We recently featured ‘Tasting Plates on West 4th Avenue’ as an event on our website – here’s our review!
‘Tasting Plates’ has been an ongoing event for several years, with the concept that different restaurants which serve a certain style of food or are based out of a certain area open their doors and provide samples to food enthusiasts, therefore broadening their customer base by getting their name out. Vancouver Foodster has been putting on Tasting Plates events for a while now, each one with a unique theme usually pertaining to the style of food or the location. I previously attended the ‘Tasting Plates: Desserts’ presented last April and enjoyed it thoroughly, so I was excited when I heard that there was to be another Tasting Plates event not only close to campus, but also featuring some of my favourite restaurants!
NOTE: Something to keep in mind about Tasting Plates is that it can be pretty stressful for the participant locations in that the sheer volume of people who turn out for these popular events can create more traffic than the location typically handles. I have tried to keep this in mind for the writing of this review because it means that service tends to go out the window a bit during the event, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it typically isn’t good. Tasting Plates means exactly what the name denotes – it’s primarily about enjoying the food, and when there’s hundreds of people swarming through the door for their sample it’s easy for the service to slip.
That being said, here’s my humble opinion of each of the locations. P.S. – the symbol (V) means it is a vegetarian dish!
1. 05 Rare Tea Bar
Menu:
– Premium fresh ground matcha shot (V)
– Ghorka Kombucha tea (V)
– Jamaica candied hibiscus flower (V)
The 05 Rare Tea Bar is visually a cool place – the second I walked in, I was wowed by the simple, yet modern design. The matcha shot was surprisingly good (I personally am not a fan of matcha, but was told that it was very good quality) and the candied hibiscus flower was a delicious sweet treat. That being said, the Ghorka Kombucha tea was definitely a show stealer. For those of you who have never tried the fermented tea before, 05 Rare Tea Bar is a super trendy little spot and the servers were very enthusiastic and well informed – it’s definitely worth the stop.
Handy tip: They sell Ghorka Kombucha tea sets so you can make your own at home, and supply you with an emergency number to call if you ever need advice on your tea-making technique!
2. The Bibo
Menu:
– Apparently pizza, but only for some (!)
The Bibo only allowed a small portion of people who were the first to make it to the registration tent an opportunity to watch their demo and try a slice of their pizza. This meant that many of the people participating in this round of Tasting Plates were not accommodated at all for this portion of the event, despite the fact that we all equally paid for tickets. I had been to the Bibo for the ‘Tasting Plates: Dessert’ event and very much enjoyed it, so I was excited when they appeared on the menu list for this event as well. Imagine my surprise when upon arrival at The Bibo I was told (rather rudely, mind you) that despite the fact that this was a ticketed event, they were operating on ‘first come, first serve’ basis. Major disappointment!
3. Doner Kebab
Menu:
– Falafel (home-made with Chick pea, soybean, lentil plus spices) (V)
– Mixed salad (V)
– Hummus (V)
– Pita bread (V)
Doner Kebab is one of those places I’ve walked by at least a dozen times and yet it has simply never occurred to me to go inside! Well, this will no longer be the case – because not only was their food 100% delicious, they were also incredibly gracious people who, a) seriously know what it takes to make some great falafel and b) were genuinely were happy to have us there. Not only that, their prices looked very reasonable. Next time you’re walking down West 4th, be sure to stop in here, they were absolutely great!
4. Las Margaritas Restaurant
Menu:
– Chips & Salsa (home-made) (V)
– Cochinita Pibil Tostada
– Chicken Taquito
– Scallop Ceviche
I had been to Las Margaritas a couple times before this event and was always very pleased with the service and food. Once again, they did not disappoint – the little appetizer plate was good on all accounts, the taquito with its generous dollop of guacamole being my personal favourite. The toastada was super tasty too, and while I did try the scallop ceviche I wasn’t able to overcome my dislike for fishy flavours (I know, I know, I live right on the ocean, what do you mean I don’t like seafood? – trust me, I wish I did!), but yet again, I was told by people that do like scallops that it was good. The only disappointment here was that they didn’t really have anything to offer vegetarians by means of alternatives, so unfortunately, their only options were the chips and salsa.
