Yes! We're Eating Vegan Again!

Pagliacci's, Victoria - Vegan Options

As we were walking back to our hotel from Burger Crush, we walked past Pagliacci. I did not take much notice as Italian restaurants seem to be the most carnivorous of all (or at least dairy-heavy), but then I thought, we're here...why not take a peek? To my surprise, there was a whole vegan section on the menu posted outside the restaurant! So, despite the fact that they do not take reservations and that this is a touristy downtown place, we decided to return for dinner!

This is a pretty cool and noisy, touristy area in the evening and we had to wait maybe 30 minutes to get a table (20 outside, 10 inside). It was not warm outside but we were prepared for it.

This is a pasta place and sure enough, they used what I assume is Beyond Sausage and cranked out some decent dishes but didn't try too hard on the cheese part. "Cheez" is what separates the men from the boys (or whatever expression is more politically correct) when it comes to vegan pizza and pasta etc.

We were assured that there is only one kind of focaccia and it is vegan. It was pretty tasty and not as huge as the photo seems to indicate (i was zoomed in a bit too much). It was tasty enough and we ate it all!

So I had a little trouble finding a picture of the actual menu that we ordered from but I am sure that this is The Big Easy Pasta. Not a profoundly imaginative dish but pretty tasty just the same. Sausage, spicy marinara, bell pepper and mushrooms are the main ingredients.

This dish, called The Vegan Broker, impressed us a little more. With a little bit of an Asian flavour profile, it came with a coconut curry sauce, mango chutney and cashews, all on fettuccini with mushrooms! This dish wouldn't necessarily have made Toscanini a convert (look him up. there is a clever connection there!) but we were happy to have some options and there are other dishes here to try as well.

This is a noisy, crowded fun place and we liked being here. Our server was great! If they tried a little harder on the cheese, I think that they could have a vegan following! And really, it's not that hard these days to find "cheez". If you're going to serve Asian-style pasta, you don't have to use Parmigiano Reggiano, do you? No one will really notice! Still, nice job folks!

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan options 4 1/2 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 1/2 out of 5

Value 4 out of 5

Burger Crush, Victoria - Vegan Options

From Nanaimo, we made the trek to Victoria on Thursday. We stopped at the Malahat Skywalk just south of Duncan (we have never been before) and enjoyed it thoroughly, despite the inclement weather.

We were quite excited to go to Burger Crush in Victoria and look forward to the company coming to Vancouver soon (actually they've already arrived).

Located on Fort Street just west of Blanshard, BC is a smallish restaurant with a basic burger menu that is roughly 50% vegan! In fact, they may even be leaning further towards the vegan side, featuring vegan nuggets without an omnivorous equivalent!

Of course, we ordered their famous (or soon to be famous?) Vegan Cheeseburger! Everything about this burger made us happy. The patty, which is housemade and not a Beyond or Impossible thing, was quite meaty (that's an ironic adjective I know, but you get it). The cheese and sauces were likewise spot on and even the bun was quite good. No reason in the world to order beef here!

The aforementioned Vegan Nuggets, were straight up tofu and were crispy and tasty. Served with Crush Sauce which makes a regular appearance on the BC menu.

The Crush Fries which were a delicious rich mess, were the only menu item on the menu which required an extra $1.50 (we can live with that) to be ordered vegan. The fried onions added a great deal to this particular experience. Another special treat!

And finally, this was a spectacular Strawberry Milkshake. This could not be confused with a smoothie. Again, the coconut based ice cream is housemade and it made a wonderful thick and tasty milkshake. Don't miss out on this.

There are a couple of tables and a few wall bar stools but clearly most of their business is take out. There are no heat lamps that I could see and our food was clearly freshly made. The staff were friendly and service as quick considering that food wasn't waiting precooked. We are already enamored of this place and look forward to visiting their Vancouver outlet!

