy breaded walnuts, pinto beans, cheese, purple cabbage, fresh salsa & sour cream
• Ronny Russell tacos: Roasted yams and onions, guacamole, black beans, green salsa, purple cabbage, & pumpkin
• Dessert: a cheesecake-like flan ($4) and homemade 2-bite brownies ($1.50 each)

You can order as many tacos as you like (minimum 2), plus add rice & beans for $2.00. There are several vegan options as well, including a homemade vegan sour cream.

We ate a feast plus sangria and the bill for three people came to $55. Nice.

Evidently, this place does an excellent brunch, so I shall return!

Bandidas Taqueria
2781 Commercial Drive (@ 12th)
604.568.8224
Open Sunday-Thursday 10-10, Friday/Saturday 10-midnight

So, a visit was overdue.

I went this  past weekend for Saturday brunch. I’ve heard stories about long line-ups, but when we arrived at 11:30am on Saturday the restaurant was busy, but not packed, and were seated immediately.

The menu (link opens as pdf) features several simple, but yummy dishes. There’s no eggs benedict here. Instead, think biscuits and gravy, omelettes, house-made sausage patties, breakfast sandwiches, and pancakes.

I had a sausage & egger sandwich, a “mcmuffin” style sandwich except much better.  Served with shoestring hashbrowns and a bowl of fresh fruit – my idea of breakfast! We also ordered the pancakes, which are huge, thin, and perfectly fluffy. Service was laid back and pleasant. The crowd? Eclectic and full of locals and families. Decor? Felt like a cleaner, newer version of the diner on Seinfeld. Very simple, very diner.

Price? Cheap. 2 coffees, a bowl of fruit, breakfast sandwich, and pancakes – $22 bucks.

Deacon’s Corner
101 Main Street (@ Alexander)
Vancouver BC
604.684.1555
Monday to Friday 7am – 3pm
Weekends 10am – 3pm