Tag Archives: sandwiches

Pig On The Street

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Their slogan on the side of the brightly wrapped van couldn’t be more correct.  I had a achin’ for bacon and the Pig On The Street Food Truck will fill your bacon loving needs.

The Pig On The Street is one of the new food cart additions that is serving up thick cut, bacon sandwiches in homemade flat bread and they even offer a vegetarian option as well!  When I made my visit they were on the Hornby side of the Vancouver Art gallery but they are usually on the Howe Street side, also you can find them at local farmers markets and festivals.  All there bacon is from Gelderman Farms and they proudly say that on the van so you know you getting a quality product.

I placed my order for a Pig LT, instead of giving you a number while you wait you get a pink pig and they all have unique names-a funny touch.

My Pig LT was full of double smoke and thick cut bacon, fresh arugula, avocado, tomato, farmhouse cheddar and a bacon and maple mayo.  All there sandwiches are $8.95 tax included.  I loved everything about this, I’m a personal fan of bacon and avocado sandwiches-there a perfect pairing.  The bacon was nice and meaty, cooked perfectly.  The arugula it added another flavor dimension that helped cut the richness of the sandwich.  I will say that it was a bit messy to eat but I managed to get most of it in my hungry tummy.

I’m definitely heading back to the Pig On The Street to try the rest of their delicious bacon filled sandwiches.

Pig on the Street on Urbanspoon

I Ordered Soup and Spring Rolls!

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This weekend I visited a cafe that I have heard great things about.  The Joyeaux Cafe and Restaurant is super popular with the Monday-Friday office crowd and has been blogged about by a couple great local food bloggers.  I made my visit on the weekend when I knew it wouldn’t be so busy to give it a try.

The room is long and narrow.  Ordering here isn’t done table side, instead you walk in and to the back, place your order and you get a number for each of your items.  They are known for noodle soup and other Vietnamese dishes so I kept my order to something I usually get when I eat Vietnamese.  They also do have a selection of traditional western dishes as well.

This is what your given after ordering.

The classic condiments.

Chicken Ball Pho for $7.99.  Served a bit different from I’m used to-there was lettuce in it and no Thai basil for some reason.  The broth was clear and light tasting and the noodles were plentiful.  The chicken balls and chicken meat were nicely flavored and tender.  I enjoyed this bowl of soup and the freshness of the ingredients.

So this is where things get derailed kind of.  I also ordered some spring rolls that seemed to never come out.  The owner came around to see how everyone’s meal was when I was eating my soup and I let him know I was waiting for them still and he said he would take care of it but like 15 minutes went past and still nothing, in that time I had an order of coconut ice cream and deep-fried banana brought to my table only to let the lady know that that’s not what I’m waiting for.  I had already finished my soup now and the same lady came to clear my dishes-along with my number for my spring rolls, I let her know again that I was STILL waiting and she went to check on it.

About 5 minutes later these show up, for $5 bucks and some change your supposed to get 3 pieces but there were only 2, at this point I just wanted to eat these and go, the owner guy came back over and let me know that one more was coming because of a mix up in the kitchen-fine, I asked for some peanut sauce to dip my rolls in and he scoffed at me saying that he would never eat them that way, I kindly let him know that was nice and to get my sauce-thank you.  I’m usually a pretty laid back person but I’m not a fan of being told how to eat something so this kinda really ground my gears as Peter Griffin from The Family Guy would say.

Back to the food, the spring roll wrapper was nice and crisp like where I usually eat, the filling was flavorful and hot.  The peanut sauce was homemade, not as thick as some other places and they use actual real peanuts instead of peanut butter-props to them for killer peanut sauce.

At the end of the day my food was good and lunch after taxes came in at $16 and change.  Despite the service issues I would come back to try some of the other dishes and lunch specials they have to offer.

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Between Two Buns

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Sandwich shops are the new burger joint in 2012 it would seem and I just LOVE it!  The newest addition to the Vancouver dining scene is Between Two Buns on Homer Street, these guy’s have taken over the old Bella Pizza location and really transformed the space from dump to dream.  The space is open with seating for 6-8 so take out is a great option here and from what I see they have made a lot of neighborhood residents regular customers already and that says a lot seeing they’ve only been open for a couple of weeks.

