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White Spot and Triple O’s have become the first restaurant chains in Canada to launch the Impossible Burger. As most restaurants and fast food chains offer up Beyond Meat. Last year, White Spot launched their Avocado Beyond Burger for a limited time. They no longer have this burger on the menu.

We haven’t had the Impossible burger patty before, so we were really really keen to see how the taste compares.

The Avocado Impossible Burger

The Avocado Impossible Burger is their signature item on the menu and it has fresh avocado, pickled onions, crisp lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, jalapeño ranch. It is served with a choice of Caesar salad, The Spot’s Salad, or creamy coleslaw and ‘endless’ Kennebec fries. 

You can sub the Impossible patty to any burger on the menu.

My husband got the Avocado Impossible Burger and started making his own substitutions. He added bacon strips and cheddar cheese.

Monty Mushroom Bigger Burger with Impossible Burger Patty

This has a Impossible burger patty with Jack cheese, roasted mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and their signature Triple “O” sauce. It definitely wasn’t ‘bigger’ and very minimal mushrooms. Not sure if it was the location that we got it from, but if you want more mushrooms, you can always add more for a small fee.

Impossible Burger Patty Taste Test

The Impossible Burger Patty is very well done and we wouldn’t have noticed it was plant based. It has the right amount of spices, good texture, and look. With the addition of the tomato, it looks like it ‘bleeds’.

Overall, we were impressed with the Impossible Burger patty as it wasn’t dry. If you’re looking for a plant-based alternative on the White Spot menu, definitely consider it. We really enjoyed it and didn’t miss the beef patty.

The Impossible Burger is made from proteins, flavors, fats, and binders.

  • Protein from soy and potatoes
  • Flavor from heme (the molecule that makes meat taste, well, meaty)
  • Fat from coconut and sunflower oils make it sizzle on the griddle
  • Binders, methylcellulose and food starch, hold it together so you can make anything you want — meatballs, kebabs, patties, and more.

You can read more about the Impossible burger on their website.

Website:
https://www.whitespot.ca/

Subway and Beyond Meat have teamed up to create an all-new plant-based Sub, which is now available in the US and Canada. It launched in the Fall of 2019, but I didn’t realize it was in-stores until I heard about it on the radio with the debut of the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub . In true Foodology fashion, we made a trip to Subway right away.

The Beyond Meatball is a plant-based meatball made exclusively for Subway. Instead of their regular meatballs, you can get this topped with their marinara sauce, and grated parmesan cheese in a toasted sub. Of course, you can have it anyway you want, so fill it up with all the veggies that you want and on any type of bread.

You can get this plant-based bun with the regular Beyond Meatball or the Beyond Meatball Marinara. The difference is the sauce, but prices are the same. If you want to give it a try, make sure you bring your coupons too. I got some in the mail the other day, so I definitely made sure I utilized them.

Beyond Meatball Sub

In a footlong, they put 8 pieces of the Beyond Meatball, so for a 6 inch, thats 4 pieces. I loaded mine up with some sweet onion sauce, ranch sauce, and all the veggies.

The texture of the Beyond Meatball was very nice as it has a good chew to it. Similar to their regular meatballs, so that is important.

Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub

I do enjoy the Marinara sauce on the meatball subs, so the Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub was what I was most interested in trying.

I’ve actually never got it with just the basics, I asked them to load up my sub with all the veggies except for the hot peppers. I realized I shouldn’t have done that as it took away from the sub, but then again, the meatballs aren’t that large to begin with. Load it up with veggies to get more full.

Final Thoughts

Whether you go with marinara sauce for your Beyond Meatball sub is up to you. The Beyond Meatballs are a great addition to the menu and a great plant-based alternative if you are vegetarian or just wanting to have a break from meat. I’m all about the flexitarian lifestyle.

Website:
https://www.subway.com/en-CA

A&W Canada has launched plant-based nuggets by LightLife as of Monday, December 2, 2019. It’s pretty awesome to see the launch of a few different plant-based items from A&W Canada. They are definitely the leaders in the Fast Food space to bring plant-based products to the masses. It first started with the Beyond Meat Burger and then the Beyond Meat Sausage. Even though I am a meat eater, I still appreciate the options out there.

The plant-based nuggets are available for a limited time only.

There are a variety of size options:

  • 4-piece Kids’ Pack for $5.99
  • 6-pieces for $5.99
  • 10-piece for $8.99

The Plant-Based Nuggets are served with A&W’s current line-up of dipping sauces: Honey Mustard, Barbecue, Sweet & Sour, and Jalapeño Ranch. But note that only Barbecue and Sweet & Sour are vegan dipping sauces. The other two are not.

