Vancouver Foodster's West End Tasting Plates

Well, it seemed like more than a minute since we had participated in a Tasting Plates event sponsored by Vancouver Foodster, but there we were! That is, there I was as Mharie was working Wednesday evening and I didn't even save anything for her. 

The tour started off for me (we all started in different places) at Loteria on Granville near Nelson. This is a place that I have never been to and was happy to discover. The menu here is a little different from what I expected judging a book by its seeming fast food cover. Their emphasis is on tamales, tostadas and tortas which I am already planning to return and try. They also have taco sudados  (roughly 'basket tacos' but I fell down a rabbit hole trying to figure that out) and that is what we sampled on our visit.

This Taco de Chicharron was a treat. I think of chicharron more as the puffy pork skin chips but this was meatier while still being deep-fried. Finished with cabbage, feta and sour cream it is a deal at the menu price of $4. I am glad to have tried this place and will be back!

I skipped right to dessert (it was a geographic thing rather than a culinary decision) at Trees Cheesecake and Organic Coffee on Davie between Thurlow and Bute.

A piece of Tiramisu Cheesecake and coffee would have been a perfect way to end the evening and it was even pretty good in the middle of things. Outstanding cheesecake! Plus these people were so welcoming friendly! 

After dessert, I headed almost across the road to the rock-solid Davie Dosa Company. Mharie and I have been here for several Vanfoodster events and for a regular diner at least once! They are always excellent hosts and serve wonderful South Indian food.

They served us a dosa with a lamb and lentil filling that was very tasty. The dosa itself was crispy but light and was perfect with the sambar and tomato and coconut chutneys. This is one of the great places for a meal in the West End.

Finally, I skipped across to Robson via Jervis and then down towards Denman to J and G Fried Chicken. The owner happened to be there and recognized me from previous events (most recently a chicken wing challenge) and it kind of made me feel like a celebrity, you know? Well, not really. I am impressed that she can remember customers.

The basket of deep-fried sample goodness was hot and crispy as usual and included their signature popcorn chicken, the new squid ink fish cake, yam fries and their amazing wings. All great and its a good thing that this was our last stop as I was close to bursting (and yet never thought to take anything home for my wife).

I enjoyed this little jaunt around the West End. I got my steps and even discovered a new place that I will visit with Mharie in the near future.

BTW, where was Richard during all of this? I didn't see him once!