I’ve been in couple of times since they opened there doors and tried a couple of sandwiches and a daily soup, all of which were really good in general so it’s safe to say that the sandwich wizards at Between Two Buns are doing it right!

The Cheeky and Roasted Tomato soup.

The cheeky is a great combination of braised pork cheeks, smoked emmental cheese, creamy coleslaw and caramelized bacon aioli.  I had this on their opening day.  The meat was melt in your mouth tender but I found the creamy coleslaw overwhelmed the rest of the ingredients and made the sandwich taste overly sweet.  The soup on the other hand was PERFECT.  There was a beautiful tang to it and it had a great thickness to it which made it really hearty.

The Maniac is appropriately named, it’s a mix of double smoked bacon, baby arugula with asiago,garlic and Parmesan aioli.  Now this sandwich really kicked butt!  I really enjoyed the saltines from the bacon and the aioli with the peppery baby arugula.

Both sandwiches were priced at $9 each and the soup was around $4 so it’s on point price wise with other sandwich places.  If you find yourself in the Yaletown area I’d definitely recommend Between Two Buns so your sandwich fix.

Between Two Buns on Urbanspoon

Lunch That Won’t Leave You In The Pourhouse

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For the longest time now I’ve been meaning to stop in at the Pourhouse Restaurant in Gastown to check out there awesome lunch deal that I’ve heard tons about from other bloggers and boy they weren’t wrong!

The menu on its own looked really good and I’m definitely coming back for more but on this visit I wanted to check out the $14 lunch special, for that price you get your choice of 5 or so draft beers, a sandwich and a side.

For my beer choice I went with something that I like to drink but don’t find on tap many places-White Bark Wheat Ale, it’s a local beer and usually sold in liquor stores in large single bottles.  It’s light and easy to drink with a floral note to it, this is a beer that I would recommend to anybody especially someone who doesn’t drink beer often.

For my main and side I went with their pulled pork sandwich and cream of cauliflower soup.

The soup was really good without being to rich, it was drizzled with EVOO and garnished with chives and fresh ground pepper, the cauliflower taste was nice without being too pungent.

My pulled pork sandwich was moist and juicy, the smoke flavor wasn’t too strong and the slaw helped cut the richness of the meat, the bread was also pretty good and did a great job of holding together while I ate my sammy-I’m used to having my pulled pork on a bun of some sort so this was a nice change.

The Pourhouse is known for their classic cocktails and since it was after 4PM someplace in the world I decided to have a Jefferson County:

It contained gin, lillet, St Germain, fresh lemon juice, some simple syrup and grapefruit bitters topped with some sparkling wine and garnished with a lemon cheek in this case, the drink is a creation from bar manager Christopher Flett.  This  hand shaken bad boy was a pleasure to drink, it was mixed perfectly and all the flavors balanced each other out, at $12 it was worth every penny.

I’m already looking forward to my next meal at the Pourhouse-they have a burger that is highly rated by the wonderful Sherman’s Food Adventures, you can read his post about the Pourhouse here.

Pourhouse Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Quick Noms~Viet Sub on Robson Street

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Quite often than not I find myself not able to sit down for a leisurely meal so grabbing something quick is in order~but making a choice that is both solid quality wise and somewhat healthy leaves me kinda screwed on the weekend when our street food carts aren’t all open.  I have been meaning to check out Viet Sub on Robson St and have heard great things about it from numerous people but the dining space is literally the size of my bathroom and packed when ever I go by so I was delighted to find them totally empty on a Saturday afternoon~YAY!

I love me some Pho and I am looking forward to giving it a try but on this visit I was after something a bit more hearty and quick to eat~the classic Bánh mì, so I placed an order for what looked most appetizing to me~a B5:

The Special Sub, $4.25~Vietnamese ham, cold cut meats, pate and meat ball and topped with the traditional picked veg topping and cilantro.

It reminded me of a foodie football!, the bread was beautifully crusty of the outside and soft and tender on the inside, inside under the meats there was a savory mayo of some kind that complemented the big flavors of the cilantro and added a nice creamy touch.  The meats were tender but I couldn’t discern the different types but I cold taste the pate but at the end of the day it was delish and totally filled my up.

With my first visit under my belt I’m already looking forward to my next meal and having a some Pho and some spring rolls and actually having a leisurely lunch in the Vietnamese closet also known as Viet Sub.  Job done for under $5!

