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.

The food here is awesome. Fresh, local, organic, and well executed. While all types come to Little Nest, it’s a restaurant/cafe designed for kids and families as well. Scrambled eggs and the muffins at Little Nest are a must. Expect lots of happy kids running about, toys scattered around, and a good buzz of conversations in the room.

My full review and food overview is on Granville Online magazine – HERE.

The first post I’ve written was on the excellent Café Kathmandu on Commercial Drive. Take a read here.

I take no credit for the beautiful and pithy headline and byline text, but the rest is mine!

The session reminded me of how much I love the Vancouver Farmers Markets! While the winter market recently concluded, the Vancouver Farmers Market is gearing up for a busy summer with four markets in the works.

Market Details:

Trout Lake Farmers Market Saturdays, May – October
9am – 2pm each week
May 16 – October 10
15th Avenue & Victoria Drive in the Parking Lot of Trout Lake Community Centre

West End Farmers Market Saturdays, June – October
June 6 – October 24
9am – 2pm each week
1100 Block of Comox Street across from Nelson Park at Mole Hill

Main Street Station at Thornton Park (formerly at Riley Park)
Wednesdays, June – October
June 10 – October 21
3pm – 7pm
Thornton Park across from the VIA Rail Station and near the Main St Skytrain Station

Kitsilano Farmers Market Sundays, June – October
June 7 – October 25
10am – 2pm each week
10th Avenue and Larch Street, Parking Lot of Kitsilano Community Centre

What to expect

• When I visit cities, I always check out the farmers market as means of understanding the climate and culture of a city.  I think it’s a great way to spend a morning if you’re visiting Vancouver. Think bustling crowds, lots of booths selling ready to eat food and coffee, huge rows of plants and flowers, prepared foods like jams & olive oils, a big selection of produce, and those hard to find items like zucchini flowers (when in season, of course). You’ll be amazed at how beautiful produce can be when it’s fresh from the local farms.
• In the summer, there is always a lineup for the heirloom tomatoes! It’s worth it. Wait.
• In addition to produce, bring a cooler for seafood. you can pick up excellent quality, frozen seafood for very good prices.
• I find the Trout Lake farmers market the busiest and biggest, but all the markets are excellent.
• Please bring your own bags! Less plastic = good.

I work steps away from the Main St. Market and am SO excited. I will be there every Wednesday picking up food for the week.

The first summer market at Trout Lake starts on May 16th, and all other markets get going in early June.

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

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.