Pizzeria Barbarella

You most likely have noticed that Vancouver is in the throes of a pizza revolution. We are no longer limited to choices of buck a slice or cheesy delivery. Neapolitan pizza has exploded in Vancouver. Joining the ranks of The Bibo, Pizzeria Farina, Verace Pizzeria, Campagnolo and Nicli Antica Pizzeria is Pizzeria Barbarella (http://www.pizzeriabarbarella.com/) on Broadway and Fraser.

Pel'meni Restaurant

On a recent trip to Bellingham, Sarah introduced us to my two new favorite things- Trader Joe's and Pel'meni Restaurant. (America, you have been holding out on me! How did I not know how awesome Bellingham could be?) Pel'meni is tucked into downtown Bellingham and they served one thing. Dumplings, meat or potato. The other feature is a rack of records that you can play while you enjoy your dumplings. With my love of food wrapped in dough and Big M's love of vinyl, Pel'meni is the perfect restaurant.

Andy's Bakery

I was feeling quite proud of myself for getting up early on a Saturday and going to my fitness class so I decided to celebrate with a pastry. It was, miraculously, not raining and I headed out to Commercial Drive in search of my treat. Not even three blocks from my house, I went in for my first visit to Andy's Bakery.

Giovane

The only thing that makes me happier at lunch than a good sandwich, is a good sandwich that comes with a surprise side of assorted pickled goodness. Giovane made me very happy.

Olympia Bar & Grill

I wasn't sure where to go to eat one day so I started towards Granville Street to see what caught my fancy. I chose the Olympia Bar & Grill because I am pretty sure this location used to be a Taco Time when I lived downtown. That amused me, so I went in to check it out. I like not knowing what is going to happen when wandering into a random restaurant. Will it be an amazing? Will it be a giant mistake? Find out what happened, after the jump.

La Taqueria- Cambie St.

I am a huge fan of La Taqueria on Hastings. One of my favorite places to go. I had been trying to get to newest location on Cambie Street since they opened, but I kept trying to go on a Sunday when they are not open (I forget every time!). It finally dawned on me that I am across from the Canada line and since La Taqueria Cambie is located directly across the street from the Broadway-City Hall station, it is now a lunch time destination!

Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck

Doesn't that name tell you everything about this food truck? I was so happy to hear that a grilled cheese truck would be hitting the streets in the last round of street truck additions. Even more happy that they are one of the closest ones to my work. Total win for me and for everyone who eats there, really. Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck is located on the Howe St. side of the art gallery, Monday through Friday at lunchtimes.

Steamrollers- Hornby

I want to like Steamrollers more than I do. I am a huge fan of burritos, especially Mission style burritos. Big M used to live across from a Steamrollers and he waxes poetic about their Christmas turkey and cranberry burritos. Me, meh.

Harambe

Ethiopian food is the coolest because you get to eat it with your fingers and spongy bread, it is all about sharing and it is usually really spicy. These are three good things in my book. My favorite Ethiopian restaurant is in my hood on Commercial Drive, Harambe.

Pizzeria Farina

Pizzeria Farina is another addition to the Neapolitan pizza craze that has hit Vancouver- hooray! This one is East Van style- in a cozy little spot next to the Cobalt. This strip of Main is quickly becoming one of my favorite foodie hot spots with Electric Owl, Campagnolo, and Union as neighbours.


(Google translate tells me that the sign roughly says "In life, nothing ventured, nothing gained")

Thierry Patisserie

Sometimes I like to treat myself to something a little bit fancy. It was on one of those days that I ended up at Thierry Patisserie. If you are a fan of pastry and chocolates, you have probably heard of Chef Thierry. He was the pastry chef at Cin Cin and west and the opening of his cafe on Alberni and Thurlow was highly anticipated by pastry lovers, of which I am one. It took me a while to get there, but the anticipation did make the occasion special.

