Category Archives: Vegan

The Juice Truck

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One of the more unique food trucks on the Vancouver street food scene is the Juice Truck, operated by Ryan and Zach with help from the smoothie queen Aviya, they’re putting out some of the healthiest street food you can get.

Zach and Ryan got passionate about the power of juices when they traveled around the world and ended up learning about healthy juices everywhere they visited. When they came home to Vancouver the street food program was underway and they got in on it and they’ve been embraced with open arms and have filmed an episode for the Food Network show Eat St. that should be airing in the upcoming season.

Featuring a menu of totally unique menu of smoothies and cold pressed juices, soups and a few dessert options like a no bake raw cacao coconut bar and an ingenious frozen treat make from frozen blended banana’s and other yummy treats. They have started a line of treat smoothies that are sinfully delicious yet totally healthy and the first in this series of smoothies contains Erin Ireland’s “It’s To Die For” Banana Bread-yes that’s right-a banana bread smoothie!

As I mentioned above-this is the banana bread smoothie, it contains the killer banana bread, soy milk, cacao nibs, frozen banana’s and topped with macadamia nuts. It’s the perfect treat and you can taste all the different flavors of the banana bread as well as the other delish ingredients. This smoothie is only around for the month of November and $1 from every banana bread smoothie sold goes to the Movember F— Cancer campaign so get down and get yours.

This smoothie really shows off the boys creative side, it’s an avocado pineapple smoothie!, it has avocado and fresh pineapple of course but also contains coconut water, lime, vanilla and agave. The avocado isn’t the star of the show here-it’s the pineapple and coconut, this smoothie blew me away and I’d totally order it again in a heart beat.

The guy’s gave me one of their raw cacao coconut bars to try and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but that was changed at 1st bite-it was delicious. It’s a great mix of walnuts, pecans, cacao, coconut meat, coconut flakes, raisins & maple syrup.

If you find yourself in Gastown do yourself a favor and stop by The Juice Truck and have one of the best smoothies or juices you’ve ever had and don’t forget to support Movember – it’s a great way to try a banana bread smoothie and help fight cancer by donating to a great cause.  Follow The Juice truck on twitter by clicking here or adding @juicetruck to your follow list.

The Juice Truck on Urbanspoon

La Taqueria Downtown

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Craving good authentic tacos I knew La Taqueria would satisfy my craving for authentic Mexican tacos made with heart. They make their tacos from traditional recipes with local, organic and sustainable products so it’s good eats all around.
The outside is bright and lively and with the Virgin de Guadalupe in beautiful tile mosaic while the inside is long and narrow with seating for 15 or so and ordering is simple~meat tacos are $2.50 each or 4 for $9 and the veggie tacos are $2 each or 4 for $7.  I went with a plate of 4 meat and a plate of 4 veggie so let’s get on to the food shall we.
De Cachete, pollo con mole, carnitas and al pastor $9
The Al Pastor, this is one of my favorite tacos and at La Taqureia they do it authentic with the pineapple on top and it’s also in the achiote marinade for the pork.
The Carnitas, pork confit with pickled onions, cilantro and finely diced white onions, now only if all the other places in town did carnitas like this!, the meat is nice and moist and the pickled onions cut the richness of the confit pork beautiful-it’s like the pulled pork of Mexico.
The De Cachete, show braised beef cheek with mild green salsa, finely diced white onions and cilantro.  I love beef, pork and lamb cheeks big time and I’m happy this is a regular item on the menu here, the meat is melt in your mouth tender and if you’ve never had it before I highly recommend it.
The Pollo Con Mole, traditional Mexican mole mixed with shredded chicken and sesame seeds to garnish, I added some of the mild green salsa to this bad boy, it’s one of the most popular tacos they make here, it’s not uncommon to see someone order 4 of these alone, it’s a traditional mole with a million ingredients including Mexican chocolate as a finishing ingredient so you definitely taste that sweet note and when you mix it with one of the salsa you’re in HEAVEN.  It’s definitely one of the best mole’s in Vancouver if not North America.
Mushroom with Garlic Sauce and cheese daily special,Rajas Con Crema and Frijoles Charros Con Cueso tacos $7
Mushroom,garlic sauce and Mexican cheese daily special, wanting to try just veggie tacos but not really wanting to try the tofu taco I grabbed a couple of these, the mushrooms were the predominant flavor and the cheese was nice and creamy, the garlic sauce was nice and not to strong so all around it was a good taco.
Frijoles Charros Con Queso, described on the menu as re-fried cowboy beans with Mexican cheese I wasn’t expecting the cheese to be so strong like it was, it almost was like a provolone level of sharpness, the beans were spiced nicely but the onions they have and sauces on hand really added another level of flavor and texture otherwise it would have been really mushy texture wise.
The Rajas Con Crema, roasted poblano peppers cooked with cream corn, Mexican cheese and sour cream.  My favorite veggie taco by far was this one, it was creamy from all the dairy in it and smoky from the peppers and the corn added a sweetness and crunch, the onions again capped it all off nicely.
La Taqueria has two locations in Vancouver to serve you some of the best, most authentic taco’s outside of Mexico and is not to be missed, the other location just opened at Cambie and Broadway so check them out.

