Take me to the Streets

Various Food Trucks/Cart
Street Food
All over Downtown Vancouver

Coming back to Vancouver from a 5-month travelling spree, I was surprised to see a ton of food carts that seemed to have quickly appeared on the streets of downtown Vancouver. It was a refreshing change to the city's food scene as street food has always been my favourite chow to try. I believe that if you really wanna get to know a place, its streets will reveal to you what it's all about. The people, the buildings, the food... take a stroll wherever you're at and take a look around and it will definitely tell you a story.

Vancouver in the recent past was pretty lame with its street food scene. There was nothing else other than hotdogs, well, there were hotdogs and Japadog, a Japanese inspired hotdog stand selling kurobuta sausages topped with Japanese food bits and condiments such as nori, wasabi mayo and bonito flakes. It was very unique and delicious but after awhile you will be looking for fresh flavours and new taste. Thankfully, soon after the Japadog craze died down, various food carts offering comfort food and fusion cuisine were mushrooming in every corner of the city's downtown core.

I was very excited to embark in a food cart adventure and started a mission to try out all of the Vancouver food cart's fare and this is what I got so far:

MOM'S GRILLED CHEESE TRUCK (as pictured above)
Serves: Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Location: Corner of Howe Street and West Georgia, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: A sourdough cheddar sandwich with a scoop of chilli and a shot of the roasted tomato soup
Verdict: If this food doesn't comfort you, you're in definite trouble. Dangerously gooey and delectable. The butter may have clogged my arteries but was worth the treat. Extra chips were an added bonus and the roasted tomato soup was warming and tasty. Can't eat it everyday though because of it's richness but will surely come back for my cheese fix.

LA BRASSIERE STREET
Serves: Brass Chicken Sandwich—Beer brined rotisserie chicken in gravy, on a buttermilk bun, topped with crispy onions
Location: Corner of West Georgia and Granville Street, Downtown, Vancouver
Ordered: Chicken Sandwich, of course!
Verdict: Huge sandwich of warm gravy, crunchy onions and slices (they surely didn't scrimp on the meat) of that flavourful roasted chicken, what more can you ask for. A definite winner!

OSA TAKO HERO
Serves: Takoyaki - yummy Japanese balls made with pancake-like, savoury batter and filled with bits of octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion
Location: Howe and W. Pender, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Para Para Sakana - Takoyaki topped with bonito flakes, Japanese mayo and sweet takoyaki sauce
Verdict: Warm, gooey-on-the-inside Takoyaki always makes me smile. Authentic and delicious and although this won't fill you up for lunch, it's always good for a nice, tasty snack.

COMA FOOD
Serves: Mexican, Korean and American Fusion
Location: Various places in Downtown Vancouver, found them on Burrard and Pender
Ordered: Korean style BBQ Burrito
Verdict: Filling and oozing with appetizing Korean flavours. Will have to come back and try the Homemade Kimchi Quesadilla and maybe the rest of their menu. Everything looks good! And an added bonus, small bowls of Miso soup spiced with Korean seasoning is handed out to customers while waiting for their orders.

THE KABOOM BOX
Serves: Local/Canadian Cuisine (e.g. sandwiches made with salmon or venison, poutine)
Location: Robson and Granville, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Fried Oyster Po'Boy Sandwich
Verdict: Good but too mayo-ey for my taste and it's coming from a person who dunks her french fries in mayo! Wishing to have gotten the Hot Smoked Salmon Sandwich instead... well, next time!

MANGAL KISS
Serves: Mid Eastern shish kabob served in Iranian flatbread called taftoon with salatim (vegetables in English) and traditional sauces
Location: West Georgia and Hornby, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Beef Shish Kabob
Verdict: Unique flavours and interesting taste although a few more pieces of meat could have made it better but the since the vegetables are seasoned and tasty, all is forgiven. Will come back and try the chicken kabob, soup and limonata.

RE-UP BBQ
Serves: Pulled Pork and Beef Brisket Sandwiches
Location: Hornby and Georgia, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Pulled Pork Sandwich
Verdict: Good value for your money since the meat was falling off the bun although I personally think that the pork needed a little bit more bbq sauce.

FRESH, LOCAL, WILD
Serves: Local, Sustainable Food - mainly Fish and Chips and Sandwiches
Location: Hastings and Burrard
Ordered: Seared Tuna Albacore Sandwich with Jalapeño Havarti Cheese
Verdict: Fresh indeed! Delicious, just a little bit pricey but was still filling. Love the patio and FYI, their food truck is green as well! The used oil for frying fuels its generator -- how cool is that?

TACOFINO
Serves: Canadian Mexican Fusion
Location: Various Downtown Location (they have two trucks), found them on Burrard and Dunsmuir
Ordered: Fish Burrito filled with tempura battered ling cod, chipotle mayo, cabbage, salsa, refried beans and rice
Verdict: Huge serving and fresh flavours although it could use a few more cod pieces.

BADA BING
Serves: Steak sandwiches and Fries
Location: Burrard and West Georgia, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Animal Fries - Fries topped with Bada Bing's special sauce, sautéed onions and cheese
Verdict: Processed cheese and too-rich, mayo-ey sauce, not a big fan but will give them a chance and try their sandwich.

ROAMING RED DRAGON
Serves: Pan-Asian Cuisine
Location: Robson and Burard, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Chinese Fried Rice Balls, Korean Shortrib taco, Pork Belly Sliders and the Pear and Mint Iced Tea
Verdict: Kinda expensive for the serving size and was not anything spectacular. Especially like the Chinese Fried Rice Balls and the Iced Tea, will come back for that, not for lunch though but for a snack, it is after all snack size.

SLINGERS
Serves: Italian Sandwiches (Parmigaina Sandwiches are the house -- err, truck's special)
Location: West Pender and Burrard, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich
Verdict: Eggplant was lightly fried and tasty and the combination of the sautéed onions and mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce was good but not stand-out. Sandwich was filling as well.

FEASTRO
Serves: Seafood (e.g. Seafood pot pie, prawn and prosciutto taco )
Location: Thurlow and West Cordova, Downtown Vancouver
Ordered: Halibut taco - Crispy chickpea battered fresh halibut, tomato/anise chutney, shaved green cabbage, tikka masala yoghurt
Verdict: Size perfect for my tummy, might be too small for bigger eaters but flavours are fresh and delicous. You can tell that they didn't use plain flour because the halibut was quite tasty. Definitely gourmet on wheels.

And what does the street food scene say about Vancouver? It's a culturally diverse city that's health conscious and constantly reinventing itself.