Sylphid

I second the suggestion of Pondok Indonesian. My wife and I go there regularly, the food is excellent, the staff are very friendly, and the prices are reasonable. I'm not sure if they have a special lunch menu as I've only been there for dinner.

We ended up getting a nice, heavy tortilla press at the Que Pasa store in Richmond. It was under $20 for a good-sized cast-iron (aluminum coated) one. Works very well. Thanks again for your suggestions.

Heh, I buy those and refer to them by colour too. Dark Brown is my favourite! The lady who cuts them up is always surprised when I buy some, maybe most pasty white guys are afraid of gluten?

Recent happenings on Commercial Drive: - A new pub has opened up @ Grant where Sash (and previously Bukowski's) used to be. I can't remember the pub's name, but it looks to have higher-end pub food and a decent beer list. Seems to be open at odd hours, maybe they're not "officially" open yet. - Aroma (Coffee with Legs) has opened @ 2nd, and has been very busy every time I've walked by. Very dark interior, serves Cuppa Joe coffee. - The old Zanzibar location (between 2nd & 3rd) has been replaced with Cafe Carthage, promising French and Tunisian cuisine. Opening soon. - Morning Glory (a tea house) has opened, replacing a generic Italian cafe near Kitchener. Didn't get a chance to look inside.

It has switched owners twice: once when the original owner left town, and back again when he returned. I have been there since, it has a new name but is almost exactly the same otherwise. They have a small number of meat dishes now, but all of the original veg dishes are still there, and the quality is still high. I thoroughly enjoyed the last meal I had there.

There is a vegetarian thread here that would be a good place to start: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=95901 Pretty much all the places mentioned will have some vegan selections, with some (Bo Kong, notably) being almost exclusively vegan. Vegetarian restaurants in Vancouver get a lot of vegan customers, and vegan menu items are often marked. Most of the places mentioned in that thread are lower-end. Many higher-end restaurants in the city will be happy to make a vegan dish for you, especially if you call ahead and give them some warning. I recommend Star Anise, they have a vegan set menu that is very good.

http://www.soymilkquick.com/susan-marie-soy.html steve ← Hey, that sounds interesting, unfortunately their website doesn't list any stores that sell their product. Have you seen it anywhere?

Hey, I work right near there too, that's exciting! Do you know when they're supposed to open?

This may seem a bit odd, but I'm looking for low-grade olive oil in bulk (by the gallon, maybe). Cheap is the operative word here. No, I'm not wanting to make terrible food, but decent soap. My wife and I have gotten into making homemade castille soap, and since it's not for consumption I think an olive oil/pomace blend should be fine. We made some soap with decent EVOO and it turned out well, but each bar gets very expensive. Any ideas where we can order a big jug on the cheap? Thanks

From the type of work being done at the place I think they're actually doing renovations. They've redone the doorway in the same style that the restaurant used to have. Hopefully that's the case, they were a good place to have mint tea and a light dessert after a show on the drive. Speaking of that area, specifically that block, I noticed there's a new place being set up that labels itself a "real estate coffee bar". What the heck does that mean? It sounds ridiculous, but perhaps combining the two great passions of Vancouverites is pure marketing genius.

If you're interested in trying Indian food, I second the suggestion of Annapurna, it is great. If you're interested in Chinese Buddhist Vegetarian food, the most popular place is Bo Kong on Main & 13th or so. Their menu is 100% vegetarian, mostly vegan stuff, and it's large enough that you'll certainly find something to try. Their veggy dishes are great (oooh the gai lan....). While I kind of agree with Canucklehead that, generally, mock meat products are pretty poor, Bo Kong also makes some nice gluten-based dishes. While The Naam is very popular, and is certainly much better now that their servers treat patrons like human beings, I'm not the biggest fan of their food. Not bad, but nothing special. If you happen to be in the area, one of the best veg restaurants I've been to is Paradise Noodle House, out on the Burnaby/New Westminster border, on 10th Avenue. 100% veg Vietnamese menu, some great soups and other dishes.

Unfortunately I can't remember. It's an Arabian name of some kind. I would look for the bill but I remember it still saying Habibi's on it.

I can confirm this -- went and ate there on Saturday night. It is no longer called Habibi's, but the decor is the same and the menu is very similar to what I remember. I hadn't been there in awhile, so I'm not sure if they changed things while the original owner was gone or since his return, but I think some of the dishes have been tweaked a bit, and they now have 3 meat dishes. Overall the food was great, we pretty much stuck to the old favourites (shinkleesh, hommous, tabouleh, eggplant (baba ganoush?), balila) and it was pretty much all better than I remember it being. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my wife and I hadn't eaten lunch and were starving Oh, if you decide to go soon you may want to be sure you bring cash, because they're still setting things up and their credit card/interac machines weren't running.

