The Fish Counter

Located on Main Street in Vancouver is a business that focuses on sustainable seafood, The Fish Counter. The shop has a fish market along with a kitchen that offers fresh and made to order food, and C'est la vie a Maggi and I came for the food. When we walked up to the front doors, we did not know which door to go through and chose the one that leads to the restaurant side. As we entered, there were open cupboards blocking the entrance and a cashier staring at us without saying a word, so I felt guilty because I thought we walked through the wrong door.

Fortunately, Maggi confirmed if we could enter and the cashier responded with a "yes" before walking to close the cupboards, so I did not feel bad. After looking around, we noticed the menu posted on the wall and proceeded to the cashier.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward and not inviting because the cashier was not friendly, but we did not mind since The Fish Counter can be considered a fast food joint. As for the interior, it looks fairly nice and the shop is well ventilated. The fish market side of the shop does not have an overwhelming smell too.

The menu is posted on the unfinished wooden walls and looks very playful. There are cute ocean creatures and an easy to read but playful font. As for the selection of food, The Fish Counter offers fish n' chips, sandwiches, tacos, soup and one kind of salad. We arrived during a slow period so the seating arrangements were not an issue, but the seats are quite limited. There is only one table and a bar, along with a couple of benches.

Belgium Place

RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED

Belgium Place is one of the newer cafes that serves authentic liege waffles; the ones with pearl crystals throughout the dough which caramelizes the exterior and results in a nice golden color. Walking in, one of the cashiers was having lunch and he immediately got up to greet us and take our order. We were very pleased with his friendliness along with his patience as we browsed through the four screen television menu.

The cafe is very spacious and there is a fair amount of seating arrangements along with a few patio seats. I like the spaciousness because during busier times, both the ordering and picking up line ups would not be cramped. There is nothing worse than bumping and nudging the next person beside you when in a long line up!

Other than waffles, Belgium Place offers croissants, quiches, panini and baguette sandwiches. About the waffles though, there are sweet as well as savoury choices and everything is housemade. There is also a choice of almond, chocolate, as well as chocolate and almond waffles for those who want to skip on the plain ones.

As for the accompaniments, there are fruit compotes which include apple, apricot, blueberry and strawberry. On top of that, gelato (vanilla or chocolate), sauce (chocolate, caramel, maple syrup) and caramelized nuts (almond or walnuts) are also available as toppings.

Estrella's Montreal Deli

On the way to a barbecue in Langley, my friend gave me strict instructions "no food stops". Umm excuse me? I guess some people are really into their barbecuing… Do not even get me started on the horrible 200th Street too and I cannot stop for food?! Madness! I never complain about Richmond or Downtown traffic, but WTF is up with 200th Street? I hate it. The traffic can range from a mere ten minutes to a forty five minute difference off the highway to anywhere I have to go! So of course to treat myself, I had to stop at Estrella's.

Estrella's has been my go-to place for many years, as in half a decade! A couple of my friends from Montreal first introduced the restaurant to me during my SFU years and I fell in love. I even used to come here at least twice a week whenever I was in Langley.

Walking in, there is a nice smoked meat aroma which is not to be mistaken with greasy or the non well-ventilated kind. The restaurant is clean and there are a good amount of seats for this type of joint. Although during busier hours, Estrella's does get busy and a wait can be expected. As for the organized chalkboard menu, it is posted on the wall and customers order as well as pay at the front.

Tim Hortons and Cold Stone Creamery : Abbotsford location

After leaving Harrison, we made the trip out to Hope just to take a ride on the Air Tram. Unfortuantely though, the air tram was not open until a few weeks later so we started heading back to Vancouver. On the way back, I felt light headed as well as car sick so we got off the Whatcom exit to grab a snack.

Finch's Tea & Coffee House

Last fall, C'est la vie Maggi asked to dine together and we ended up going to Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Ever since then, we have tried meeting again but due to our opposite schedules as I prefer starting my day as well as sleeping early and her, sleeping in and staying up late, always conflicted. So finally half a year later, we both agreed to meet up for lunch! After suggesting quite a few places then cancelling and changing my mind LOL, I remembered always wanting to try Finch's and made up my mind on the morning of. Fortunately Maggi is easy going and really does not care where we go.

Our date was for 1:00pm and of course, me being a granny, was there on time while Maggi was stuck in traffic and could not make it until 1:30pm. To prevent her tartiness for making me impulse shop, I wanted to grab some donuts at Cartems and a conveniently located at the time $2.85 Burger. However, I thought it was best not to spoil my appetite and settled for a Mighty Kale from Jugo Juice. Fortunately I made the right choice as she was only fifteen minutes late! Walking in with my drink and feeling guilty it was from Jugo Juice rather than Finch's, Maggi was more than happy to change her previously by the counter seat to a farther away window seat.

After settling down, we walked to the counter and spoke with a friendly as well as helpful clerk and ordered our sandwiches. When the food is ready, a staff member calls out the customer's name and hands them their order. Finch's Tea & Coffee House is a small cafe with only less than ten seats available and I assume most people grab take out. The interior is cute, dainty as well as rustic and has a relaxing atmosphere, un-rushed.

