Vancouver Ice Cream Festival - Vegan Options

No fun, Vancouver? I beg to differ! What could be more fun in the summer than the Vancouver Ice Cream Festival? Even more fun is the fact that more vendors are offering vegan options than in the past. We only touched a few this year, having visited others last year.

Just south of Robson on Homer is the interesting little place, Le Parfait. This is a Lebanese Creperie serving Lebanese dishes, waffles, crepes and other sweets. Worth a visit and offering vegan options for the VICF!

This was the Trio Fruity Cup, 3 scoops of different fruit-flavoured ice creams with a cotton candy topping. Loved the cotton candy! Well, loved the ice cream too, but we rarely get cotton candy!

This is not like a vegan paradise or anything, but at least there are a few vegan ice cream flavours.

On Water Street just west of Carrall, we checked out Chocolat Favoris. We became literally kids in a candy store here. This is not just an ice cream place (they have vegan soft serve) but they have all kinds of sweet treats for now or later.

We enjoyed our treat outside on this sunny at one of the little tables set up by CF.

This was an Ice Cream Float, and we chose Mango and Pink Lemonade Sorbet. It was a perfect cool treat. We had to slurp slowly to avoid brain freeze.

We've reported on Level V Bakery/Whisk Matcha Cafe before, but not in the  Ice Cream Festival sense of the word. Located in the vegan triangle on Kingsway near 8th, it is one short bus ride from Main Street Station. This place is a vegan paradise in the truest sense.

Their first featured item was the Matcha Matsuri Set. This is housemade matcha banana bread creme brulee toast with a side of ube soft serve. More than a little tasty and an impressive presentation, especially with the splash of gold leaf.

The second featured item was the Softi Floatie. This was an iced latte with more ube soft serve. We could have had it with matcha soft serve. This was all very delicious, but keep in mind that if you are eating purple food, you should probably wear a bib. I'm just saying.

They are not just about ice cream and lattes here. There are enough savoury and sweet baked selections at this all-vegan establishment that even the pickiest eater can be satisfied. We also scarfed down a Crunchie Sandwich, which featured avocado and soy floss. The soy floss is a unique ingredient similar to pork floss that is often used in Chinese dishes (but no one gets murdered). Delicious, and we have to figure out where to buy it.

The only thing that they really need here is more space and tables. The staff are pretty efficient at handling the lineup up but at peak times, they can get backed up. Great place.

Please let me know if you read this blog.

I am feeling like my blogging days have run their course. I have never made money off of it, but I feel like now that I have become vegancentric, it serves as my weak form of activism. Still, if no one reads it, there is no point in my getting stressed out.

Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar - Vegan Options

Well, we've walked through Waterfront Station a million times and noticed Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar, but one day I decided to check out their menu. Sure enough, they had a few vegan options and therefore made my list!

Finally, we got there before catching Much Ado About Nothing at Bard on the Beach, which by the way was very enjoyable! We got there right at 11 (opening time) in order to order eat and transit to Bard. No problem as we had our choice of tables in this quite beautiful restaurant.

We started with some Dumplings. Veggie gyoza with passionfruit ponzu and Korean beet vegan aioli. These were pretty good!

The Tofu Bao were also pretty tasty. The tofu was crisp and served with Char Siu sauce. There were mushrooms, pickled carrots, pea shoots and a Kimchi aioli on the side. Nicely assembled on a vegan bao. Well done!

We had the Vegan Beet Burger, not listed on the plant-based menu but on the burger menu...Glad we found it just the same. The house-made beet aioli is what gave it the name, and it was pretty good. A decent vegan patty and an overall good burger. Excellent fries on the side.

This is a beautiful restaurant, and we even had a street view, which is entertaining if not pastoral or anything. Our server was great, and I'm sorry but I've forgotten his name. We haven't tried everything vegan on the menu. This is a good place for vegans travelling with a herd of omnivores.

Moody Foody - Vegan Take Out

Last weekend, Mharie and I went and visited Historic Hammond, BC! Of course, we didn't actually know that Historic Hammond was a thing until we got there!

Hammond is part of Maple Ridge, close to the north end of the Allouette Bridge, and we went there to pick up food from The Moody Foody. Just so we're clear....I already knew about MF (maybe I shouldn't abbreviate it like that) and had it on my list, but we were motivated by a deal that popped up on This Is Plant Curious.

