101 for the Locals

You’ll remember that a while back I wrote about the Omnivore’s 100 – a list of the 100 foods whose consumption was deemed necessary by the Very Good Taste blog to consider one’s self a foodie.

Shortly thereafter, Vancouver Magazine published their own list of 101 (Vancouver-centric) Things to Taste Before You Die.

Here’s their list, and an Omnivore’s 100-style personal legend to go with it:

Bold – Things I have tried from those particular suppliers
Struck-out – Foods I’ve had, though not from the supplier they recommend
Italicized – Foods that have been on my radar for a while, but I haven’t tried yet
Left plain – Foods I had no idea were so high on the “must-try” list
(anything in parentheses are my own personal annecdotes)

1. Raspberry Wheat Ale – Granville Island Breweries
2. Salmon Tacones – Go Fish
3. Gyu Yukke – Gyoza King
4. Thomas Haas’ Double-Baked Almond Croissant – 49th Parallel
5. Rabbit Sausage – Cioffi’s
6. Smoked Beef Tenderloin –JN&Z Deli
7. Hercule De Carlevoix cheese – Mount Pleasant Cheese Shop
8. Clayburn Raspberry Jam – Sugar & Co
9. Chef’s Chicken Salad – Koon Bo
10. Honey Doughnuts – Honey Doughnuts and Goodies
11. Foie Gras Parfait – Pied-a-Terre
12. Raincoast Crisps
13. Dark Chocolate Carmelitas – Chocolate Arts
14. European Deli Hummus – European Deli** (Obviously I’ve had Hummus, but never from the European Deli)
15. Lavash Bread – Yaas Bakery
16. Nk’mip Pinot Noir
17. Arepas – Baru Latino
18. Kashk-eh-bodem jahn – Kashcool
19. Chocolate-Walnut Rugelach – Siegel’s Bagels
20. The Doug Special – Vera’s Burger Shack (this one’s a bit hard to classify – I’ve had many meals at Vera’s, but I know enough to know that in my world, the Doug Special is a mistake I will pay for in spades)
21. Mariage Freres Tea – Urban Tea Merchant
22. Vanilla-Salt Chocolates – Wendy Boys (formerly of Lumiere) (I’ve had plenty of vanilla-salt chocolates. omg yum. also, where’s Wendy cooking these days?)
23. Penne with Wild Boar – Cioppino’s
24. David Wood’s Chevre
25. Savary Island’s Tourtiere
26. Black Hills Alibi
27. Green Party Cocktail – Ocean Club (I’ve been to the Ocean Club, no idea why I missed this supposedly iconic cocktail)
28. Cricket Bread – Vij’s (Perhaps this can help with the other list’s “bug-eating” thing)
29. Deep-Fried Zucchini Blossoms – Cioppino’s
30. Japadog
31. Kobe Meatballs – Italian Kitchen (totally not worth the hype. grinding the meat up kindof defeats the kobe-ness)
32. Topanga Cafe Chocolate Cake (I lived across the street from Topanga for 18 months and had no idea they had chocolate cake. I am kicking myself now. Hard.)
33. Deep-Fried Frog’s Legs – Phnom Penh (I’ve always wanted to try these, had no idea where to get them)
34. Sablefish – Finest at Sea Seafoods (this is now my go-to fish & supplier of choice – simply amazing)
35. Wild White Salmon – Elixir
36. Friulano Salumi – Moccia Italian Meat Market
37. Abalone – C
38. Polenta Fries – Cascade
39. Vegetarian Poutine – Templeton
40. Venturi-Schultze Balsamic Vinegar (we stumbled upon VS entirely by accident while agritouring a couple years ago. Their Vinegar, Brandenburg No.3 and Indigo are life-altering).
41. Solly’s Kosher Pickle
42. C Citrus Salt
43. Spot Prawns
44. Ambrosia Apple
45. Barese Sausage – Columbus Meat Market
46. Ramen at Motomachi Shokudo
47. Pan de Sal – Aling Mary
48. Taboo Absinthe
49. Tiger Blue Cheese
50. Shiitake Mushrooms at Bo Kong
51. Mission Hill Oculus Cherries
52. Georgian Baguettes – European Breads Bakery
53. Double Chocolate Porter – Phillips Brewing Co (the venue we were married at had a keg of this beer among others. We had an open bar, and our guests drank it dry. If you like Chocolate Porter, “good” is an understatement for this one.)
54. Rosemary Raspberry Sea Salt – Maison Cote
55. Scallops in Octopus Bacon – C (I’ve never ordered these at C, but last time I was there these appeared, compliments of the chef. I’ll now order them every time hereafter. Transcendent.)
56. Lamb Bacon – Fuel
57. Bad Girl Hazelnut Truffles
58. Xiaolongbao – Lin’s
59. Liege Waffles – Patisserie Lebeau
60. Stock Market’s Hot Porridge (is there anything better on a cold morning than hot porridge?)
61. Butter Baked Goods’ Marshmallows
62. Beer-Injected Fried Oyster – Nu
63. Soda Bread – Savary Island
64. Stellaport
65. Smoked Bison Carpaccio – Boneta
66. Dodonis Feta Cheese – Pantheon Supermarket
67. Stamina Roll – Blue Water Cafe
68. Osake Premium Sake – Granville Island
69. Burrata – Les Amis du Fromage
70. Moroccan Chicken Wings – Habit
71. Sweet Georgia Browns – Purdy’s
72. House Special Pho – Thai Son Vietnamese
73. Sandwisches at So.Cial
74. Quail’s Gate Old Vines Foch
75. Financiers – Ganache Patisserie
76. Hy’s Stuffed Potatoes
77. Ethical Bean Coffee (the Watercooler AM Brew of choice)
78. Farmhouse Alpine Gold Cheese
79. Muc Tuio Rang Muoi – Phomn Penh
80. Chocolati’s Hot Chocolate
81. Fuel’s Fried Chicken
82. Cru’s Macaroni and cheese (currently served with a melt-in-your-mouth beef shortrib. Winning combo.)
83. Blis Maple Syrup
84. Thierry Busset’s Tiramisu – CinCin
85. Natural Pastures Mozzarella di Bufala
86. Milsean Dark Chocolate
87. Tofu Doughnuts – Congee Noodle House
88. Oysters with Horseradish Snow – Gastropod
89. Biltong – African Breeze
90. Hazlenuts – Canadian Hazlenuts
91. Ukranian Church Perogies
92. Eleni Olive Oil
93. Sumac Ridge Steller’s Jay Brut
94. Pupusas – Rinconcito Salvadoreno
95. Belacan
96. Cocoa Nymph’s Ila Chocolates
97. Blue Fig Martini – Chambar
98. Naam Miso Gravy
99. Quadra Island Honey Mussels
100. Gelato – Brazza
101. Matsutake (Pine) Mushrooms

Obviously there’s nothing on here I wouldn’t eat or try.

Things I can’t believe didn’t make it on the list, especially since it included a dish from a restaurant that no longer exists (Lumiere), and some less than stellar items (people need to give the Italian Kitchen Kobe Meatballs a rest. They’re novel, but not that good):

-Oyama’s organic Berkshire Pork Sausages
-Polderside Farms Organic Chicken
-Tojo’s Sesame Marinated Tuna
-Memphis Blues pulled pork sandwich
-Latte from Cafe Artigiano
-Little Qualicum Cheeseworks San Pareil

And that’s just off the top of my head.

For the locals: how many of these have you tried? What would you add to the list?

For the not-so-locals: do you have any regional delicacies that people should definitely try when they come to your area?

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