Of course we went with the 10 pieces of nuggets. Our team went to A&W twice and we noticed a discrepancy between locations. Sometimes they are served in a basket and sometimes they are served in their compostable bags. Both times, we asked to dine in and also to have all the sauces. One time we got all 4 sauces and another time, we only got the vegan sauces.

Plant-Based Nugget Review

Each nugget is spherical in shape, but sometimes they have a bit of a point. Most of the time they were somewhat similar shapes.

The exterior has a good crisp exterior reminiscent of what good ol’ chicken nuggets have. In the centre, the texture reminded me of canned tuna. No worries, this is made entirely from plant-based ingredients, including peas, wheat and fava beans. The chewy texture was spot on.

I gave some to my dad and he thought it was really good ‘chicken’ nuggets. We always like to trick him into thinking its meat and sure enough it was a hit. Of course it’s not an exact replacement for chicken nuggets, but it is close enough. It’s all about the texture and the spices.

For every 6 pieces of the Plant-Based Nuggets, it has 17g of plant-based protein. Not bad at all.

Final Thoughts

It’s a great option for flexitarians like myself. A&W knocked it out of the park again with these plant-based nuggets. Are they better than regular chicken nuggets? The short answer is no. Plant-based nuggets are a good alternative and substitute if you’re trying to cut meat out of your diet.

Website:
https://aw.ca/

Amaranthus is a new plant-based eatery inside River Market in New Westminster. The restaurant’s name is the Latin word for amaranth, a type of grain used to make alegrías – a popular Mexican sweet.

We were invited to have a sneak peek of the space and try some of their signature items.

They specialize in vegetarian and vegan cuisine with a charitable focus inspired by a chance encounter with Michael J. Fox. Proceeds from select items on Amaranthus’ menu like the Amaranthus veggie burger will be donated to IMPACT Parkinson’s, a New Westminster-based non-profit that supports people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Menu

Beverages

The beverages on the menu are excellent and they did a fantastic job at putting these flavours together. They are essentially zero proof cocktails. It feels like you’re drinking an alcoholic beverage but not.

Juniper and Tonic

The juniper and tonic tasted like you were drinking a gin and tonic but you aren’t. It was refreshing and not too sweet.

Beet Cream Soda

This drink surprised me. I expected it to be much sweeter than it was. It had the least sweetness out of the three drinks we tried. The beet flavour stood out quite a bit in addition to a mild cream soda flavour. It was delicious, but maybe it needs a touch of sweetness. Again another refreshing beverage.

Basil Shrub

This had the right amount of sweetness, ginger and basil flavours. It was very refreshing as well.

Fried Brussel Sprouts

These were amazing! One of the dishes we would love to have had more of.

The flavours were a perfect combination. Another thing that makes these sprouts so different than others is the addition of a poached egg.

Wilted Ridicchio

Another tasty dish. Loved the addition of the fig and fennel in this combination. It has very fresh flavours.

Wild mushroom risotto

The nice creamy texture and made just right. A bit of a heartier and comforting dish.

Amaranthus Veggie burger

This isn’t your ordinary veggie burger and very different than any other veggie burger we have had. A combination of roasted celeriac, Swiss card, blue cheese, and shallots make up this delicious burger.

Rosemary Salt Churros

These are a must try! It has a perfect touch of rosemary and salt with just the right crisp texture to these churros. They were spectacular and weren’t very sweet either. Will for sure be back for these.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a great addition to River Market along with all the other eateries there. It definitely stands out and gives customers more options. Everything we tried at Amaranthus was great. They did a fantastic job of incorporating all the flavours with one another in each of the dishes. The dishes also tasted super fresh. We will definitely be back.

Address:
12 – 810 Quayside Dr, New Westminster, BC

Website:
http://amaranthus.ca/

White Spot is adding Beyond Burger patties to their burger and salad menu, which is a 100% plant-based burger patty that is very great alternative to meat patties. After a few other Fast Food chains adopted the Beyond Burger last year, there was so much buzz surrounding it and it’s so good that more restaurants are taking it on.

The New Signature Avocado Beyond Burger and Southwest Power Bowl will be available starting Monday, April 15, 2019 at all full-service White Spot restaurants in BC and Alberta.

We were giving a sneak peek to see how they will taste.

Avocado Beyond Burger

This beast of a burger has fresh avocado, pickled onions, roasted corn, crisp lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, jalapeño ranch and edamame hummus, and is served with a choice of Caesar salad, The Spot’s salad, or creamy coleslaw and ‘endless’ signature Kennebec fries. As with all White Spot burgers, guests can also substitute fries for Zoo Sticks, Poutine, Onion Rings or Sweet Potato Fries for an additional charge.

