Yes! We're Eating Vegan Again!

Desi Rasoi - Vegan Options

We first visited Desi Rasoi during the pandemic (May 2021) when no dining rooms were open and so everything was takeout. DR was in a different location then and didn't even have a dining room! Now they are in a sharp new space complete with dining, and we still ordered takeout!

It is not too difficult to make sure your order is vegan when you place it online. Under modifications, you just check 'eggless' sauce and mark 'vegan' under special instructions. In my case I screwed the order up, but the kitchen divined my intentions and made our whole order vegan anyway! Then I just cruised up to Scott Road Centre at 120th and about 80th to pick up our food!

I'm going to have trouble remembering what everything was, but for sure, this is Gol Gappe. This is a vegan standby as far as Indian street food is concerned. The picture is messy as Gol Gappe is partly an assemble-it-yourself project. One taps a hole in the crispy little ball, stuffs in a mixture of potato and chickpeas, and adds the sauce. It's messy but very nice. The crispy shell contrasts with the soft filling, and you have a treat.

Tacos! This would have been Aloo Tacos. So a potato croquette, some vaguely taco fixings like tomato, crispy noodles, cilantro and onions all in a hard taco shell reminiscent of the taco shells you get in grocery store kits! This was my wife's favourite.

Some kind of chaat, I am pretty sure this is Bhelpuri. A tasty mix of puffed rice, lentils, peanuts, crispy noodles, and what have you. Salad and chutney keep it from being dry and makes it more than a snack. We love this.

A burger of course! Indian food never used to mean burgers but this Noodle Burger with a potato patty and lots of messy fixin's is at least as tasty as its western cousin as far as we're concerned!

I think this is Aloo Tikki Chaat. We seemed to have ordered a lot of potato dishes but there are a couple of main ingredient soy dishes as well. Anyway potatoes are good for you and are a nice palate for Indian flavours. A couple of chutneys bring the flavour here. We asked for this to be vegan of course, so no yogurt as might usually be the case.

I will have to work on upping my tubular food photo game. This is a Frankie. Aloo, of course, but chutneys and salad all in a tortilla. Not the most exciting thing I have ever eaten, but a snack in a tortilla is certainly convenient!.

A nice big casual but comfortable room, if you choose to eat in. The counter staff was very helpful in verifying that everything was vegan. Indian street food is not a new thing, but it has become very popular in recent years, and Desi Rasoi has its game well sorted!

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan Options Available 4 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 out of 5

Hestia Veggie - Almost Vegan Restaurant

It's been a year and a bit since we were at Hestia Veggie. Of all the vegan options we have enjoyed over the last few years, this is one of the places that we remember the most fondly! Finally, we got back to try a few more delicious-sounding dishes off their creative menu.

It was still in the same place on Davie, adjacent to the Shoppers Drug Mart. We showed up in the early afternoon and had our choice of tables. It is still not a completely vegan restaurant as I guess there is egg in some dishes.

The Deep-Fried King Oyster Mushrooms were the first interesting menu item we were moved to order. We don't do much deep frying at home during the week, so we are partial to crispy hot treats when we dine out. These may look like scallops, but they are just firm mushrooms with a crispy coating and served with vegan mayo. Simple and perfect!

Eggplant is not prized for its attractiveness when cooked, but it is a very nice platform for additional flavours. The Smokey Eggplant is on the Shareables menu and boasts Impossible meat, saline (fancy salt, I assume?), peanuts, dried shallots, and pineapple sauce! I'm not sure exactly where the smoke comes from (maybe the salino?), but it was subtly present. Very nice!

We were quite excited to try the Vegan Crispy Duck with Pancake for 2! The crispy duck itself was some kind of tofu skin (cooked crispy on the outside), and mushroom. It was a pretty impressive mock meat. Take a pancake, add some 'duck', veggies, and the Peking sauce, and you are happy. There was enough for 2, but that didn't mean we weren't going to order something else!

Despite my making a fuss about cordyceps in my last review of this place (the concept of carnivorous mushrooms definitely freaked me out), this time we ordered the Cordyceps Chicken Claypot. I was assured by our excellent server that these were not strictly speaking, the cordyceps that I had read about that murder and consume ants, but more closely related to the fraudulent health food version of the shroom. It was veggie chicken that was tasty enough, but not made out of the mushrooms as you may guess. The chicken was not deep fried but in tasty Asian sauced chunks that lent a sweet flavour to the pot. With greens, lemongrass, more veggies and rice, this was a fulfilling bowl and the cordyceps were really just an accent. Little skinny novelty topping guys that really didn't taste like much but didn't seem scary either.

Having started off our meal rabidly hungry, we even had room for dessert. We had the Hestia Banana Roll which was a little fruit spring roll with some vegan ice cream. Nice idea and the perfect end to a wonderful meal.