Viet Sub Vietnamese Cuisine on Urbanspoon

A Tale Of 3 Chicken Sandwiches

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Lately I’ve noticed that I eat a lot of sandwiches when I’m out so here is a brief sampling of 3 of the latest chicken sammy’s I’ve chowed down on lately.

First up is the cheapest out of the bunch, it’s Mc Donald’s new “McBistro” line of chicken sandwiches and came in at $5.99 before taxes.   I chose the crispy version of this because I was of the understanding that it was a new version of the crispy breast they had before but the sandwich I got from my local Mickey D’s had the old breast and came packaged in the old line of sandwich boxes but was on the new whole wheat bun, I went with the BLT version out of the 3 choices, the tomatoes could have been fresher and I took them off after taking the picture~you could tell they weren’t sliced that day and the chicken was really tough.  In the end it was a meh kinda sandwich and let’s just say I wont be having another one~there pretty much the same line of “Supreme” sandwiches they had previous but just on a different bun.

Next up and in the middle position price wise is the Fatburger Classic Grilled Chicken Sandwich, it was the special of the day so the combo ended up only costing me $9.79 plus tax.  I’ve never had the grilled chicken sandwich at Fatburger before, the chicken breast was nicely seasoned with a lemon pepper blend and had a nice tang, it was juicy and tender, toppings wise it was kept simple with lettuce, tomato, mayo and pickles.  I must say that I really like the fries here compared to other fast food places, there crisp and tender on the inside and seasoned with a bit of salt, also there cooked to order which makes all the difference.

Lastly we have The Big Chick from Vera’s Burger Shack over in Kits, again I stopped in on the day when all combo specials were available so the combo ended up costing me around $12 after taxes.  The Vera’s crew marinade this chicken breast in bourbon and the burger is topped with sautéed onions, provolone cheese and bacon, veggie wise it had lettuce, tomato and a pickle.  I’ve had this before when I first tried Vera’s and it’s a good chicken sandwich but for some reason this one refused to stay in the bun and the chicken breast slid out more with each bite so needless to say this gets the messiest sandwich award.  On a flavor note I’d suggest getting cheddar or something else as the cheese on this because the provolone totally dominated this and it wasn’t a good thing.  My meal also came with fries and a drink, the fries here are hand cut and fried to order but the ones that I got needed to be cooked more and lacked seasoning so  2/3 of the basket were not eaten but at the end of the day it’s not about the fries and the chicken sandwich was good and the quality of the toppings were there.

So out of the 3 sandwiches I’ve mentioned the one at Fatburger is the one that I’d go back for or eat instead of a burger, the seasoning on the chicken was unlike I’ve had at any other place in Vancouver and definitely made the sandwich standout against the others.

McDonald's (Robson & Bidwell) on Urbanspoon

Fatburger (Dunsmuir) on Urbanspoon

Vera's Burger Shack (Kits) on Urbanspoon

Dirty Apron Deli and Cooking School

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The Dirty Apron is one of the more unique places to grab lunch in the downtown area. Nico and Karri Schuermans~the owners of Chambar and Cafe Medina have combined a deli of fine meats and cheese’s, ready to eat freshly made sandwiches and salads, a hot carvery and a gourmet grocery store all in one but to cap it off the also have a great cooking school with a variety of classes all in one cleverly designed space.

Great meats

Killer sandwiches

Tempting baked goods

The seating is communal at long tables and the have their house made chili sambal oil for you to jazz up your food if you like to.

I went with one of the baguette sandwiches~roasted chicken, arugula and sun-dried tomatoes with grana padano Parmesan and pesto mayo.  They make their bread fresh all through out the day in small batches so whenever you get your sandwich have no worry~you bread is usually no more than an hour old.  There was two halves to this sandwich and it was wrapped up nicely in paper, the chicken was moist and tender and all the ingredients worked well together.

I also got some of their fresh salads, they sell them on a /100 gram rate that’s around $3.50 (ish).  I went split it up choice wise seeing everything was the same price so the hardest thing was choosing what to get out of the 6 different choices.

This is a Brussel sprout salad with prosciutto and broccoli.  It was a nice fresh salad and the sprouts were cooked nicely but still crisp but without that cabbage taste, one thing I wish there was more of was the prosciutto.

The Mediterranean couscous was the other salad I got, it was a brightly flavored salad with the roasted red pepper and roasted onion being a balance to the vinaigrette.