Food 4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan options 4 1/2 out of 5

Service 4 1/2 out of 5

Comfort 3 1/2 our of 5

Value 4 1/2 out of 5

Gabriel's Gourmet Café, Nanaimo - Vegan Options

From Courtenay, we took the main highway to Nanaimo. Of course, the coastal road is more scenic but we have been that way quite a few times. In this case, time was the limiting factor but it was still almost dark by the time we arrived at our motel. The days may be getting longer again, but they haven't come that far!

I don't know if they call it Old Town or what but Gabriel's Cafe is on Commercial Street near Museum Way in what I would call the touristy part of town. Anyway, we chose it for dinner as there are some impressive vegan options on the menu.

We started with one of the day's specials. This was a Curry, Kale and Potato Soup served with Bread and Kale Butter! The soup was straight-up amazing. It was rich and coconutty with a touch of curry and some chunky potato. This should be on their regular menu for sure!

Our server helped me to reel in my usual over-ordering by suggesting a half order of their Tunesian Tagine. It was a flavourful bowl of Middle Eastern flavourings with chickpeas, tomatoes, potato, avocado, and tofu over brown rice. You have rice options when you order, btw. Tasty and satisfying!

Finally, we had the Kimchi Salad Bowl. There were all kinds of tasty, healthy things in this bowl but roasted beets and a sesame ginger dressing really stood out. The kimchi was nice also. Never take for granted that kimchi is vegan. There is usually some kind of fish sauce or anchovies thrown in but not this time!

Comfy and warm while it was cold outside, we enjoyed being at Gabriel's. Service was friendly and the kitchen seemed on top of things, mind you they weren't overly busy when we were there. One thing that I really appreciate is that there is a "vegan" tab on their online menu. It is so much easier when there is some indication of what is suitable for us without having to ask a lot of annoying questions. We would definitely be regulars here is this was our home base.

Food 4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options 4 1/2 out of 5

Comfort 4 1/2 out of 5

Service 4 1/2 out of 5

Value 4 1/2 out of 5

Mudsharks Coffee Bar, Courtenay - Vegan Options

Wednesday just before noon, we set sail for Comox aboard the Salish Orca. I am glad that we have ways of naming our vessels other than Queen of this or that.

This class of ferry is run by natural gas with diesel backup which is maybe a tiny step forward for the environment. I assume that we are a few years away from full electric but that would be a worthy goal!

I was very excited about a fully plant based restaurant in Courtenay called Rawthentic! There was a little bit of conflicting info on the internet (big surprise) but Google assured us that it was open until 6 or whatever, so we rushed right over! Nope...closed...and not just for the day.

Fortunately, Courtenay offered us a very good back up plan.

Mudshark Coffee, just a short walk away from the former location of Rawthentic, offered an impressive menu of plant based menu items including mains, baked goods and smoothies!

We happily lined up in this busy place, placed our order and it was soon delivered to our table. We started with the Dal Soup, a concoction of lentils with mild Indian spices and recommended by our counter person. It was an excellent recommendation as the soup was rich and warming!

Not the first time that we have had vegan Chili but this was quite good. Again, a good choice for a cool day.

The most unique item on the vegan menu was the carrot lox. We've experienced the carrot to salmon thing before and this was not bad. It was served on a bagel with vegan cream cheese and a crunchy side salad. Very nice.

There was more veggie chili with our Mexican Bowl. Served with Basmati rice and all the stuff you'd expect for a Mexican bowl, it was also decent.

This was really a nice community kind of place and we were happy to find it. Service was cheerful and our food arrived pretty quickly. After fueling up, we pushed on to Nanaimo.

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan options 4 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 out of 5

Thaidal Zone and Base Camp Coffee, Powell River - Vegan Options

Our travel from Sechelt to Powell River on Tuesday was punctuated by a stop in the lovely community of Madeira Park (and a long wait at the ferry terminal later). After a slow cruise along the winding community roads with views of the harbor from many angles we ended up at the Madeira Park Wharf.