The place is only empty as we tend to dine at odd hours. It is quite comfortable here. Our server was very informative and close to being vegan himself. We don't hold that against him but encouraged him to go all in. After 2 visits, there are still we things on the menu we woould like to try and plenty that we would try again.

Food 5 out of 5

Vegan Options Available 4.75 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 1/2 out of 5

Value 5 out of 5

Oddburger Truck - Mobile Vegan Fast Food

We've been to Oddburger on Main a couple of times, but this time, we were able to visit the Oddburger Food Truck, which showed up a little closer to home. One Sunday morning, we went to Vegan Supply in South Surrey, and there it was (OK. We knew it would be there).

The Oddburger menu is sufficiently extensive that we will need a few more visits to be able to try everything (and that is our intention). They don't serve the full menu from the truck but they feature a few things that we had not tried.

For example, we had not tasted the Famous Burger, which is essentially your vegan Big Mac. It was close to the BM as best I can remember, considering that I rarely went to MD's and even more rarely had that burger. The 'meat' used by OB is pretty decent, and even so, I think burgers are all about condiments and the other stuff surrounding the 'meat.' So, decent bun, decent cheese, mayo, lettuce and whatever else added up to an acceptable much less cruel sub for the other famous burger.

Well, we had already tried this but really liked it and ordered it again. This was the Sticky ChickUn—a chickun tossed in Korean sesame sauce. Also, pickles, lettuce, and a very good bun. Excellent!

We hadn't tried the Pretenders (like tenders...get it?). House-made seitan bites with 'buttermilk' batter and mild spices. Served with your choice of sauces. There is nothing wrong with these!

Finally, we tried a wrap as we had not so far ordered one. This was the Gyro. Thinly sliced gyro 'meat' (presumably seitan), tzatziki and some salad. The pita was not bad and the resulting wrap was decent. While this was OK, it was not what we came for.

Having been three times, we now consider ourselves Oddburger experts! Even prevegan, we were not fast food junkies but there is a place in the world for burgers and fries and everything else that they serve here. They are not the only place that serves this stuff but they bring it altogether in a way that makes me think that a "one billion served sign" is somewhere in their future!

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan options available 5 out of 5

Comfort NA although it was a nice sunny day!

Service 4 1/2 out of 5 (nice folks!)

Value 4 out of 5

Lonsdale Quay - Vegan Options

You may think it odd that we stay the weekend in Vancouver occasionally, considering that we only live in Aldergrove. It is not as far away as you city people think, and we regularly drive/transit to the city and can make it home easily before nightfall or at least before the next day! But a change of scenery is nice, and a place to take a nap in the afternoon is good, since cat napping has become an important part of my day. So this time we stayed at The Lonsdale Quay Hotel. They had pretty good pricing this time, and they are close to the water, which is always a priority. Sometimes we stay at the Pinnacle at the Pier, which is quite a bit fancier, but the price was too high and I am, above all, a cheap guy.

That is not to say that there is anything wrong with the Quay Hotel! It is nicely appointed, and we even had a bit of a water view!

The fact is that it does not take a lot to make Mharie and me feel content. As long as we are warm and safe and have a plan for dinner, we are good!

Luckily, the sun was shining and the cherry blossoms were out, which meant that we would be outside roaming around and soaking up the sun like a couple of lizards. During the weekend, we ate at a few places that I am reviewing under separate posts, but it is nice that the Quay Market itself is not short of options for vegan eats.

Among other food stalls, Wela is known for their bowls, wraps and smoothies and has many vegan and healthy options. Hellcrust Pizza offers dairy free cheese for the vegans and large lactose intolerant crowd.

Anchor outlet and in the market forever is the Soup Meister's Nephew, which has a changing menu of soups. The menu always includes vegan options. You can get it served hot or in a container for home.

In fact, as we were leaving we picked up a container of Leek and Potato Soup from SN and an impressive vegan Empanada from Eldorado Pies & Treats. Don't forget about them!

The area around the market and hotel in addition to being on the water, is otherwise pleasant for my early morning walking. It is a nice area for a base of exploration of Vancouver and as far as transit is concerned, we love the Seabus.

So, we're big fans of North Vancouver and what it offers. Don't forget that it's there!

Dolce Amore Ice Cream Mafia and Affogato Bar - Vegan Options

One of the first beautiful sunny weekends in Vancouver called out loudly for ice cream! As our Vancouver weekend continued, we knew we were close to Earnest Ice Cream (with good vegan options), but Dolce Amore Ice Cream Mafia and Affogato Bar were just around the corner and has a pretty cool name. During our visit, they had at least 6 vegan flavours available!

Located just off Lonsdale on 2nd Street West, to be honest, it was still a little before the sun actually showed up (but it would!) so we really didn't have to wait.

