The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

I rarely write about Vancouver restaurants here on The Hunger Struck, so I thought it was time to make a quick list of my current favorites. We do eat out at least once a week and over the past few months have been going back to these places frequently. They are all in the moderate price range and I think all of them are pretty great.

1. Nuba – If you like Lebanese food you’ll love Nuba. Not exactly a new Vancouver staple but their newish Hastings location across from their previous location has me going there more often. I just love this place. I have a tendency to always order the same thing : the vegetarian platter for two.

Nuba Restaurant
207 Hastings Street West
Vancouver, BC
(604) 688-1655
http://nuba.ca/

2. Acme Cafe – This place is great for breakfast and lunch. We have a tendency to come here for lunch lately because they make a great tomato vegetable soup, which is probably the best side of soup I’ve had in a long time from a diner style restaurant. Also any place that offers mac and cheese as a side is alright by me.

Acme Café
51 Hastings Street West
Vancouver, BC
(604) 569-1022

http://www.acmecafe.ca/

A few years back, long before this blog ever came to life, I was reading Molly Wizenberg’s Orangette and came across this post on Marcella Hazan’s Tomato sauce with onion and butter. I’d been searching around for a new Tomato sauce recipe as I was slowly becoming bored of my usual one, there just seemed to be something missing. I was finding myself adding so many extraneous ingredients that the sauce was no longer just a basic tomato sauce and I felt I needed to get back to basics, the way I remembered the tomato sauce of my childhood.

I was fortunate enough to grow up with a mother and father who at the end of each summer would make a trip to the Okanagan Valley in Southern BC, a dry desert region know for some of this provinces best fruit orchards and vineyards, where they would buy the most amazing field tomatoes at the peek of their season. These were the best tomatoes I had every tasted and this was long before you would ever see an heirloom tomato in the produce section of even the fanciest Vancouver markets.  I remember on many of these trips to the Okanagan eating these tomatoes like apples with just a little bit of salt and pepper, now if that isn’t uncharacteristic child like behavior I don’t know what is. They were just that perfect that they were even able to challenge a 7 year olds idea of what constitutes a great snack. In all truth I think I was a bit of an odd child where food was concerned. I would pretty much eat anything. Not much has changed.

As I wait not so patiently for my new camera battery charger to arrive in the mail so I can get back into regular posting, I thought I would publish a quick overview of my current 5 favorite Vancouver brunch spots. I maybe should have titled this post as Top 5 Gastown brunch spots because the majority of my picks come from in and around the neighborhood where I live.

1. Cafe Medina

Yeah I know, predictable right? As far as I’m concerned this is the best brunch that Vancouver has to offer. Apart from offering a very unique Mediterranean menu and the best waffles this city has to offer they also actually serve great coffee. If you’re adventurous try the lavender latte, it’s delicious!

556 Beatty Street
Vancouver, BC V6B2L3, Canada
(604) 879-3114

Brunch is served from 8 to Noon Weekdays and 9 to 3pm Weekends.

http://www.medinacafe.com/

I’m a little surprised that it’s taken me this long to write up a list of my favorite Vancouver Izakayas. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I would say I overindulge myself with these amazing Japanese tapas or small plates about once a week. They are my favorite for after work drinks, as well as the number one choice for any celebration that involves dinning out with friends. The best part is you can completely overindulge, and by this I mean eat like a pig and it wont break the bank.

While a in Japan were originally drinking establishments that served small plates of food (not sushi), usually deep fried and intended as accompaniments to to a few glasses of beer, in Vancouver Izakayas have become a popular dinner and even lunch destination. Here are the 5 Izakayas that I think represent the best Vancouver has to offer, I eat regularly at all of these establishments and these are the places I recommend to out of town guests.

1. Kitanoya Guu with Otoko Mae – This is at the top of my list because it is by far my most frequented and for me it is also my favorite. I’ve been overeating here consistently for years and somehow, I never seem to get sick of it.There’s also something about the atmosphere in this place that pleases me, it’s loud, the service is always friendly and there’s deep fried brie cheese on the menu. It’s a bit tricky to get reservations here and they only accept them before 5pm and generally don’t answer their phones before 5pm either so if you have to make a reservation give yourself several days to get a hold of them. Also, they have a 2 hour time limit which can get annoying at times.

Kitanoya Guu Otoko Mae
105-375 Water Street
Vancouver, (604) 685-8682
www.guu-izakaya.com

The following is a list of what I consider to be the top 10 of Vancouver’s fine dining scene. With so many restaurants to consider in this great city, I based my selection on the restaurants that consistently deliver on all fronts: food, drink, service and atmosphere.

1. Lumiere

Lumiere is at the top of the list because it is quite simply the most fancy and decadent dining experience you can have in Vancouver. I’m talking about the new Lumiere post-Feenie since Daniel Boulud took over as executive chef. I would not suggest even considering booking a table here unless you have a ridiculous amount of money to spare or are so dedicated to your dining out experiences that you have no problem taking a second mortgage on your house. OK maybe I exaggerate a bit, but the point is it can get quite expensive, especially where wine parings are concerned. We were lucky enough to receive a gift certificate as a wedding present, should you be so lucky or if money is no object I would suggest the 7  course tasting menu, it will be be something you will not soon forget.