This burger is HUGE and is hard to get your mouth around it. A pretty solid burger but it can get a bit soggy with all those sauces in it. Definitely grab a few napkins and it’s saucy. Nonetheless, it was a delicious burger and you won’t notice it’s a veggie patty. Great way to trick people into eating vegetarian. We loved pairing it with a milkshake and Zoo Sticks.

Southwest Power Bowl

Looking for something with the Beyond Burger Patty but not in a burger format? The new Southwest Power Bowl has fresh avocado, cherry tomatoes, radish, roasted corn and cabbage, served with quinoa and jasmine rice with greens, jalapeño ranch and edamame hummus.

Options at Triple O’s

Beginning Monday, May 6, the Beyond Burger patty will also be available at White Spot’s quick-service brand Triple O’s in a new Beyond Original signature burger as well as a limited-edition Mushroom Avocado Beyond Burger.

Website:
https://www.whitespot.ca/

When I was pregnant and developed gestational diabetes, choosing smart meals was very difficult as everything has carbohydrates in an amount greater than what I should be consuming in one meal. When Gomae Meal Prep approached me to try out their service, I had to give it a try. They are a plant-based, zero waste, locally made, healthy and convenient meal option. Great to have another meal delivery service for customers to choose from.

Their mission is to make healthy food more sustainable and accessible. If you order take out or use other companies to deliver meals to you, there is a lot of waste in terms of paper and plastic which all can’t be recycled depending on the grade of material.

Use promo code ‘Foodology’ to get 2 free meals on your first order.

Gomae Meal Prep uses food containers and can be reused over and over again without any waste. They ensure the containers are clean and sanitized before the next customer uses it. Even the sauce containers inside are compostable.

Delivery

They schedule the deliveries on Monday so you can get your meals for the week. I got mine delivered at home, but alternatively, an office would work too. If you need to be available for the delivery, they will give you a 30 minute window, but if not, there is a cooler pack inside to keep the meals fresh and chilled.

The Meals

The meals do rotate, so you won’t be stuck with the same set of meals each week. We went with these 4 items for the week :

  • Macro Bowl
  • Almost Poke bowl
  • Shnitzelonim Salad
  • Black Bean Bowl

All the meal were pretty good and make for perfect portions for lunch or if you skip one, it can become dinner too. I like how on the website it states how many days it can stay fresh for so you can choose which meal you eat on which day.

My personal favourite were the Almost Poke Bowl as it has a delicious sauce and all the right texture to trick yourself into thinking it is poke when it’s not. I was very surprised and highly enjoyed it.

My second favourite was the Macro Bowl since the sauce was delicious and the vegetables used in the dish had the right combination of textures.

What do you do with the containers after?

After you’re done all the meals for the week, make sure you wash all the containers and they will schedule a time for pick up of the cooler bag, ice pack and the containers so nothing goes to waste.

I rinsed my containers and then threw them into the dishwasher but you can do a quick wash in the sink too.

Where do they deliver?

Surprisingly, their delivery route is quite large and can deliver to most parts of Metro Vancouver –  Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Delta, Ladner, Surrey, and Langley. If your area isn’t on the list, let them know and sometimes they can make it happen.

Website: https://gomaemealprep.com/

Nulife Living Food Café is a plant-based restaurant in Coquitlam and since I was in the area, I wanted to check it out as it’s a great concept in the neighbourhood. It’s really hard to find a good vegetarian or vegan cafe around this area.

I went to stop by for a quick lunch and since I am on a diabetic diet, the menu works really well for me. They are raw, organic, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Interior

The cafe is open during the day and has that cafe vibe where you can just sip on coffee all day and have some snacks. There are tables for small to large groups and it isn’t too busy at all, which is nice.

Menu

Iced Nutty Latte

You can get the latte warm or iced, but I opted for iced to mix things up. They use their home-made nut milk and espresso to make this drink. You can tell the nut milk gives it a nice nutty flavour that isn’t too overpowering and works with the espresso.

Organic Zesty Cilantro Sushi

This originally has their young coconut meat blended with almonds, but they told me about their ‘taco meat’ and gave me a sample so I can try which one I liked. I opted for the taco meat and it’s wrapped with cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, and garlic wrapped in nori. It is also served with a salad on the side.