With my sandwich and salad~I bought 100 grams of each my bill was around $17 with tax, seeing it’s really fresh great quality food the price is justified and I’ll totally be back.

Dirty Apron on Urbanspoon

An Afternoon Of Eating and Drinking Notturno Paninoteca’s New Menu

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Some big things have changed since my first post about Notturno~they’ve got their liquor license now and have fully opened for lunch and dinner service with a selection of great wines, beers and a bigger menu full of delish creations from Chef Adrian.

I was invited by the owner to come by and try some of these new treats and I ended up finding one of my new favorite beers so it was a winning day of great food, awesome restaurant talk and delish beer and Italian soda’s that would make your Nonna smile!

The menu has been expanded to include salumi plates, salads, brushette and of course their great panini’s.

A wine and beer menu has also been added, it’s posted on the wall and changes periodically~the guy’s at Notturno aren’t trying to carry every choice out there booze wise and are concentrating on great drinkable wines that also wont break the bank.

This is one of my new favorite beers, it’s from Spain and would never had been on my radar, the Estrella Damm INEDIT, it’s a unique coupage of barley malt and wheat, flavored with coriander, orange peel and liquorice.  It really did compliment the dishes I had and was a pleasure to drink~I see many more bottles of this in my future.

“Inedit is the first beer specifically created to accompany food. It is born from the conviction that a beer that could be paired with the utmost respect to the best cuisine was necessary. That is its aim and its virtue, and that is what makes Inedit different, special and unique.”

It’s the only beer that I’ve heard of that suggests keeping the open bottle in an ice bucket between glass refills and also it’s best served in a wine glass, it’s on the menu here for $16 but we got 4 generous servings out of one bottle.

They also have brought in a line of premium Italian soda’s from Abbodino, there are 2 variety’s that they carry, I tried the orange flavor and it was just like drinking a carbonated orange, totally refreshing and a nice change from the San Pellegrino brand that I usually have.

This is the selection of bruschette that I had

The Crudo~fresh Albacore tuna crudo, chili aioli, cucumber and balsamic pearls.  It was like a tuna salad that mom couldn’t make!, the spice wasn’t too strong from the chili aioli and the balsamic pearls bursting in your mouth were a great touch.

The Fico~Blue cheese aioli, black olive, walnut and fresh greens.  The same ingredients that they have in the Fico panini but just in a smaller bite sized form, the blue cheese aioli and the walnuts compliment each other beautifully and the black olive added that nice salty hit.

The Tartufo Di Capra~Black truffle goat cheese, fresh greens and topped with tomato pearls.  This was one of my favorites, the predominate flavor is yummy black truffles and the goat cheese is nice and creamy~the perfect touch to the truffle and the tomato pearls add that fresh acidic touch to break up the big flavors.

The Anatra~Duck prosciutto, goat cheese and arugula.  The star of this bad boy was the duck prosciutto, it’s a nice meaty bite and was a pleasure to eat, I’ve had duck prosciutto before at a fine dining restaurant and really loved it.  If you’re not a duck fan but like prosciutto try this~it’s nice and meaty but not in a gamey way.

Since I have a love of beets I had to try their Radice Insalata, it had beets, seasonal vegetables, taleggio cheese and a walnut vinaigrette.  This was another hit and if you like beet salads this is for you!, the seasonal veg in this case was root vegetables like carrots and also yellow beets, green beans and the walnuts are ground up and put in the dressing so you get that nutty flavor in every bite.

To round things out i went with the ever so popular Calabrese Panini, it has spicy capicollo, spicy sopressata, salami, spicy pickled eggplant, provolone and goat cheese.  For $9.50 its a great value seeing all the top quality salumi, the meats weren’t too spicy tho and the goat cheese really rounded out the big flavors.

From what I got to sample I think the larger menu is going to be a hit and is already proving to be pretty popular.  Notturno is participating in the Vancouver Foodster Tasting Plates event coming up on Feb 15, 2012 along with a bunch of other great restaurants, they will be featuring the Crudo, Tartufo Di Capra and Fico brushette as their offering for the event, if you want to buy tickets to the event and see a complete line up of participating restaurants and menus please click here.

