Last night was Tasting Plates YVR #Fraserhood which took myself and my friend from Edmonton along a food journey on Fraser Street in East Vancouver. Presented by VanFoodster, this food adventure took us to 4 locations on Fraser between King Edward to Kingsway, and the starting point where we picked up our passports, the Honey Shoppe on Main St and King Edward.
At Honey Shoppe, we were greeted with some iced green tea from Chado Tea House, one of the local vendors that sell within the store. This helped us cool off after waiting in line outside in the heat. We then moved on to sample some Fraser Valley locally made honey, as well as a Tasmanian honey made from Australia. We then were treated to a tasty combination of honeycomb and cheese on crackers. This was one of my favourites of the evening, as the sweetness of the honeycomb, mixed with the simplicity of cheese and crackers, made me long for more!
Next we took off to our second destination, Commodity Juicery, looking forward to some fresh juices and smoothies. We were welcomed with two Teatails – Sangria and Pink Lemonade. Sangria was a hisbiscus berry tea with basil infused maple syrup, apple and lemon – light and fruity. Pink Lemonade was a lavendar tea, with rosemary infused maple syrup, apple and lemon. We were a little disappointed that we were not offered a smoothie bowl as advertised when we arrived, but was offered a matchachino – kale, banana, matcha, almonds, chia seeds, vanilla bean and almond mylk. A bit too healthy for my liking, but definitely offered a lot of vitamins for the road!
We then moved onto Nammos Estiatorio, where we were served a plate filled with Spanakotiropita, the Kokkinisto with Greek egg noodles and beef ragu, and the mushroom fava beans with grilled octopus! I found my Spanakotiropita lukewarm and a bit salty, however really enjoyed the Kokkinisto and the grilled octopus.
We then walked down a few blocks, enjoying the sunshine along the way, to Chomp Eatery and Fairy Cakes, a local vegan cafe. They were the most prepared for our group – already preplated and ready our mini CHOMP slider, creamy Caesar salad, and fairy-o (a chocolate toffee crunch brownie). All items are vegan and gluten free. The CHOMP slider was made with a signature sweet potato bun with white bean patty, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, spinach and tomato. I’m not a huge fan of vegan eats, but I’m sure they are a hit with Vancouverites who like their veggie-alternatives!
Lastly, we headed a block down to Kingsway and Fraser, where Straight Outta Brooklyn served some seriously delicious pies! You can’t name your pizza place with reference to New York styled pizza without getting the pizza right. This was our favourite stop of the evening – and we tried all 4 flavours of pizza offered – Original Margherita, Classic Pepperoni, White (Mozzarella, fior di latte, ricotta, grana padano, garlic and oregano), and Spice Capicollo and spicy salmon. We were in pizza heaven as the pizza was thin crust and extra crispy.
I enjoyed the nice walk on a hot summer evening discovering the various restaurants in a neighbourhood I rarely visit. Tasting Plates YVR is a great concept, that allows multi-eats in one evening.
The next Tasting Plates adventure takes place on the Westend on August 24 – get your tickets here and don’t miss out on the earlybird rates!