It may not look like much but the textures really went well together as the walnut gave it the crunch that it needed. It won’t fulfill your craving for real sushi, but it will do as a substitute.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the prices aren’t cheap but it takes a lot to put these dishes together that meets to many dietary restrictions. The menu has a good amount of items.

Address:
108-2957 Glen Dr, Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://livingfoodcafe.com

Dundas Eat + Drink are at it again offering up another epic food challenge. Last year, they introduced their Six O Pho challenge where you have to finish a 5lb bowl of pho in under 30 minutes.

Earlier this year, they launched a whole new vegan and gluten-free menu to accompany their other items on the menu. What better way to cater to those with dietary restrictions than to offer the first ever vegan eating challenge.

With a growing vegan community, it makes sense to offer this so more people can give food challenges a try.

Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge

The Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge totals a whopping 3 pounds of just noodles and toppings. This doesn’t include the broth. It has deep-fried tofu, king oyster mushroom, thinly sliced vegan Vietnamese ham, rice noodles, and a sour and mildly spicy veggie broth. You get 20 minutes to devour this whole bowl.

Finish noodles, toppings, and soup in 20 minutes. If you fail, you have to pay $25, which isn’t too bad at all.

The fastest five to finish will go into a final table round where they contend for a $500 worth of cash and prizes and each of the five will automatically receive a $100 gift card to Dundas.

This challenge is on until December 30, 2018.

Regular vs Vegan Bun Bo Hue Challenge

We weighed the total weight of everything and the bowl, it totaled – 5.45kg, which is over 12 pounds. My friend was able to eat a total of 1.96kg which is 4.28 pounds. With the super hot broth, it’s definitely very difficult to finish it all unless you have a stomach of steel.

For $25, this is an affordable eating challenge where it won’t break the bank. It definitely has more the 2 regular bowl fulls of pho.

The regular Vegan Bun Bo Hue was obvious a breeze to finish and costs $11.75.

Final Thoughts

The broth and toppings were really delicious for a Vegan Bun Bo Hue. There is a good depth of flavour and has a good kick of spice to it. If you didn’t tell me it was vegan, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. My vegan friend was very impressed with the taste too even though the challenge left her bursting at the seams and sweating a lot.

Address:
2077 Dundas St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.eatdundas.com/

The Garden Strathcona is the newest cafe and retail shop in East Vancouver. When they opened their doors a few weeks back, they were praised for their delicious food as well as the abundance of greenery and cute local products available for purchase. I knew I had to make a trip out here with friends to relax and have some food.

Interior

The space isn’t too large but there are spots for small groups. Best with pairs.

Their big glass windows gives lots of natural light into the space, which is good for the plants too.

Menu

Mushroom Bowl

They have a good amount of items on their menu, but we all ordered the same thing – The Mushroom Bowl. It is gluten-free and vegan unless you do the add on’s like pulled pork or their ramen egg.

In the bowl are mushrooms, peas, wild rice, brown rice, black kale, pickled beets, picked carrots, and pumpkin seeds. We added the Ramen Egg for $2 extra and it was worth it. It was a hearty lunch and tasted really good.

The produce is local and organic where possible and all meat and dairy are humanely sourced.

Latte

They use beans from Argo Roasters, who are also located in Strathcona. The latte is made with their Equinox Espresso blend, which has a balanced combination of beans from Brazil, Colombia and Ethiopia. Fair trade and organic too.

You can also purchase Argo Roaster beans here too if you really enjoy the taste.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I had a great time spending the afternoon with my friends just catching up, eating mushrooms bowls and drinking lattes. It’s a nice addition to the neighbourhood with other delicious businesses close by like Strathcona Brewing.

Address:
868 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://thegardenstrathcona.com/

Kurumucho is a Japanese Taco Shop in Vancouver. M and I wanted to grab a bite before seeing a movie, so we decided to come here for some of their unique tacos. The menu looks very healthy, so it is one of the better options in the area.

Interior

The shop is small and very narrow. There are many seats but its suited for groups of 2 or 4.

Menu

Spider Sushi Taco

There is a whole soft shell crab in this tempura seaweed taco shell. There is also multigrain sushi rice, avocado, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts and their aurora sauce. It was pretty good with different textures and not heavy at all.

Soy Garlic Salmon Sushi Taco

In this tempura seaweed taco shell is wild sockeye salmon, multigrain sushi rice, avocado, cucumber, spring salad mix, soy garlic sauce, sesame seeds and nori on top. The quality of the salmon was really good and the taco overall had clean flavours. I enjoyed it.

Pork Brisket Kakuni Taco

This taco is a bit different as it’s on a tortilla wrap. There is pork brisket, spring lettuce mix, avocado, cayenne pepper, cilantro, Jalapeño, tomato, onion, pickled ginger, and a mustard garlic sauce. They highly recommended their taco and it was good.