**Note of disclosure~all my food samples were provided free by Notturno and also my drinks were covered also, I was invited to try some items and wasn’t expected to write a post~I’m doing it because everything kicked butt and I wanted to spread the good food news.**

Notturno Paninoteca on Urbanspoon

Tossed

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A new option for healthy quick eats has opened it’s doors in the Downtown core and I wouldn’t call it fast food but rather good food fast. The Tossed chain is from the USA and the location in downtown Vancouver is the first and only in Canada.

The interior is bright and modern and goes with the healthy eating concept, the food is prepared when you order it but everything is packed to go~even if your eating in, you can order online for pickup in advance right now but eventually going to get there online ordering system to the point where they will deliver your food to you in your office downtown, they also do catering.

The menu is really diverse compared to other options like this in the fast casual market, they offer custom made salads as well as chef created choices, soups, sandwiches, panini, smoothies and desserts as well as something I haven’t seen before-fat free, whole wheat buttermilk crepe wraps.

On my first visit I was served by the owner of the location, he was very helpfully with suggestions and answered any questions I had.

I went with the Turkey Crepe Wrap for $7.95, it had smoked turkey, smoked bacon, romaine hearts and chopped tomato with mayo.

It was a was a good lunch but the smoked bacon flavor over took the wrap and the turkey flavor was muted, as for the crepe as a wrap I really like it compared to a tortilla, the texture and flavor were light and showcased the ingredients in the wrap. Your wrap comes in some white paper-keep it on and peal it down as eating otherwise your wrap will be a mess to eat-I removed the paper to get a photo and have learned my lesson, also you might want to not get them to cut it in half and eat it like a burrito.

On my 2nd visit I went with something I saw on There Is Always Room , Heather raved about the soups here and I had to try them-I love some good soup, they had Mushroom Bisque or Chicken Noodle, I went with the bisque as part of there Tossed 2 combo for $7.95, you get your choice of daily soup or 1/2 salad (Caesar, spinach or vegetarian) and 1/2 a sandwich or panini.

The soup was totally delicious, it had a mix of wild mushrooms in it including shitaki, the flavor of the broth was nice and rich in a good mushroom way, it wasn’t a creamy mushroom soup that’s for sure~I licked my bowl clean and would order a large bowl of this again.

I chose the roast beef sandwich for my main on multigrain bread, it had baby arugula, roasted red peppers and thousand island dressing.  It was one good sandwich, the bread was nice soft yet it totally held together, the thousand island dressing was light in taste and worked with all the ingredients~something I never would have put on a sandwich, the arugula and roasted peppers provided a nice savory note and were a nice change from the typical lettuce and tomato for a roast beef sandwich.

I think Tossed is a great healthy option that fits with the lifestyle of a lot of people who live in Vancouver, they also offer a gluten free menu, it’s a great addition to the Vancouver Good Food Fast Scene!

You can order and check out there menu online by clicking here

Tossed on Urbanspoon

Notturno Paninoteca

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Notturno Paninoteca has opened its doors in Gastown and there putting out simple, great quality ingredients hand-made with love in and delivered in the form of some delicious panini.

Right now they are just open till 4pm but that will change in the new year because they have obtained their liquor license so longer hours and also small plates of yummy food Togo with those bevies are in the works so stay tuned for more info.

The room is long and narrow and everything is prepared right in front of you behind the bar. The chef has come up with some interesting flavor combinations and I dove in head first you could say on this 1st visit!

I went with the Fumo for $9.50, it has Speck (smoked prosciutto), grappa poached pear and taleggio cheese. Each panini is prepared fresh to order and comes with a side salad, the ingredients in my sandwich alone all have some pretty bold flavors but when all combined here it was magic I must say.

Each panini comes with a nice simple insalata and is a nice touch to see something so simple dressed~the ingredients really stand out.  If you are in the mood for a salad a little bigger they have one on the menu for $8.

The panini was totally delicious, the bread was super crunchy~it’s had a nice had outer crust from the panini grill and was nice and chewy on the inside.

The cheese on this was oooey gooey and would put a smile on any cheese lovers face~I was smiling from ear to ear!

If you find yourself in the neighborhood do yourself a favor and check out the delicious selections coming out of Notturno and get ready to eat a damn great panini, stay tuned to their twitter feed here for an update on store hours and menu or just subscribe to my blog.

**The kind folks at Notturno comped my sandwich and drink for me and I was not expected to write a review**

Notturno Paninoteca on Urbanspoon