Finance- friendly spots.
From burgers and pizza to veggie fare, here are a few finance- friendly spots worth frequenting
Man food:
BESTIE 105 East Pender St., 604- 620- 1175, bestie. ca Artisan sausages, homemade pretzels, even the mustard’s noteworthy. PECKINPAH 2 Water St., 604- 681- 5411 Caroline- style, dry- rubbed, slowsmoked pork and beef dishes. Don’t eat for two days before or after. MEAT AND BREAD 370 Cambie St., and 1033 West Pender St., 604- 566- 9003, meatandbread. ca A sandwich shop with luscious meats, bread, house- made mustard. The porchetta with-salsa-verderules. STACKHOUSE BURGER BAR 1224 Granville St., 604- 558- 3499, stackhouseburgerbar.com There ain’t nuthin’ but us burgers here. Choose from Kobe beef, prime rib, venison, lamb, veggies. Like a lot of the funky, creative spots in the urban centre, the interior’s by Craig Stanghetta.
Praiseworthy pizza:
NICLI ANTICA 62 East Cordova St., 604- 669- 6985, niclipizzeria. ca They heed the multitude of rules to qualify as an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria. Just fold and eat. VIA TEVERE 1190 Victoria Dr., 604- 336- 1805, viateverepizzeria.com The problem is, it’s too popular. Prepare to wait outdoors. Delizioso Neapolitan pizzas. Nice tiramisu, too. PIZZA FARINA. 915 Main St., 604- 681- 9334, pizzeriafarina. com If you aren’t a fan of floppy- centred Neapolitan- style pizza, then you’re all about Pizza Farina’s gnarly, crusty base.
Fishy:
FISH SHACK 1026 Granville St., 604- 678- 1049, glowbalgroup. com/ fish- shack It’s the glammy Sanafir gone plebeian, the most casual of the Glowbal Group restaurants. Well run, the seafood’s fresh and the oyster bar guys really rock.
GO FISH OCEAN EMPORIUM 1505 West First Ave., 604- 730- 5040
Go Fish captures Vancouver. Outdoorsy, casual and like all popular places, you wait in a lineup. Fresh, fresh fish from the wharf below.
Vegetarian:
ACORN 3995 Main St., 604- 566- 9001, theacornrestaurant.ca Both chef and sous chef have worked in the world’s top- rated restaurants. Here, they elevate vegetarian, vegan, raw and gluten- free cooking using the best ingredients. THE PARKER 237 Union St., 604- 779- 3804, theparkervancouver.com Their verbal selfie is “sexy and sustainable.” Limited kitchen but the vegetarian food is interesting and tasty. Nothing to stop a vegetarian from enjoying the awesome cocktails, too.
Global:
DAMSO 867 Denman St., 604- 632- 0022, damso. ca The young chef here has done stages at Thomas Keller restaurants as well as Cioppino’s and Le Crocodile in Vancouver. At Damso, he makes beautiful Korean food. BAO BEI 163 Keefer St. 604- 688- 0876, bao- bei. ca Chinatown turned on a dime when this character arrived. Chinese food that likes to look good. I like the shao bing ( sesame flatbread with cumin lamb sirloin, pickled red onions, green pepper, cilantro and salted chilies). TACOFINO 2327 East Hastings St., 604- 253- 8226, tacofino. com The food truck that could! The truck’s still going at Howe and Robson but the commissary morphed into a very cool taqueria. Boisterous, communal tables. The chocolate diablo cookies are cruelly scrumptious. BO LAKSA KING 2646 East Hastings St., 604- 568- 4593 Burma’s rising so time to get acquainted with fermented tea leaf salad ( good!) and mohingar. True to the name, there’s very good laksa, too. PENANG DELIGHT 3885 Rupert St., 604- 566- 9898, penangdelight. com Nothing slapdash about the Malaysian food or the service here ( although it gets extremely busy). Penang tofu is as good as it gets, rendang dishes are complex and smooth. BAO QI VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT 620 Davie St., 604- 700- 4100, baoqieateri. com Charming, modern, intimate. Several pho soups, grilled shrimp in sugar cane, and bahn mi for a song. LA MEZCALERIA 1622 Commercial Dr., 604- 559- 8226, lamezcaleria. ca Flagship to two La Tacqueria shops, but this busy place includes enchiladas, tostadas, flautas and enough mezcal to get you very well acquainted with the drink. TAMAM 2616 East Hastings, 604- 620- 7078, tamam. ca A filmmaker and an artist introduce you to real Palestinian food, lovingly cooked. Modest digs awaiting a reno. Also awaiting a grill top so they can get started on Palestinian grilled meat dishes. MIURU WAFFLE AND MILKBAR 829 Davie St., 604- 687- 2909, miurawafflemilkbar.webs.com Waffles? Under global cuisine? The young Japanese couple make waffle “sandos” or sandwiches, like hoisin sausage with cilantro, pickled radish and carrot or beef bulgogi with egg, kimchee.
Gosh- darn green:
HARVEST COMMUNITY FOODS 243 Union St., 604- 682- 8851, harvestunion. ca It’s a store ( check out Earnest Ice Cream in the freezer!), it’s an organic food delivery service, it’s a noodle house. My favourite? Ramen with pork shoulder, candied bacon, egg and radish. BURDOCK 2701 Main St., 604- 879- 0077, burdockandco. com Fine, elegant, sustainable food, sharing plate style, without fine, elegant prices. Keep your fork. The apple pie’s great!
Playful:
RUMPUS ROOM 2689 Main St., 604- 839- 5780, rumpusroom. ca Garage sale decor, good music, lively atmosphere. Look for the pink flamingos. Menu thumbs nose at diets: deepfried pickles, deep- fried cheesecake, chicken and waffles. RED WAGON 2296 East Hastings St., 604- 568- 4565, www. redwagoncafe. com A former high- end French bistro chef puts out great breakfasts ( pulled pork pancakes with Jack Daniels- spiked maple syrup interest you?), lunches and dinners. Lots of large and luscious sandwiches.
In the suburbs:
LONGTAIL KITCHEN 810 Quayside at River Market, New Westminster, 604- 553- 3855, longtailkitchen. com Thai street food that’s gone to finishing school. Chow on dishes like northern- style grilled hen; ling cod and mussel curry. COTTO ENOTECA PIZZERIA 6011 Hastings St., Burnaby, 604- 299- 8002, cotta. ca Great pizzas and the company is ecofriendly ( fresh tap wine, Ocean Wise, largely organic, local, fair trade). BEAST AND BRINE 12823 Crescent Rd., Surrey, 604- 385- 1145, beastandbrine. com A chef from well- known Uli’s in White Rock, another who’s cooked at C, Araxi and Bearfoot Bistro and a master german butcher bring culinary talent to this shop. They’ll make you a fabulous sandwich or charcuterie and salad picnic for the beach with maybe a bacon chocolate something- something for dessert. VISTA D’ORO FARMS 346- 208th St, Langley, 604- 514- 3539, vistadoro. com Winery. Farm. Artisan store. Whatever. Just know you can get an artisan cheese and charcuterie picnic to eat outside with one of their wines ( fortified red with green walnut brandy?) or take for a picnic.