Chicken Breast Karaage

We shared this dish and it was also delicious. It has the deep fried chicken breast with tonkatsu mayo. On the bottom of the bowl is spring lettuce mix. The chicken was surprisingly moist for chicken breast.

Beets Marble Ice Cream

This ice cream caught our eye and we had to get it. It has coconut milk, soy milk, cane sugar, beets, coconut oil, salt, guar gum, vanilla powder, vanilla extract and lemon juice. It is organic, vegan and gluten-free. We were pleasantly surprised.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food at Kurumucho was delicious. I like how there are a lot of items on the menu that cater to those who are vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free. The sushi tacos are unique and they do a good job creating those tempura seaweed shells.

We Rate Kurumucho

Address:
985 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC

Website: https://www.kurumucho.com/

Terra Vancouver creates unique plant-based pop ups in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their goal is to bring together great culinary expertise and passion for innovative dining experiences for gluten-free and vegan lifestyles – perfect for Vancouverites.

These events are currently hosted once a month, each one at a different location, with a different theme, and menu. For the month of May, we were delighted to attend the inaugural pop up at Mission Kits with the meal created by Chef Max Straczek and David from Terra Vancouver.

Canapes

The meal began with beautifully presented canapes which included Beetroot cappuccino lemon verbena foam, vegetable “pirogies” – bean filling / turnip wrapper, carrot tartare, and a sesame spinach gomae. All the canapes are paired with Prosecco.

The perogies has a fresh crispness to the radish with  the bean filling. The beetroot cappuccino had a rich yet smooth sweet beet favour. You can see the deep beautiful colour.

The carrot tartare had a nice texture and a crunch in every bite. Also a perfect touch of sweetness too.

The spinach gomae has crispy textures and is complimented with an acidic tangy taste. All the flavours tied in very well together.

Course 1: Cauliflower soup

This dish is themed around the many uses of cauliflower. The flavours were very smooth and every spoonful had a different flavour but each were delicious. The taste of the creamy coconut cauliflower broth did shine through. You can see the crispy cauliflower, mint jelly, pickled grapes and fried capers on the side. This was able to add saltiness, sweetness and texture to the dish overall.

Course 2: Asparagus

This beautifully green inspired dish has asaparagus, charred jus of asapagus, marinated zucchini rolls filled with lemon confit, almond and garlic puree, peas, and quinoa. The dish was fresh yet warm and comforting., like a twist on a traditional risotto. Overall, it has a very mild green pea flavour. The Tannat grape wine from France that was paired with this dish goes well with asparagus.

Course 3

This dish had potato rosti, roasted and pickled turnips, roasted king oyster mushroom, roasted celery roo, vegan demi and truffle duxelle. The flavour were amazing, simply delicious.

Courses 4: “Cheese”

In this dish is nettle crusted grapefruit mostarda cheddar, sorrel, horseradish, and crispy broccoli tips. The cheese is made of cashew milk, which was a great substitute to the real thing as it tasted very real.

Pallet cleanser

The pallet cleaners is made of compressed cucumber with red wine vinegar and sugar. Very tangy but sweet at the same time

Course 5: Dessert

This vibrant dessert has cocoa crumb, coffee crumb, raspberry caviar, a raspberry gel, and vegan chocolate with a pop rock surprise.

Lastly an acorn and peanut butter square.

Everyone went home with a nicely packaged apple jam. A little reminder of this deliciously prepared meal. Hilda was impressed with all the dishes and this meal exceeded my expectations. The food was very fresh and creative. Everything was very well done and she would come back again.

Visit their website – terravancouver.ca for future pop up dinners around Vancouver. Their next dinner is set for June 25th 2018 to showcase the seasonality of ingredients through Spring to Summer.

Dundas Eat and Drink is best known for their Six o Pho 5lb pho challenge. They recently came out with a new vegan menu to cater to those with dietary restrictions. A few of us were invited to check out this menu and I was pleasantly surprised at these dishes since I love vegetables.

Vegan Bao Sliders

Between these bao buns are veggies, eggplant, king oyster mushroom, and lemongrass tofu.

Vegan Pad Thai

There are rice noodles, mushrooms, tofu, broccoli, carrot, chives, beansprouts and tamarind sauce. The tamarind gives it a good flavour and balance well with the ingredients in the dish.

Vegan Curry

This is a red curry with taro root, tofu, mushrooms, potato, carrot and eggplant. It comes with rice on the side.