It was not a sunny day but again compared to last week's snow and ice, we were content. We ended up waiting about 90 minutes for the Earl's Bay to Saltery Cove ferry due to a failure to check schedules but we were not in a huge rush! We arrived in Powell River in the early pm and were totally impressed with the clean little seemingly well organized town that we found with well kept houses and beautiful lawns.

Again, it was a little challenging to find a plant based meal but not because it was Boxing Day and things were closed. There just seems to be a little less available in Powell River. We did find Thaidal Zone (within a stones throw of the ferry terminal) which offered quite a few vegan friendly dishes.

We started with some Spring Rolls. They came very hot and crispy and with a spicy Thai chili sauce which shouldn't surprise anyone. They were very tasty!

We ordered Vegetarian Pad Thai after confirming that it was, in fact, vegan. A little heat (could have had more) but very tasty with rich tamarind sauce flavoring the noodles. Some nicely crisp vegetables rounded out the dish and we were happy.

I can't read or enlarge the web site menu but to the best of my recollection this was the unfortunately named Prik King Tofu. Green Beans, peppers and tofu in a coconut curry sauce. We ordered some steamed rice (you've seen that before) and were so satisfied with out meal that we took home a couple of containers of left overs.

Pleasantly bright, airy and comfortable, Thaidal Zone was quite busy at 3 in the afternoon. I overheard at least 2 people ordering to eat in and to go later as well. I think we may have stumbled on the place to eat in Powell River for omnivores and vegans! Very nice folks as well.

Food 4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options 3 1/2 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 1/2 out of 5

Only 4 ferries per day leave Powell River for Comox and again, there were no reservations available. The second ferry leaves at 11:50 but unfortunately, I got it into my head that it left at 10:50. Happily, the Powell River waterfront is pleasant and we spent some time walking and enjoying it on Wednesday morning.

On Marine Avenue, just nearby, we found (OK. I knew about it), Base Camp Coffee which had quite a bit to offer the hungry vegan.

We had a couple of very good coffees and a couple of treats while enjoying the very homey atmosphere.

This was a very rich brownie type thing but they had me at garbanzo beans! Yes, main ingredient is chick peas which somehow rendered it rich and chocolatey and delicious! Don't worry. It does not taste anything like hummus.

And another wonderful coconut, chocolate macaroon kind of thing. Someone is going to get fat this week!

I don't post a lot of bathroom pictures but you have to love this!

Decorated with local art (for sale) and run by very pleasant people, I could definitely make a pest of myself hanging out at this place. They have a couple of vegan lunch options as well.

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan Options 3 1/2 out of 5

Comfort 4 1/2 out of 5

Service 4 1/2 out of 5

Value 4 out of 5

And finally, we were off to Comox.

El Segundo and The Bakery, Sechelt - Vegan Options

We decided to take a little jaunt after Christmas, up the Sunshine Coast to Powell River, over to Comox, down to Victoria and then back home. We left Aldergrove at 5:30 am on Monday morning because there were no reservations available on the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale ferry and we wanted to get onto the 7:30 sailing. We did so but only after driving through torrential rain on the North Shore and the associated pooling water.

First stop after Langdale was Gibson's Landing. I grew up watching The Beachcombers but this was the first time I have ever stood in front of Molly's Reach (only buzzed through Gibsons a couple of times in the past).

We took a little walk on the pier (almost entirely by ourselves at 9ish on Boxing Day). This fellow was surprisingly unimpressed with us.

We got to Sechelt a little faster than we expected but our host at the Driftwood Inn was happy to check us in even though it was only 10:30ish. I think we might have been the only guests! The motel was right on the beach and was clean and comfortable despite the very noisy heating unit ( turned it off in the middle of the night).

After a little walk on the beach and under some if not a lot of blue sky, we started to think about something to eat. Surprisingly, I had 4 places on my list in Sechelt that had respectable vegan options (plus a couple of bakeries) but only one was open on Boxing Day!