So we placed an order (I actually phoned, but they have online ordering, obviously) and Google Maps brought us to Historic Hammond! There is not much here other than TMF, a liquor store, a hairdresser and a biker supply store (that I initially thought was a biker club). I phoned because there is nothing that actually indicates that their food is fully vegan, and some menu items are marked 'vegan' and some are not. They also don't answer their emails, so...sigh...I phoned. We found at the kitchen 2 very friendly and enthusiastic women, the chef and her right-hand person! We picked up our food and brought it home.

There is a quite a variety of comfort food items at TMF. We tried the BBQ Veggie Sandwich, which was alright. King oyster mushrooms and their house-made barbeque sauce.

We ordered a couple of soups. The Harvest Lentil Soup and the Garden Potato Soup. Both were quite tasty and would fill a void nicely on a cool day. 

The main that we tried was the Pure Plant Kebab Platter. The kebabs were lentil-based with lots of healthy ingredients and was quite Falafel-like. They was a bit on the dry side by themselves, but came with a tzatziki-type sauce, which helped. Decent slaw and rice on the side completed the picture.

Our favourite was the Potato Green Bean side dish with a peanut sauce. Very nice.

Finally, we had the Nostalgic Rice Pudding. It was a little plain like rice pudding is supposed to be, and comforting. A sprinkle of cinnamon made it a tasty dessert. 

There is a lot more that we would like to try, from several salads, more sandwiches, and you can also line up tiffin service with them! It would be a little like having two moms in the kitchen! They also have frozen dishes and other items ready-made for take-out.

Keep in mind that the online order menu and the website menu do not match, so you may find yourself phoning in your order depending on what you want to try. I assume those issues will get sorted at some point.

Obviously, this is not tweezer food, just well-prepared and healthy vegan comfort eats.

Meet in Gastown - A Vegan Eatery

I fooled a friend, for his own good. I told him we were going to have lunch at Meet, but I didn't spell it for him. I'm just kidding. He knew we were going to a vegan place, but his closed minded friends wouldn't come with us (they prefer their lunch to include some animal suffering and dying). I suggested that we should have told them that we were going to 'Meet' without providing the spelling (again for their own good). 

Located in an interesting square off Water Street near Carral, they have some outside tables that are protected nicely from the street.

We started with the Oyster Mushroom Kalamari. I had this before and knew it would go a long way towards selling my friend on vegan eats. It was nicely crispy and salty; even the pickled onions were a hit. Perfect with the vegan Tzatziki served on the side.

My friend selected the Meet Burger as many omnivores would do when visiting a vegan eatery. In fact, my wife ordered this the first time that we came here. I'm not sure what the patty is (and didn't taste it this time) but it must have been ok as Rob enjoyed it greatly! The onion ring, mushrooms, and chipotle mayo are nice toppers that make the burger an impressive thing. The salad on the side (healthier than fries, maybe?) wasn't bad either!

I selected the special of the day (week? month?) which was a Picatta. I think it was their 'chikkin' which according to our server is a new brand that I had not seen before. It was tasty enough to impress me but it is always the sauce that I love. Frankly, I would approve putting capers on everything. Served with charred Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and some tomatoes, this was a supreme comfort meal. It should definitely be more than a weekly special!

One of the great vegan eats places with 3 locations in Vancouver, Meet is amazing. I love this institution and I would gladly eat here weekly. The fact that Rob was so impressed means you can bring your omnivore friends as the first step in their conversion to being better people! 

I am done with the rating system. A friend talked me into it and since I went all vegan all the time, I don't think he even reads the blog anymore.

Just be assured that Meet is one of my favourites.

  

Hanoi Corner - Vegan Options

Another 'This is Plant Curious' discovery. We rarely miss an offer, and most (of the offers) are for places we know, but Hanoi Corner is almost brand new. We decided to give them a try one Saturday morning on our way to Vancouver. They are just a short walk north on Commercial Drive from Broadway Station.

This is not a vegan place, but they do have clearly marked vegan options on their menu. We took advantage of the 'This is Plant Curious Deal' and ordered Spring Rolls, which meant we would get a vegan bahn mi free!

The Vegan Spring Roll Vermicelli were among the best spring rolls that we have ever had. I know, recency bias but these were seriously ungreasy (as spring rolls can be) and we enjoyed the combination of greens and herbs. The dipping sauce was just the usual sweet chili sauce but it worked just fine. 

We had a choice of sandwich to go with it and ended up with the Lemongrass Chicken Bahn Mi. It wasn't exactly overloaded but each of the component parts were decent. The bun (always the most important) was fresh and had the requisite soft inside and crunch on the outside. There are 3 vegan choices all at under $8.

This was the Coconut Match a Latte (I think) and again, there are a few vegan options as they can use oat milk. We don't do a lot of fancy drinks but this one was very tasty and refreshing.