La Taqueria Taco Shop on Urbanspoon

Nuba

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One local place that has really branched out across the city is Nuba, serving Mediterranean and Lebanese meat and vegetarian cuisine, with locations in East Van at the new Waldorf Hotel, downtown/Gastown area at Hastings and Cambie st and in the downtown/West End area at Seymour and Davie st. The design of all the restaurants is really nice but each location does have individual flavor, the location just off Davie street is modern and clean but the location is really small-were talking seating for 10-12 people so takeout is a good option for this location, the location at Cambie and Hastings in the lower level of a historic office building, there are some windows but natural light is at a minimum, they have some beautiful Turkish style brass lamps that add a beautiful feel to the room

I see they have tons if tea light candles so I can imagine that candlelight is the other main form of lighting in this location in the evening hours, there is tons of seating at this location and some large tables for large groups and a back room under an archway that has couches that line the walls for casual relaxed drinking and eating. Finally the newest location in the recently renovated and relaunched Waldorf hotel is in the tiki lounge that is in the hotel, the whole room is wood and really funky, I have yet to visit location but they I’ve heard really great things about it. And after reading their website I also see they is a location at Main st and 3rd Ave in East Van.

The one thing that is the same at all locations is the food and fresh juice’s available, they also have daily specials for main plates, juices and soups. I know the location at Hastings and Cambie serves booze and I’m also sure the one at the Waldorf does as well but not at the Seymour street location. The diner menu has alot more options that all sound really good, I’ve only dined at lunch but some of the items I’ve had are available on the dinner menu.

Every time I’ve eaten here I’ve always left a happy camper~eating a meat dish or all vegetarian, the baba ghanoush here is some of the best I’ve had and is a must try, it comes also on the La Feast platter with killer hummus as well. The pictures in this post are from both the downtown locations so enjoy.

On my 1st visit here I had the Lamb Kibbeh plate $12~grilled grain-fed halal meat patty with vegetables, pine nuts, burghul and aromatic spices. All plates come with your choice of organic brown rice or roasted potatoes (my plate here had both for some reason?), hummus, hot sauce made with jalapeno’s and olive oil, green salad, homemade pickle, tabbouleh~the kind I love~with some bulgar tossed in and pita bread for dipping. All dishes come with tahini except lamb~that comes with tzatziki.

This lamb was ground really fine the patty was very dense and was unfortunately kind of dry so I’m glad the tzazaki sauce was there to add some moisture and also it could have used some more herbs inside for more flavor, all the other items on the plate were really good and have been fresh and consistent with every meal I’ve had.

Here is what I had on my last visit, the falafel plate with brown rice $10.50

I’m a sucker for great falafel and Nuba makes some yummy ones, there hot and fluffy on the inside and golden and crisp on the outside and the brown rice here has a real nutty creamy taste to it that I really love-it almost tastes like tahini is mixed in

the homemade pickle has a beautiful pink hue to it and has a faint taste of beets that are the source of that pink color. The tabbouleh is a fresh addition to there plates and has a nice zip from fresh lemon juice.

next up is the najib’s special plate $11

The najib’s special is made from a vegetable that I really don’t like normally~cauliflower, I could eat tons of this but I save it for a treat every now and then, the cauliflower is brown and delicious but don’t be fooled-it’s not baked like you would think, instead they guild the lily here by DEEP FRYING it!.

it’s all golden brown and crispy on the outside with a nice lemony zip

and tender and moist on the inside!, they provide a side of tahini for dipping in and man it’s so good!

Quality, flavorful food is the call of the day here and the service is good and the staff is very knowledgeable so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

www.nuba.ca

@nubatown

Nuba (Hastings) on Urbanspoon

Nuba (Seymour) on Urbanspoon