Vegan Pho

This pho has veggies and tofu in the slow simmered broth that has lots of depth in flavour which I was really surprised. Very delicious.

Kale Salad

The salad has kale, jimaca, grape tomato, tofu and garlic vinaigrette. A healthy item to have on the side when you have a bowl of pho.

Vegan Wontons

Inside these vegan wontons are sweet yam, taro root, king oyster mushroom, shallot, and leek all in the vegan wonton wrapper. It’s crisp on the outside and then inside are all the veggies.

Final Thoughts

It’s great that they are able to offer these items to their customers so vegans and carnivores can eat together with no issues as there are lots of options on the menu.

Address:
2077 Dundas St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.eatdundas.com/

 

Although I may not be vegan, I can appreciate delicious vegan food. It’s been easier for me to accept vegan desserts since they don’t have dairy, but I’m open to expanding my palate with other vegan dishes. Rocky Mountain Flatbread introduced their all plant-based menu during a vegan-inspired dinner and improv comedy show. Roman came along and pleasantly surprised me with how much he enjoyed the vegan offerings (he’s not even close to being vegetarian).

The evening started out with cocktails. We sipped on RMFB’s White Sangria, which had cranberries, apples and a dash of cinnamon. It was crisp and refreshing and is a great Fall cocktail.

The other drink we sipped on before the improv show started was a Dark & Stormy, which I enjoyed because of my love for ginger beer. The only critique I had for this cocktail was that it needed a good stir since all the good stuff settled to the bottom.

As we got some appies on our plates and settled into our seats, the four players of the night came and introduced themselves to the guests. They encouraged our participation by calling out suggestions to direct their dialogue.

One “game” was called “Make it better. Make it worse. Make it vegan,” which had the guests call out one of the three options. It was funny hearing how silly the dialogue got as the comics made us laugh in between bites of food.

In addition to the vegan options, RMFB also had vegetarian (and even a meat lover’s option for people like my fiancé). I focused my tasting experience on the vegan options and here were some of my favourites:

  • Mushroom Caps
  • Bruschetta
  • Beet and Arugula Salad
  • Margharita Pizza
  • Wild Mushroom Pizza
  • Mushroom Ragout Pasta

The mushroom caps were roasted and stuffed with sundried tomato hummus and came with an organic tomato sauce dip. The bruschetta was simple and tasty. Both of these vegan appetizers were great starters to nibble on while we sipped on cocktails.

The vegan pizzas were delicious, it almost made me forget that there was no meat! If I were to eat one all to myself, I know I won’t feel guilty about it since it’s a healthier option and I’m also getting my serving of veggies (which I usually forget about). Since I can’t really enjoy cheese, RFMB has a house-made vegan cheese called “Cau Cheese”. It’s made with cauliflower, nutritional yeast, organic apple cider, lemon juice and garlic. It’s a tasty alternative to cheese and I love that it’s lactose-intolerant friendly.

The owner, Suzanne, was so kind to even offer me a dairy-free dessert which came as their seasonal sorbet offering. Their Black Currant and Lemon Sorbet packed a tart punch of flavour and is definitely a palate-cleanser. I would recommend sharing this with someone since the portion is quite generous.

Roman and I enjoyed an evening of laughter and delicious plant-based dishes. It’s great having a place like RMFB that has vegan options, especially for people with dietary restrictions or food allergies.

Address:
1876 W 1st Ave, Vancouver

Website: http://rockymountainflatbread.ca/

Bandidas Taqueria has been on Commercial Drive for a long time serving up vegetarian Mexican-inspired cuisine. It’s been a while since my last visit, but it was nice to see they have expanded their space to have more guests.  We came on a weekend and its was pretty busy.

Interior

Lots of tables inside for small to large groups. They don’t take reservations so it’s first come, first serve.

Chips, Salsa and Guacamole

To start off the brunch, we had this to munch on before getting our other dishes. Loved how the dishes were overflowing with salsa and guac.

Breakfast Tacos

There is 3 handmade corn tortillas topped with scrambled eggs, black beans, caramelized onions, roasted tomato salsa, cheese, and sour cream, and served with purple cabbage. I added guacamole for $1.50 extra.

Breakfast Burrito

This has scrambled free-range eggs, pinto beans, roasted tomato salsa, cheese, and sour cream wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla and grilled. Then, you can get this baked with cheese on top. We added roasted yam and potato hash for $2.50 extra.

Ronny Russell Burrito

This has roasted yams, guacamole, black beans, salsa verde, purple cabbage, and toasted pumpkin seeds. Baked and with added cheese too. These burritos are very filling.