I'm not sure when the last time was that you went to The Naam, but their service has improved remarkably in the last year or so. Say what you will about the food (opinions vary greatly on that), but the last couple times I've been there the service was friendly and reasonably efficient. Maybe they've had a change in management? (Apologies for thread hijacking.....)

I'm not sure what's up with the -art website, but its menu seems to be pretty close to the entrees in the other website. The last time I went to Havana's (half a year or so ago) the menu matched the www.havanarestaurant.ca menu. While I'm not qualified to say whether the food was Cubano autentico, it made for a pretty decent brunch, although I thought it was a bit pricey.

I just realized I made a terrible mistake... the name of the place my parents like is called Illuminate. Incendio's is the chain of restaurants on Burrard and in Gastown. Oops! Sorry, folks.

My wife and I strapped our camping gear onto the back of our bikes and pedalled over to Galiano a couple weeks ago for a few days. The hilight of our trip (food-wise) was the Market Cafe that Daddy-A mentioned. We were there for a late lunch, and it was surprisingly good. It's a small place, almost more of a coffee bar then a full restaurant. A pretty large variety in the menu, and the prices are reasonable. They're licensed, as well. The place has a very nice vibe, it's obviously a hangout for the locals (there were people wandering in just to say hi). Oh, one general note: when touring the Gulf Islands, I find it wise to avoid restaurants attached to marinas. They are almost all dreadful, and can get away with it because they have a captive audience of wealthy American boat owners. Also, if anyone else is in a similar situation as the original poster (needing to kill some time in Tsawwassen before a ferry): my parents live in Tsawwassen and swear by a relatively new place called Incendio's. It's on the main street in Tsawwassen (56th St.), a short ways north of the main intersection (56th St & 12th Ave). I've never been, so I can't say much else.

If I remember correctly, the kitchen (like the rest of the place) is quite small. I'm not sure how the guy does it. The reason I didn't give a full accounting of myself is because it's been awhile since I've been there, and really can't remember what I've eaten. This is going to be the most pathetic review ever, but I'll try: The last time I was there I had breakfast: nothing too adventurous (interesting tweaks on standard breakfast fare), but it was delicious, and it filled two heaped platters. I can't remember exactly what I had, but my dining companion had something like the "hungarian farmer's breakfast" and loved it. Another time I had something that, I believe, was named kofta (maybe some relation to Indian dishes with the same name?), and was a kind of ground meat loaf on steroids, with a strong wine flavour and packed with herbs. Quite nice. The overall impression of the place is like you're crashing at a college buddy's slightly run-down, eccentric apartment, and he cooks an exotic, delicious meal for you. It's home-style cooking, the food presentation is very basic, and the owner will sit down and chat about things if the restaurant is quiet.

Friends' Dining Lounge in Nanaimo is one of the most interesting food experiences I've ever had. It is a small hole-in-the-wall run by a single guy in a dumpy area of Nanaimo. However, take a look at the menu: it weighs in at a stunning 25 pages, and has no lack of interesting dishes. I've eaten there a few times (whenever I'm in town) and nothing I've had there has disappointed. It's also quite cheap and the guy that runs the place is very friendly.

Thanks for the tips, lauramart. I think I'll head out to Westham Is on Sunday with my dad. Strawberries are just about his favourite food, and the weather forecast looks good, sounds like a fun fathers' day trip.

Alright, thanks for the suggestions, eGulleters!

My wife and I like to make tortillas, but it's difficult without a proper press. Has anyone seen such a thing for sale in Vancouver? Thanks

Depends what you mean by sparse. Of course, there are relatively few fruit & veg vendors this time of year, but there may still be some good finds. I bet there will be very nice mesclun greens (and similar -- spinach, etc), some types of herbs, and maybe cheeses and honey. If it's a long ordeal for you to get out there I'd wait until the real treasures come into season, but I live a few blocks away so I'll be checking it out regardless.

I'm reminded of a friend of mine who thinks Cupcakes is ridiculous. "I bet this is the kind of place the Romans had just before their decline". So, are the cupcakes worth it? I haven't tried them before. What kind should I try?

I too would like to emphatically recommend this place. The hot chocolate is excellent, the owners are very friendly and obviously very dedicated to what they're doing, and the one owner (who is from Mexico -- Themis?) even indulged my shaky Spanish with a short conversation en castellano. I don't think it was mentioned above, the owners are planning on offering various courses (all choco-related, of course) in the near future. (PS: First forum post. Hello!)