So we ended up at El Segundo, a sort of fusion Mexican place. It was busy at just after noon but we were able to get a table for 2 right away.

We started with Brocco Tacos and a Kale Caesars Salad. The tacos were surprising! The broccoli must have been dusted with rice flour or cornstarch and deep fried as they were nicely crispy. Complete with corn, cabbage , some lettuce and sauce, we realized later that we could have used some hot sauce on these dishes but these were very good tacos!. The Caesar Salad was tasty also.

Next up was a Yam and Black Bean Burrito. Complete with dirty rice, vegan chipotle mayo, guac, salsa, cabbage and herbs, this burrito was a tasty meal all by itself. We chose truffle tots as a side which came with vegan cheese and a vegan garlic aioli! Really tasty and no one got carried away with the truffle!

El Segundo is a nicely festive place and the staff are friendly and helpful. We pretty well exhausted the vegan choices other than a couple of other starters and soups. Still, they were there for us when the other vegan forward places were closed.

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan choices 3 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 out of 5

Early Tuesday morning, I was out on my walk and surprised to see that The Bakery was already open and folks were inside getting their coffee and pastries.

I don't usually eat early in the morning but I was curious to see what they offered and sure enough, there were a few vegan items in their bakery case!

I sat down to try an Oatmeal and something Cookie (sorry) that was full of coconut, dates and some dried fruit and nuts. Very good! And excellent coffee as well! My intention was to bring some home for Mharie to try but next thing I knew, I had eaten the whole thing.

So I got her a vegan Chocolate Oatmeal Bar which was ridiculously rich and could keep you alive for days if you were lost in the woods!

Sorry to not have a better interior photo to post. I thought I had taken one that showed the whole room. A beautiful and warm little place to have coffee, and open at 6:30 every morning. They also have vegan lunchtime choices like wraps and daily soups. Friendly folks too!

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan choices 4 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 out of 5

Kozak Homemade Ukranian Food - Vegan Options

Some cuisines lend themselves more to being veganized than others. Ukrainian food (at least the North American version) has its bones in plants and it is easy enough to use all plants to get the complete authentic experience. Kozak has been on my list to try since long before I went plant-based and I'm wondering what took us so long to finally get here!

Located on 6th Street near 5th Avenue in New West, this is one of 3 Kozak restaurants in Metro Vancouver. Sorry for the fuzzy picture! I usually take like 400 photos so that I have at least one that is good but this? We arrived at 1ish and were able to find a place to sit. This is more of a deli / take-out place but there are a few window seats and a table along one wall ( seating for 7 or 8 altogether?).

How can you not start a Ukrainian meal without borscht? And a wonderful fairly dense piece of rye bread? You can't. A little side dish had a couple of slices of raw garlic in salt. We did our best to rub the garlic on the bread and enjoyed it with the rich and chunky soup. Very good!

Next up were the Latkes (potato pancakes) with mushrooms. These arrived hot and crispy, They were a little bit on the greasy side but I would be disappointed if they weren't. Served with a horseradish sauce which I assume contained beet in some form. This was also delicious!

We ordered 3 Holobsti (cabbage rolls) and 2 Varyneki (pierogi). The cabbage rolls were excellent and came with a mushroom filling, with rice, cabbage, onions and carrots. The tomato sauce was also very good and rich. We ordered the pierogi fried and filled with potato and dill. My late brother-in-law used to make the best pierogi in the world so it is hard for me to compare but these were quite good.

Lastly, we tried 3 Sour Cherry Filled Pierogi and called it dessert! I love cherries so this was a light and tasty finish to our meal. The dough was excellent which is always the clincher with pierogi!

I think that we worked most of our way through the vegan options on their menu. There are still many bakery items to explore! We were well looked after even though this is not really a full-service restaurant and the staff were helpful on the vegan details. I feel like a lot of their customers are regulars that have found their place!

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan options 4 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 out of 5