Last Wednesday night, I attended my first-ever
Dishcrawl event in Kitsilano. Having been told beforehand the venues we'd be visiting would be newer establishments, I had an idea or two of where the group might be dining. I didn't have to wait long to see if my hunches were correct as we were told to meet at 7pm at
Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods [they have a gorgeous website]. The remaining venues though, would remain a mystery.
Having never visited Tractor before, I was a little nervous about what I might find. I understood it to be the very type of restaurant one should expect to find in Kits. I arrived to the bright and cozy, yet comfortable restaurant surprised to see my friend Ed Lau of
EdEats.com was there. I should not have been surprised. After quickly taking a seat with Ed, our group of about 30 diners was greeted by Executive Chef Ryan Mah, who coincidentally, I went to high school with [though admittedly he probably doesn't remember me as he is a few classes older]. Chef Mah previously worked in the kitchens of well-known Vancouver eateries such as Chinois, Goldfish, Joe Fortes, and Wild Rice.
Chef Mah explained the concept behind Tractor - healthy food that does not compromise on flavour. My curiousity was piqued.
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| kale and granny smith apple with radicchio and white balsamic dressing @ Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods |
We started with a salad of kale and granny smith apple with a delicious balsamic dressing. I have a love-hate relationship with kale but in this case, the kale was done so it retained its texture without tasting too . . . healthy? I sound crazy, huh? The granny smiths gave the salad an interesting kick, crunch, and worked well with the balsamic.
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| order up your meal choices from the cafeteria-style bar @ Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods |
After the salad, Crawlers were instructed to line up along Tractor's cafeteria-style bar and order our mains. We had a choice between lean turkey chili or curried butternut squash soup [vegetarian].
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| lean turkey chili with coriander and sour cream @ Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods |
I went with the turkey chili which was perfect on that particular cold autumn night. I generally love soups. Asian soups, chunky soups, stews, chilis . . . love it all! This chili was like a hug in a bowl. I enjoyed how the flavours from all the ingredients had come together without having been cooked to a mush. I did not try the butternut squash soup, though it also looked great and my fellow diners seemed to enjoy it. Here's a photo for good measure:
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| curried butternut squash soup with yogurt and green onion @ Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods |
Tractor also provided us with dessert.
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| double chocolate and pistachio cookies @ Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods |
Knowing I had more savoury dishes to munch on before the end of the night, I stashed the cookies in my purse and enjoyed them when I got home. The cookies were nice and chewy [my preferred texture for cookies]. I have a sweet tooth, but not a please-give-me-a-cavity type love for desserts. These cookies were just sweet enough with plenty of rich chocolate-y yumminess.
The second stop of the evening was a bit of a surprise, as we were led to
Vibes Japanese BBQ & Sushi Restaurant, one of Vancouver's only sushi AND bbq all-you-can-eats. After being seated, we were told the food would be 10-15 minutes away as the meats had to be marinated. A bit of a surprise as they were expecting our group and knew we'd be on a schedule. However, when the food arrived, I was very pleasantly surprised.
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| bbq beef short ribs @ Vibes Japanese BBQ and Sushi Restaurant |
I usually shy away from AYCE establishments for two reasons. The first . . . I get full really easily/quickly so it's usually a better deal for me to order a la carte anyway. The second [and more importantly] . . . the quality and consistency of most AYCE places scare me. Biting into a piece of this beef short rib, I was thrilled by how tender it was. [Short ribs are pretty hard to mess up, but it has happened before.] Vibes has a house dipping sauce for its bbq items, but these ribs didn't need it. Crawlers were also given marinated beef slices and chicken to throw on the grill.
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| beef slices @ Vibes Japanese BBQ and Sushi Restaurant |
Also on the menu was Vibes' king crab sushi roll which was topped with avocado and masago. It was good but lacked uniqueness. I could taste the crab and appreciated their use of real crab meat, though it was overwhelmed a bit by all of the avocado. From the tasting we had here, I'd say go to Vibes for the bbq, but not necessarily the sushi.
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| king crab sushi roll @ Vibes Japanese BBQ and Sushi Restaurant |
Stop number 3 on Kits Crawl was
The August Jack, a tapas bar that specialises in food and craft beer pairings.
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| rosemary polenta fries with basil nasturtium aioli and balsamic reduction @ The August Jack |
First up with a deep-fried polenta dish with a balsamic sauce. The polenta fry itself was not bad, though, had I not known it was polenta, might have wondered if it was a potato cake. I found the sauce to be a little bit overwhelming.
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| truffle popcorn with truffle-infused oil and shaved grana padano @ The August Jack |
This popcorn, surprisingly, turned out to be my favourite dish from The August Jack. I did wish the truffle aspect of it would've hit me in the face a bit more, but it tasted delicious and the grana padano was divine. This was so good, I brought my leftovers home and polished it off before the end of night.
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| leek and barley risotto with smoked cheddar and caramelised leeks, truffle oil, and red amaranth garnishes @ The August Jack |
Our third dish at The August Jack was their risotto with leeks, barley, and cheese. I tend to like my risotto on the creamier side, but did enjoy the texture of this risotto even though it was more . . . intact. What threw me off a bit was the sauce, which was very very heavy-handed with the balsamic. I found it to be a bit much and a strange combination with the risotto.
The last venue of Kits Crawl was
O5 Rare Tea Bar, a beautiful tea house that reminded me of how an upscale tea specialty store would look in Omotesando, Asakusa, or Daikanyama.
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| O5 Rare Tea Bar |
By this point, my fellow diners and I were felling pretty full and welcomed the light fare of a cup of O5's delicious hibiscus tea. We were told to help ourselves to the selection of sweet treats displayed gorgeously on ceramic spoons.
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| hibiscus tea and desserts served in ceramic spoons @ O5 Rare Tea Bar |
From left to right:
- candied organic ginger rolled in raw cane and dark chocolate
- candied hibiscus flower with rich white chocolate flakes
- pumpkin spice cheesecake with gingersnap crumble
The clear winner here was the pumpkin spice cheesecake, and I'm not usually even a fan of pumpkin desserts. I think what won me over was how subtle the flavour was. The candied hibiscus was also fantastic. The white chocolate helped keep it from being too tart. Unfortunately, I did not get to try the ginger.
In all, Kits Crawl was a fantastic experience and I would highly encourage everyone go give it a try the next time around. It's a great chance to try new restaurants while meeting new people. I really enjoyed the social aspect of the experience.
As I mentioned in a previous post, these Dishcrawls happen in different neighbourhoods around Vancouver [and in fact, many many other cities], so just keep your eyes and ears open for an area you're interested in. For more information, head over to
Dishcrawl Vancouver's Facebook page.
Restaurant information:
Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods - 1903 West 4th Avenue - 604.222.2557
Vibes Japanese BBQ & Sushi Restaurant - 1947 West 4th Avenue - 604.559.8423
The August Jack - 2042 West 4th Avenue - 604.428.0075
O5 Rare Tea Bar - 2208 West 4th Avenue - 604.558.0500
Disclaimer: I was invited to join Kits Crawl as a media partner and as such, received a sponsored ticket. Opinions on restaurants/food however, are completely my own.
