It’s been about a month since we moved out of Vancouver, and a post is in order to pay homage to our final days there. This will undoubtedly be food-related because Vancouver is such a foodie town, and we wanted to make sure we hit all the highlights before we headed out for good.
Sura Korean Royal Cuisine
We decided on Sura on Robson St. for dinner one rainy evening. The large dining room was busy, despite it being a weeknight. We ordered three mains: seafood pancake (a classic that I like to order at Korean restaurants), beef short ribs (which we’ve become quite good at making ourselves with a homemade marinade) and kimchi with pork slices. The pork dish stood out because it was something I’d never encountered before: tender pork with a rind of fat served with large leaves of kimchi cabbage in a sour/savory broth. Bonus: You get an endless serving of small sides throughout the meal (I recommend the seaweed).
Save On Meats
We finally visited Save On Meats for brunch. We used to pass by it while driving through Hastings St. and have been wanting to stop in purely for how entertaining the signage is–it’s a big pink pig with the name of the shop very visible from the street. One side is a diner, and the other is a butcher shop (currently closed for renovation). This joint has been around since 1957, and it’s been updated to cater to hispter cool with young servers and a foodie spin on classic diner grub. I ordered the fried chicken and waffles, served with two large pieces of boneless chicken in a crispy batter on housemade buttermilk waffles, plus an order of two sunnyside-up eggs. I eagerly poured gravy onto everything.
Wildebeest
We had our last dinner in Vancouver at Wildebeest, a casual fine-dining establishment on West Hastings in the business district. This place has an excellent menu. We ordered a lot. For the appetizers: foie gras torchon, horse tartare and roasted sweetbreads. For the entrees: pork belly and scallops, and pan-seared rockfish. I also got a side of brussels sprouts. All the dishes were delicious and plated artfully. This was the first time I’d ever eaten horse, and I really liked the tartare version. It was served with a sous-vide egg yolk, which, when mixed in with the tartare, enhances the silken texture. We enjoyed this meal more than the one we had at Hawksworth; the cuisine is equal in quality, with more selection and a stylish, unpretentious atmosphere.
ATB 