Poke’m
790 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC
Well, it seems this is a trend for me in the last couple of weeks: Working my way through the different food carts, with a post per week. Except for the lemonade stand in English Bay and still-haven’t-seen-it-yet-it-is-supposed-to-exist Licious Living cart (once, again, supposedly between in Granville between Dunsmiur and Georgia), I think I have pretty much visited all of the food carts in Downtown, which means I have to start tackling those outside of this area, namely Panda Bakery in Yaletown, Eli’s Serious Sausage in Cambie (near Broadway), the falafel shop near Main and Terminal (which, according to James of Vancouver Street Eats, opened and closed, destiny to be determined) and the mysterious noodle cart in 49th and Cambie. (There is also a mysterious one in Robson Square which hasn’t opened yet). So, for today’s post, one of the remaining carts: Poke’m.
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Tagged as:
Chicken,
Food Cart,
Japanese,
Seafood,
Street Food,
Vancouver
Town Hall
1032 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC
In a couple of previous posts, I have mentioned the company I work for, like to “celebrate” the end of a project. Recently, I finish such a long project and, after a couple of delays, we were finally scheduled (as in any typical company, even work lunches are scheduled…!) Of course, being located in the downtown area, the usual question pops: Where? Since this is a work lunch, there are some limits – budget aside, make sure we are back at the office. It is a lunch, not the rest of the afternoon off! Of course, there is the usual question of where while making the most out of the trip. After shuffling some options, we ended up going to Town Hall, which used to be Saltlik
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Tagged as:
Downtown,
Lunch,
Seafood,
Vancouver
Dajia
836 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC
Three weeks ago, I wrote about Taiko on Denman and made reference to the amount of sushi restaurants in the are, with an over-emphasis on the cheap/affordable side. While we can blame restaurant owners in this dog-eat-dog type situation, at the same time, that is driven by customer demand. One of such restaurants in the area is Momo Sushi where I mention I didn’t really like it; however, I know of co-workers who flock to this place for their large servings. Oh, well, if quantity serves as an incentive…
Also mentioned in my Taiko on Denman post, I made reference to the shifting look of Robson and Denman with shops coming and going. One of the places that “died” down was Denman Rooster’s, a place that I thought was a perennial fixture; however, it was replaced by Pomegranate Lounge which, I will have to admit, the food was quite decent. Alas, with the popularity of nearby izakaya, it didn’t last (for weeks, I noticed it was closed) and it has been replaced by, you can guess it, another Japanese restaurant. Don’t we have enough already in the area? Sure but, still, I need to give it a try before jumping into conclusions…
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Tagged as:
Chicken,
Japanese,
Seafood,
Sushi,
Vancouver
Chronic Tacos
382 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
Here I go again, to another taco shop. Somehow it has become such a popular dish there is a need to open yet-another-location. OK, OK, Chronic Tacos an American import is not necessarily new(est) kid on the block, not to mention they sell other tex-mex fare (like burrito) but, lately, I think I have seen one too many places selling tacos popping here and there (namely, Cartel Taco and Arturo’s Mexican To Go). Of course, while some taco shop are “traditional” (as in La Taqueria and Doña Cata) others add that dread “fusion” twist, like Roaming Dragon and Cartel Taco, Chronic Tacos does not hide one fact: it is not necessarily meant to be authentic Mexican fare, rather the Californian iteration, based on the original version. With that in mind…
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Tagged as:
Fish,
Mexican,
Pork,
Seafood,
Vancouver
Fresh Local Wild
795 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC
Before I go to today’s post, an open message to the owners of Arturo’s Mexico to Go: You guys . I have been trying to go to the location listed in your site for last two weeks for lunch and, every single time, you are NOT there. From the grapevine, I have heard something happened to your truck. If that’s the case, c’mon guys, how difficult is to set up a Twitter account, linked from your site telling us if you are open or closed? *Shakes fist!!!!*
OK, back to today’s post. Given my work location in the West End, I have tried almost every single food cart so far, with the exception of Poke’m, which, as per their site, is currently upgrading their cart for the impending rainy Vancouver fall and the before mentioned Arturo’s Mexican to Go. Of course, there are still others but I haven’t visited yet, for example, PanDa Fresh Bakery, because they are slightly outside of my range for lunch on work days. Eventually… So, when I heard yet another food cart/truck – Fresh Local Wild – was about to open, I jumped at the opportunity to give it a try. Their call to fame? All our food is sustainable and responsibly harvested – Ocean Wise. To me, it is whether it taste good or not…
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Tagged as:
Downtown,
Seafood,
Street Food,
Vancouver
Jules Casual French Bistro
216 Abbott Street
Vancouver, BC
On Monday’s post, I made reference to my visit (along with Sherman) to Luda. I am sure some of you might wonder how we come up with ideas of where to go and when. Well, it is as simple as this:
(Receiving an email with the subject “Random dinner”)
“Do you want to go to restaurant X”
“Sure, why not!”
The only issue at times is when there are more people. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to food, to me, it falls in the category of the more the merrier. However, that also involves a bit of logistics to make sure everybody can make it, to a place everybody wants to go. After all, we want to eat, not fight over minor details. But, in this case, Sherman suggested Jules Casual French Bistro in Gastown. While I am not a fan of Gastown (nor Yaletown, Kitsilano or West Side for that matter), I am willing to venture to these areas, if I know there is something worth trying or with good company. For the food itself, not necessarily so because, more often than not, based on previous experiences, it is over-hyped, over-priced and, for the most part, it is more of a be-seen type environment. But, given I was in good company…
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Tagged as:
Dessert,
French,
Gastown,
Pork,
Seafood,
Vancouver
Luda
2683 E Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Long time readers can remember that, some time ago, I made reference to the area near Hastings and Slocan (east of Nanaimo, a couple of blocks from the PNE). Specifically, I used to go to a nearby game shop to play Magic the Gathering; however, I haven’t been there in a long while. Reason? Aside from the cost of the game (which has become ridiculously expensive nowadays), I have moved on to other things. One day, I chose to drop by and, while I didn’t play, at least it was good to see people I used to play this game with. On my way out, I noticed that Louis Garden closed and replaced by a Chinese restaurant. Given that I seldom go to Chinese restaurants mainly because going by yourself is sort of pointless, I made a mental note and check with that one person who I am certain will drop by that area without much hesitation and, at times, short notice: Sherman. So we did on a Tuesday, just to find out it is closed on Tuesdays! If you need an example of epic fail this would have been it! So, we mulled it for another day and, dropping by the area again on a Friday, I checked again with Sherman and, bam!, he was good. Even better? Since two can only order that much, he brought reinforcements in the form of “Rich Guy”!
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Tagged as:
Chinese,
Pork,
Seafood,
Vancouver