Chuck and Kitty's Country Cafe

Chuck and Kitty's Country Cafe, the only reason BF and I made the trip to Harrison! Well, I could not justify driving all the way out to Harrison just to have some pie… so we decided to make a one day trip out of it and stayed at the hotel. Before checking in at the Harrison Resort, we made the trip to the very anticipated cafe. This time I prepared a game plan because on the last visit, we had breakfast as well as a slice of pie each and we  felt full until 8:00pm. And by the time we were hungry, every restaurant was closed and we had to drive out to Agassiz for Dominos Pizza! Not this time though. I carefully planned our eating schedule so we could have dinner at a proper time LOL. Meaning, pass on the pies and grab some the next day after we check out.

The restaurant is a small family owned pop and ma joint with less than ten available tables. Walking in, the vibe was much more different than our previous visits. Rather than the last visits which were filled with tourists and a friendly teenager and as well as an older lady working at the front of the house, the restaurant was operated by the owners and had a few local regulars. The vibe turned out to be more like we were intruding LOL.

HOME TOWN BURGER AND WEST COAST BAGEL.

Burgers Etc. BBQ House

REVISIT POST ON BURGERS ETC [HERE]

Burgers Etc was a constant fail since I could never find the restaurant, despite having the correct address and saying "it should be here" numerous times. Well, "RIGHT HERE OMMG WHERE IS IT?!" was what I really said. After many frustrating failed attempts, an early evening trip around 5:00pm was much needed, hoping some daylight would help locate the restaurant. Side note, by "could never find", I was going 30km and still missed it! Walking in, the friendly waiter was welcoming, mentioned the daily soup and provided the option of seating anywhere. The restaurant's interior is squeaky clean and has less than ten tables.

PORK RIBS, BEEF BRISKET, SPICY CHICKEN WINGS, PULLED PORK SANDWICH, HOMEMADE BEEF BRISKET SOUP AND BOYLAN CANE COLA.

Smokehouse Sandwich Co.

The only reason I am here is to try the beef brisket sandwich! Walking in, the strong aroma of smoked meat was very satisfying; an aroma that has never been present at many barbecue joints I have been to. Smokehouse Sandwich is located in Richmond (fortunately away from the busier streets in the city) and beats any of the sandwich joints in Downtown Vancouver. The restaurant's interior is quite nice and simple; brick walls, wooden tables, white chairs and a chalkboard menu.

The sandwich shop has a self serve station for soup, cutlery, straws, sauces and spices. Since the soup is self serve, all the meat and vegetables were scooped up with nothing left but liquid. The cashier was friendly and offered to grab some soup from the kitchen, after asking if there was any meat left in the pot. The spices available are smoked sea salt and ground pepper. I did not get a chance to try the smoked sea salt but would next time. As for the condiments, red and green hot sauce is available but I prefer my sandwiches as is. When I did get a chance to try the sauces however, neither tasted memorable or spicy, but of course would probably taste better with the sandwiches rather than chips.

Hubbub Sandwiches

My friend wanted to try Hubbub Sandwiches and we met up for lunch. Being bad with directions as well as street names, I would have found this place a lot easier if I knew it was on the same street as Bacchus and Mac Cosmetics.

Hubbub is a small sandwich shop with limited seating, most likely not an issue since most of their cliental probably grabs food to go. The sandwich shop is very welcoming with friendly staff and information about their sandwiches posted around the restaurant. The menu is very straight forward and states the ingredients in every sandwich. For a "healthier" alternative, salads are available rather than a baguette.

CHICKEN WITH QUINOA SOUP, CHICKEN BREAST SANDWICH, PULLED PORK SANDWICH AND CLEAN SLAW.

The Grainery Cafe

After having lunch at Sushi Gen, I had a really bad stomachache! Of course unrelated to the food, it was probably from eating too fast. Being in the area, I thought some soup would help. Grainery Cafe is located in Lougheed Mall and serves soup, salad, sandwiches, pies and other homemade goodies.

 CREAM CORN SOUP AND CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP.

Meat & Bread : Cambie Location

Only a piggy needs to grab something to munch on before dinner, and rather than going for the usual boxES of chocolates I have everywhere, or grabbing a Magnum ice-cream from a gas station, or even worse, McDonalds like usual, I made a visit to Meat & Bread. I actually had dinner at Tropika's Lansdowne location and it would have made more sense going to Tropika's Robson location, considering the area I was already in but it was an unplanned dinner. Walking in on a late Friday afternoon around 4:45pm, the sandwich shop was pretty empty. 

Bagel Street Cafe

Bagel Street Cafe is located in North Burnaby at the Kensington Square. The cafe has bagels, sandwiches, panini, baked goods, fresh orange juice and ice cream. The cafe is a small Korean owned family business and one of my favourite go to's in Burnaby. The only worthy places to eat at the Kensington Square is Cockney's and here.

The cafe has a large variety of bagel sandwiches and the staff has no problem accommodating any customer's request. Bagels are freshly made as well as baked every morning with no preservatives, and day old packages of bagels are sold at a discounted price for only $2.10. With nine options of cream cheese, spinach and feta, plain, chive and garlic, jalapeño, artichoke and sun dried tomato, greek, herb and spice, dill, and strawberry, even a picky eater can be satisfied.

Bagels get sold fast and the downside to visiting on a late weekday is that your options are limited. The newest addition to the cafe's menu is fresh turkey breast. Luckily I was here on the first day to try it.