This bright and refreshing little place is run by two sisters. There is not a lot on the food menu but they seem to do what they, pretty well. There is a decent selection for vegans of everything that an omnivore would come for.

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

Chipotle - Vegan Options

A couple of vegans that I follow on social media, have made reference to Chipotle. They have given me the impression that it is a go-to place for them!  And so we thought that we should check it out, having never been.

The nearest to us is on the Langley By-Pass directly across from Willowbrook Mall. We dropped in one Saturday afternoon with the idea of getting takeout. There was a bit of a line up mid afternoon but it moved quickly.

At Chipotle, you can order a burrito, tacos, a salad or a bowl. With each, you choose your protein (or veggies), rice, beans and salsas. So each item is basically a variation on the same theme. Or you can order featured items and lifestyle bowls online (all with the same basic ingredients that you can choose yourself). We started with tacos with their plant-based protein, which is nicely flavoured with Mexican-style spices. There is no vegan cheese here.

Next up was our Salad. Some variation on the stuff in the tacos ahead but with some pretty good greens.

And finally there was a Burrito Bowl. To be honest, this could be the Salad and the previous photo could be the Burrito Bowl. Both seem to have a lot of greens but one of them has some brown rice as a base. This one clearly has the corn salsa on top which was one of my favourite ingredients. In future visits, we will probably ask for corn salsa on everything.

You can dine-in here and frankly, you could do worse on your lunch break. Order ahead and your food will be ready when you arrive. The food is fresh and healthy enough although there is nothing "chipotle" flavoured if you are vegan. The lack of vegan cheese is still the biggest disappointment, especially since there is so much available these days. Not sure what all the vegan "influencers" are on about, but Chipotle is ok.

Food                                     3 out of 5

Vegan Options Available      2 1/2 out of 5 

Comfort                                3 out of 5 

Service                                 4 out of 5

Value                                    3 1/2 out of 5       

 

Those Indian Guys - Vegan Options

These folks have been feeding the public for about four months. I don't know how I came across them, and it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that we found them and loved their food! They are located on 152nd at 19th in White Rock. If you turn west onto 19th, you can park underneath the building. Or you can drive around like an idiot until you find street parking like I did.

We were excited by the concept here. It is about healthy Indian eats with some fusion thrown in. Since we love even the unhealthy non-fusion version of Indian foods, we were off to a good start. This is not a vegan restaurant, but they have vegan options which are clearly marked. Even vegetarian Indian restaurants seem to struggle with understanding the distinction between vegetarian and vegan so we like it when it is clear. We ordered everything vegan on the menu!

This is the Feel-good Phenomenon. The website description of some things is a little different from the restaurant menu, so we weren't expecting the tofu, but that made it even better. There is quinoa underneath this assortment of sweet potatoes, roasted veggies, crispy chickpeas and dressing. Excellent! We both loved the crispy chickpeas, and they know how to handle tofu! Loved the cutting board serving trays too!

Next up was the Veggie Punch! This is based on basmati rice and masala chickpeas. There is also mango chutney and a lime and cilantro vinaigrette on more veggies. Very nice!

Next up was the Righteous Vegan Wrap, and we love the name. This one comes with soya chunks, an Indian ingredient that we have at home and use quite often. They look like croutons but are meant to be rehydrated and soak up whatever flavour you choose to add. This time they were charred in a tandoor and wrapped in a lentil paratha with tomatoes, lettuce and garlic spread. A huge step up from your typical wrap!

Healthy is great, but you definitely need to try the Amritsari Onion Rings. Mharie thinks these are the best onion rings we have had in a long time. Air fried! They were perfectly crisp and when you took a bite, the rest of the onion didn't drag out of the crust. A little interesting spice and a mint chutney on the side made this a serious upgrade on regular o rings!

Finally, our server and new friend, Artipa (did I spell that right?), wanted us to try the Corn Ribs! These are marked vegetarian on the menu but she brought it with a sauce that was vegan! This was also tasty and fried (maybe air-fried?) with a crunchy coating and a tangy dip! Thank you!

Good food and a beautiful airy room. There is a large picture on the wall that traces the story of those Indian guys (in the back I assume?) from India to chef school in Switzerland to White Rock and their current endeavor.

We're glad they made the trip and look forward to getting back here sometime. Next time we will try some things off of their juices/ smoothies menu. If we were close buy, this is another one of those places that would be our go-to! 

Food                                     4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options Available      3 out of 5

Comfort                                4 out of 5

Service                                 5 out of 5

Value                                    4 1/2 out of 5