5. Jackson’s Meat and Deli
Menu:
– Braised short ribs
– Finnochio Sausage
– Split pea and Jackson’s Irish ham Soup
Once again I was given the opportunity to stop at a place I’ve walked by countless times and never would have thought to stop at. Am I ever glad that this place was on the Tasting Plates roster! Freshness seriously makes a huge difference when it comes to meat, and these guys have that part down. The sausage had no fillers and was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately the braised short ribs and split pea soup were offered as an ‘or’ choice, so I opted for the soup and was not disappointed. My friend tried the braised short ribs and graciously let me try some (thanks, Em!) and they were delicious as well. Yet again our poor vegetarians were hung out to dry, without anything at all for them to try (which given that it’s a meat shop I guess is understandable, but they’re also a deli – not even some cheese or anything?).
6. Guanaco Food Truck
Menu:
– Appetizer size pupusas (hand-made tortilla filled with pork chicharrón or ground chicken, vegetables, cheese, loroco and savory refried black beans OR a vegetarian option of bean and cheese, zucchini and cheese or just plain cheese with loroco(V) )
– Fried cassava pieces
– Yucca frita
Finally an option for vegetarians – which was delicious to boot! If you ever see this food truck wandering around, be sure to try some of their delicious Salvadoran cuisine; I tried the chicken pupusa and it was fantastic. They also gave us a complimentary cup of horchata which was really scrumptious! The fried cassava was interesting (it tastes a lot like a potato for those who have never had it) and the yucca frita went great with the pupusa. Flag them down next time you see them, they were incredibly courteous and really seemed to know what they were doing.
7. Romer’s Burger Bar
(Romers street photo credit here)
Menu:
– ‘The Standard’ with aged cheddar (heritage farms angus beef, vibe ripened tomatoes, crisp iceberg, sweet onions, house made spicy pickles; served on their signature brioche bun and “R” sauce)
– ‘Magic Mushroom’ (heritage farms angus beef, sautéed onions and Portobello mushrooms, organic arugula and house made aioli; served on THEIR signature brioche bun and topped with creamy Boursin)
– SoCal Turkey Burger (organic fraser valley house made turkey patty with soliagiatti tomatoes, avocado, red onions and watercress; served on their signature brioche bun with chipotle aioli)
Again, Romer’s is a place I’ve been to before and enjoyed immensely. Unfortunately they were a bit overworked by the time we arrived and only had one little quarter of a veggie burger that the two vegetarians in our group had to split, but they said the portion they had was very good. I had already had ‘The Standard’ on a previous visit to Romer’s, so I opted instead to try the ‘SoCal Turkey Burger’ (which was spicier than I had anticipated, but delicious) and the ‘Magic Mushroom Burger’ (which was incredibly creamy and also delicious). The best part for me at Romer’s is the fact that the meat they use in their burgers is really juicy and the buns are super soft – it really makes for a great burger. We didn’t hit Romer’s until a bit later in the day, so we were able to catch the tail end of the hockey game – it’s a great little sports bar, and the burgers are awesome.
8. Culprit Coffee
Menu:
– Espresso or Espresso Macchiato (made with Fernwood coffee from Vancouver Island)
– Gluten-free baguette with home-made raspberry chia jam
– Gluten-free white chocolate and honey pecan brittle cookie with Maldon sea salt
– Gluten-free chocolate raspberry financier
Culprit coffee was absolutely teeming with people by the time we got their for the last stop on our Tasting Plates adventure, so it was hard to get a good look around – but from what I saw, it was a really quaint little coffee shop. The desserts were so good you couldn’t even tell that they were gluten-free; in particular I really thought the cookie was interesting. The coffee was excellent and they were able to offer soy alternatives as well. It was a very cool little place; I can imagine it would be a trendy and delicious place to study.
All in all Tasting Plates Feast of 4th went pretty well from this participant’s perspective, and I loved that I was exposed to a couple of new places that I might not have tried out otherwise. Thanks Vancouver Foodster!
If you’re interested in checking out the next Tasting Plates event for yourself, check out the Tasting Plates website here or head on over to http://vancouverfoodster.com to check out other ways to explore the Vancouver food scene.