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant, from the outside, looks like one of those places that serves everything but doesn't seem to focus on anything. Going from what you can read when you pass the outside you can get: breakfast, lunch, snacks, salad bar, dinner, all day breakfast and authentic Vietnamese. I am a bit wary of the serve everything under the sun places as but, I heard this was the closest soup restaurant and I was looking for some pho.

Mario's Coffee Express

We have been in our new office building for just over two weeks now and Mario's Coffee Express is fast becoming a favorite, quick lunch spot with my coworkers. Tucked into a building on Howe and Dunsmuir St, it would be easy to miss except for the signs outside claiming "the best coffee in town". Every time I see this type of sign I want to run into the restaurant and re-enact the scene from Elf. Awesome. I have yet to do that, but I did stop in for a "famous grilled sandwich" (no video clip available)

Something Healthy Wholesome Meals & Juice Bar

That is some name! No beating around the bush with what you are going to get here. Something Healthy Wholesome Meals & Juice Bar was a surprise to me. I ride my bike past it almost everyday, yet I didn't realize it was there until I stumbled across a description of the restaurant on another website. I was quite excited to try it as I am always on the lookout for good, affordable and healthy lunch options. It can't always be ramen...

Something Healthy is located down the street from International Village Mall in one of the new condo buildings. I am assuming they are fairly new as their website is nothing but a place holder, which I find strange in this day and age. There are a few pizza joints on this block and the Skytrain exit is right across the street so I imagine they must get some street walk ins.

Shady Island Seafood Bar and Grill

I have lived in Vancouver for over sixteen years now which means that it gets harder to find new and exciting things to do when my Mom comes to town. Some things we repeat, the Granville Island market is a favorite, and some things I will never do. I am talking to you, suspended bridge of doom. This visit was our first trip to Steveston. For living here so long, Steveston is still new to me. My first trip there was earlier this year for BBQ. This time we were there for the fish and chips.

Big M, surprisingly, decided to opt out of the trip to Steveston to poke around in the little shops and awesome Farmer's Market. So it was just Mommo and I as we hit the boardwalk in search of food. It was an amazingly beautiful Sunday so every place we saw was packed.  We randomly chose a restaurant which turned out to be Shady Island Seafood Bar and Grill.

Red Burrito (Robson)

I was playing around on the Urbanspoon site the other day trying to figure out where to go for lunch and a sidebar add came up showing a burrito. Perfect, as soon as I saw it, I could think of nothing but burritos. One of the closest burrito places to me is Red Burrito on Robson. Big M is a big fan of the Red Burrito on Commercial and he used to get burritos from there all the time when we lived on 5th. I hadn't been to the Robson location yet, so it was the natural choice.

Sake Maki

I have resisted going into Sake Maki  but not because of anything Sake Maki has done (I have heard good things about them) but because I really like the restaurant that used to be in that space.  They had an awesome peanut satay soup that I will never have again...  However, I put that aside and stopped in to fulfill a sushi craving on my way to the Trout Lake Farmer's Market a few weeks ago. 

The Noodle Box (Yaletown)

I had no idea that they had opened up a Noodle Box near my work in Yaletown until I read a Georgia Straight article about another restaurant opening near by.  So excited!  The Noodle Box in Kitsilano had been on my wish list for a while as I love noodles, but I rarely get to Kits.  I was so excited about the Yaletown opening that I took Big M there for a lunch date. 

Verace Pizzeria Napoletana and Enoteca

I am so happy that Vancouver is having a pizzeria explosion. Food on top of dough is almost as good as food wrapped in dough. Verace Pizzeria Napoletana and Enoteca is the newest offering within walking distance of my work, right beside the T&T Market, across from International Village Mall.

Ramen Jinya

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Ramen Jinya before it opened. They are located in the strip of restaurants just down from the Library on Robson; the old Ezogiku Noodle spot. They were also a ramen joint and I was never really pleased with their soup. My anticipation was building every time I went by the remodel, however, as they had a giant poster in the window stating that Ramen Jinya was named "one of the 10 best dishes of 2010 in LA". Well, high praise indeed and after my first taste of my soup, I was a believer.