Horace “Lefty” Burrito

This has spicy Mexican corn mix, pinto beans, fresh jalapeños, cheese, fresh-cut tomato salsa, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips. This is also baked and added cheese on top.

Beer

They have a range of local beers on tap. I got a beer and my friends ordered the East Van Radler with Driftwood’s Fat Tug IPA and freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice.

Mimosa

Weekend brunch time calls for mimosas. It comes in a small mason jar, but it’s a good match for brunch here.

Horchata

For something non-alcoholic, they have horchata, which is a Mexican drink made with rice and is flavoured with cinnamon and sweetened with sugar.

Final Thoughts

We Rate Bandidas Taqueria

Address:
2781 Commercial Dr, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.bandidastaqueria.com

The Arbor is a vegetarian restaurant located on Main street created by the minds behind The Acorn. My friend and I decided to come here for dinner to check it out as it was pretty busy, but they still had a few tables left. They don’t do reservations, so its first come, first serve.

Interior

The space is very small and cozy, but there is a patio outside which is great for the Summer. They’ve really tried to maximize the space.

Fried Oyster

BC oyster mushrooms is lightly battered and deep-fried. There is a creamy dill sauce on the side to dunk them into. The batter was very crisp, but after eating a lot of them,

Southern fried artichoke sandwich

There is fried artichoke, eggplant bacon, avocado mousse, spicy mayo, cheddar cheese, and jalapeño pepper in a ciabatta bun. Surprisingly, a pretty good sandwich was good flavour and texture.

Mac n’ Cheese

It has orecchiette pasta, broccoli and cheddar cheese. Then it is topped with arugula and served in a cast iron pan. It was cheesy and delicious. Highly recommended.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a good addition to Main Street with more vegetarian options that are tasty. You could have easily fooled me with this food. No meat, no problem.

We rate The Arbor

Address:
3941 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.thearborrestaurant.ca/

The Arbor Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sun Bo Kong is an award-winning vegetarian restaurant for Chinese cuisine. They are open 7 days a week from 11 am to 9 pm. Reservations are also available.

I came here for lunch to try Chinese vegetarian food. A nice change to eating a meal without meat.

Gluten Combination comes with a 4 flavours on a plate with different sauces. The gluten is spongey kinda like tofu. A good starter to the meal and easily can be shared.

5 Spice Bean Curd Rolls Stuffed with Mushroom has 2 rolls and was very delicious.

Deluxe Premiere Bamboo with Vegetarian Thick Soup is filed with different kinds of mushroom. A clean and clear tasting soup with rich mushroom flavours.

Pea Tips Rice Sheet Roll is stuffed with the naturally sweet and crisp pea tips.

Vegetarian Cutlet with Orange Sauce was one of our favourite items. We ate this dish us really quickly.

Monkey-head Mushroom with Vegetables doesn’t have any monkeys in it despite the name. The mushroom is porous and soaks up the sauce.

Lo-Hon Chow Mein had mushrooms, black fungus, and other veggies on the crisp noodles. This was ok, but we probably wouldn’t order it again.

Deep-fried Taro Rolls were so delicious. The exterior was nice and crisp, so when you bite down, you get the soft taro inside.

Deep Fried Seaweed and Enoki Mushroom Rolls had mixed reactions at the table. I personally liked it because I inhale anything mushroom.

Overall, Sun Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant was delicious and it’s hard to find a really good vegetarian Chinese restaurant in town that appeals to meat eaters as well.

We Rate Sun Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant

Address:
1363 Kingsway, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.sunbokong.com/#vancouver-vegetarian

Sun Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

zend-1

Zend Conscious Lounge is part of the Taste of Yaletown happening October 13th to 27th. The two-week dining event showcases unique dishes from 31 restaurants in the Yaletown neighbourhood. Restaurants offer exclusive featured menus, special tastings and innovative pairing combinations at set prices of $25, $35, $45.

I had a chance to dine at Zend Conscious Lounge to try a few items off their set menus. Zend Conscious Lounge are an organic plant-based eatery. That means no gluten, no dairy, and they only use the healthiest of ingredients. They are also Canada’s first kava kava bar. Did you know they donate 100% of their profits?

