Meat on a bun

He says:

Last weekend I was in Vancouver for business and also some pleasure. I had done some research to figure out where I was going to eat my meals and this is the breakdown of “my meat on a bun trip”

Day one was lunch at RE UP on the street in front of the Vancouver library. (700 Hornby St corner of Georgia St.) They specialize in pulled pork sandwiches. Last year the City of Vancouver gave away a bunch of licenses for new street vendors offering something else besides hot dogs and nuts and RE UP was one of them.  The sandwich was large enough and the bun was fine but nothing special. Because I am a big barbecue fan, my expectation was a bit higher for the meat but it was cooked right and tasted pretty good – just not much barbecue on it. The sauce was very good and the slaw on top also very good, making it a pretty good eat for lunch. Overall, I strongly recommend that you stop if you ever drive by their trailer, it was $8 and it will fill you up. www.reupbbq.com

Day two was a burger at Romer’s on 4^th Avenue, almost on the corner of Burrard St. The buzz on the net was that this is THE place for burgers. So I thought it would be a great place to take my daughter and her very tall hungry boyfriend for dinner. Let me start by saying the burgers were awesome. Great bun and great meat without extreme bread filler which make a well balanced burger. There were many different kinds of topping to choose from, I had the port-braised onions, creamy Stilton and fresh thyme leaves and it was sublime. My daughter had the Standard and loved it too and her friend had the Magic Mushroom and also woofed it down very easily. The fries were handmade and perfect, and I know my fries. Now when you get the bill, just keep in mind that it is good food, well prepared and you are in Vancouver; it’s not cheap but very worth it. www.romersburgerbar.com

Day three was the grand finale, a place called Meat & Bread in Gastown (370 Cambie St., corner of Hasting St.)This place is going to be successful for a very long time as it is a simple concept without any frills or gimmicks… just good meat on a bun. This is certainly worth the stop the next time you go visit the big city. It is very much like what we see back East in my homeland. You can sit at one long table with 30 other people, you can sit at a bar-like table with other people or you can stand at the back and eat your sandwich. Kristin and I had the pulled chicken sandwich with a potato salad and a couple of fancy artsy sodas. Great food and a fun experience to eat with others. www.meatandbread.ca

You may think I am crazy to search where I am going to eat before I leave, but this is the only way I know how to travel. I also had my usual stops at Sweet Obsession pastry shop and at the donut shop on Granville Island. All in all a great trip, aside from a parking ticket.

She says:

We live to eat, as you have undoubtedly noticed. When we travel, we plan food itineraries like most people plan activity itineraries. Even in Vancouver, close to home, we like to explore and to have our fave cravings. For me, the trip in Vancouver was more about wine, as I was there for the Playhouse Festival with work, but that certainly wasn’t a hardship. An international wine festival for a wine geek like me is a bit like summer camp. I got to sample sherry with olives, Spanish sausage and potato chips; aged port with foie gras in a mole sauce; new port with chocolate infused with pop rocks, and even… rhubarb bread pudding with nut brittle and a Stilton milkshake, paired with a fortified muscat from Australia. How cool is that?! (Okay, the translation would be something like… going to a country club for a round of golf; stopping in at a very hip coffee shop that maybe had an art show or a live musician; seeing your favourite band in concert, and then getting up the next morning to ride a rollercoaster! Does that make more sense?)

I can only handle meat on a bun one day at a time, so I just met Martin at the Meat and Bread place. Best potato salad I have had in a long time, and my Mom makes wicked potato salad, so I oughta know. I got a great idea though; I had a Dandelion and Burdock soda made in Vancouver. I was musing about my garden planning, having seen the blossoms in Vancouver and the impending greenery of spring, and it occurred to me that if the weeds get out of control again as they have in the past, I might be able to make some money supplying the soda company with roots!

 I know Martin mentioned getting a parking ticket but that seems to be the cost of visiting the big city. The other side of the coin is, we didn’t get a ticket the day we went to Meat and Bread, even though we forgot to fill the meter. Living in paradise, we hardly ever think of such a thing. Life is good.