A cone, of course, and this was one scoop, believe it or not. They are generous with the servings and will give you two half scoops! So we tried Mango and Lavender Lemonade. Pretty tasty and didn't miss the dairy ice cream.

We also came for the affogato. We knew that the Peanut Butter Paesano would be perfect with a little pour of espresso. This ice cream has a peanut mylk base and is made in-house. It was amazing!

So, we're going to go ahead and call this place pretty impressive. There is seating for just over a dozen but walking and eating ice cream is a socially acceptable activity when the weather is nice. As you can see from the photo, they are prepared for long lines. I'm sure those lineups showed up later in the day when the sun actually showed its face. The staff were impressive and knowledgeable as well.

Food 5 out of 5

Vegan Options Available 3 1/2 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 1/2 out of 5

Buddha-Full - Vegan Restaurant

We went to Buddha-Full 6 1/2 years ago during World Vegan Month and have not been back since. That is not a reflection of what we ate there but of the fact that there are so many good vegan restaurants, and restaurants with vegan options, and we have only now made our way back around. This time, we were tempted by "This is Plant Curious," which offered a healthy discount on a bowl or a wrap!

We showed up early enough on Saturday morning to get a choice of seating, but the dining space is smallish (maybe seating for 20?), and they get busy!

At BF, they have savoury bowls and sweet bowls, including Acai. We started with a Cobb Caesar Salad Bowl, which was obviously based on the classic salad. Butler's Soy Curls replace the chicken, and tofu egg replaces the egg. Other than that, this is a good and cruelty-free variation on the original salad. Loved it!

Next up was the Coastal Vibes Bowl, which did not look much like the website photo. This is not a problem. I just don't want you to think that I had completely forgotten what we ate. Brown rice and many roasted vegetables, including kale and sweet potato, with smoked tofu, lentils, peanut sauce and queso made this an amazing bowl. Get this!

Our habit is to over order, and so the wrap went with us. This was the Tuscan Wrap and what really stood out was the very good apple-sage sausage which lent savory and substance to the this. The cheese queso cheese and cashew pesto and spinach, not to mention an amazing side salad made this a meal.

This was an amazing start to our Vancouver weekend of sun and tasty vegan eats that included the Cherry Blossom Festival. Buddha Full is a welcoming place for vegans and non vegans alike. You can drop by for a coffee and vegan baked item or a smoothie. Service was impressive and the staff are friendly enough.

Food 4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options Available 5 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 out of 5

Value 4 1/2 out of 5

Gordon Ramsey Burger - Vegan Option

I can assure you that we did not come here for Gordon Ramsay Burger. We came to see the Crash Test Dummies in the Great Canadian Casino Theatre.

It was a great show, and they played all those songs from God Shuffled His Feet as well as some other memorable stuff. As part of their encore, they played a song called Heart of Stone which is a little newer but it brought me to blubbering when I realized what it was about. I'll leave it to you to do your own research on that. Anyway, Gordon Ramsey Burger is adjacent to the theatre in the casino and they happened to have a vegan burger.

As the show was at 7 o'clock, and I left it too late, we could not get a reservation other than at 5. Of course, at 5 , we could have just walked in without a reservation but whatever. So we ordered a burger.

So the burger was not cheap, and it was not small either. We paid $3.50 for sweet potato fries instead of the regular ones, and they were quite good. Upon the first bite of the burger, I actually got a little panicky! The beefy taste was something that I did not believe could be provided without killing something. I thought maybe it was a taste picked up from a grill where beef had been cooked, but they assured me that they keep a separate space just for the vegan burger! The burger was quite meaty and good, but to be honest, we have had better, and the $25 price tag is quite daunting. Still, we're at Gordon Ramsey Burger, and everything is pricey. Overall, once I got past my panic, I kind of enjoyed it.

To be honest, I'd never been a big fan of Gordon Ramsey or anyone else who presents an angry, yelling persona on television. I just don't feel like it is necessary, even if it is only for TV. Our server assured us that in person, he was very nice. He actually came to this restaurant and spoke to all the staff and thanked them for their hard work. Also, seeing GR on Becel plant-based butter commercials (as a previously notorious vegan critic) kind of makes it hard for me to be disgusted with him. If he has changed his position on an important life philosophy, then I admire his ability to do that and not just stick with a stupid anti-vegan attitude. In fact, I am impressed with anyone who can change a position when they realize there is better evidence against their previous belief, instead of doubling down on a stupid thing to save face. And that is today's wise thought for the day!

This is a very nice space, and the staff are noticeably top-notch. Too bad there aren't even just a couple more vegan options.

Food 4 out of 5

Vegan Options Available 2 out of 5

Comfort 4 out of 5

Service 4 1/2 out of 5

Value 3 out of 5