Taste of Yaletown 2016 Menu

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[tabs tab1=”$25 Menu” tab2=”$35 Menu” tab3=”$45 Menu”]

[tab id=1]

  • 2 Mini Burgers
  • Taco
  • Trio of Salads Sampler

[/tab]
[tab id=2]

  • Signature Elixers Sampler
  • 2 Mini Burgers with yam fries
  • Taco
  • Kale Caesar Salad
  • Homemade Plant-based Cheese Sampler with Raw Seed Crackers
  • Dessert Sampler plate ( triple chocolate torte with seasonal dessert)

[/tab]
[tab id=3]

  • Signature Elixers Sampler
  • 2 Mini Burgers with yam fries
  • Taco
  • Trio of Salad Sampler
  • Callelloni Roll
  • Two Homemade Plant-based Cheese Sampler with Raw Seed Crackers

[/tab]

[/tabs]

Interior

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Their interior is simple, but with a lot of natural wood colours on the table and walls. They have small to large tables, so make sure you make reservations to ensure your group gets a good spot.

Kava Kava

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Zend isn’t on the Taste of Yaletown menu, but it was something that we had to try when we were here. Zend is a non-alcoholic beverage that is a blend of Rhodiola, Yerba Mate, Kava, Holy Basil and Ashwaganda. It is traditionally used to relieve stress, depression and anxiety. It makes people more calm and works in 20 minutes or less.

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We drank a shot of Zend and it definitely had an earthy taste to it. A few minutes after, you started to feel a numb tingly sensation on our tongue and cheeks. Completely normal apparently.

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Signature Elixers Sampler

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The elixer samplers come in small mason jars. we got to try 2 and both were good and full of fresh pressed juice and Zend.

Caesar Kale Salad

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The salad has oat cheese parmesan crisps, gluten-free amaranth croutons, & prebiotic garlicky avocado dressing. I like this salad, it was simple but it had a good amount of flavour that reminded me of a caesar salad. A nice light item to start off the meal.

Housemade plant-based cheese board

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On the cheeseboard, you will find their featured spreads, house-spiced heart-healthy nuts, probiotic veg. with Raw Seed Crackers. The cheeses were very creamy and the seed crackers added needed texture.

Tacos

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There’s aren’t any regular tacos, it has dehydrated beans, fresh guacamole, heart-healthy cashew queso, & organic fresh-cut salsa. It’s a nice item to share as 3 come in one order. I love the salsa and it adds a nice freshness to the dish.

The Mini Raw Burger

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Their burger is mad of bio-available sprouted grains and served on a seared portobello cap. Very nice bite sized burger. It also has a side of yam fries and a spicy sauce.

Dessert Sampler plate

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You will find their triple chocolate torte with cocoa and coconut crust, fudge, and chocolate avocado mousse. Their other seasonal dessert was my favourite.

The Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake has a creamy cashew base, walnut and medjool date crust, pumpkin & pumpkin spices. This was my favourite of the night.

Final Thoughts

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For the longest time, I thought Zend was a Japanese restaurant and clearly I was far from wrong. I was glad I was able to have the opportunity to dine at this plant-based eatery. I would really enjoyed seeing the transformation of these raw ingredients into the dishes that were presented on the menu. It’s definitely not a restaurant thats for everyone, but I thought it was an experience that was different than some other restaurants out there. If you wanted to be taken out of your comfort zone, this would be it.

We Rate Zend Conscious Lounge35rating

Address:
1130 Mainland Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://zendlounge.com/

Zend Conscious Lounge Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

foodee-delivery

Since it’s a beautiful summer, a few of my coworkers decided to order a group lunch from Foodee, a Vancouver food delivery service for corporate offices. There are lots of restaurants to choose from and it’s pretty hard to choose a place to pick from. Everything looks good.

A delivery fee of $15 is added to the bill, but if you have a large order divided up by the group, it’s not too much. We had to make a minimum order of $40 as a group.

foodee-culvercity-box

We decided to get salads for lunch from Culver City Salads. Their mission is to provide the city with a healthy, whole, nourishing meal while creating the smallest impact possible. They work to reduce food waste, repurposing and composting every last bit of trimmings. You’ll notice they use 100% compostable and biodegradable containers and packaging, and use local produce where possible.

foodee-culvercity-quinoa

Quinoa Salad ($11.55) is vegan and gluten-free. The salad features seasonal greens with quinoa. It’s a good-sized salad and you will get full from it for lunch. My coworkers really liked it. There were carrots, avocado, lettuce, beans, pumpkin seeds and other things.

foodee-culvercity-salads

Vermicelli Noodle Salad ($11.55) is also vegan and gluten-free. It features seasonal greens with vermicelli noodles. There were chick peas, cabbage, carrots, kale, radish, avocados and other veggies.

Both salads were good and felt super healthy. It’s too bad there are only 2 options on Foodee.

We Rate Culver City Salads

Website:
http://www.culvercitysalads.com/

Location:
Varies

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