Top Five Eats so far...

So right now I'm sitting on a ferry on the way back to Vancouver from Victoria on Vancouver Island. In a few days time I'll be tucked away in Abbotsford working on Goat's Pride Dairy Farm and tasting good old home cooked food for a month. (Oh dear Lord I am looking forward to it.)

Over the past two weeks I have been searching out nooks and crannies, little coffee shops and food joints to fill my belly and allow me to drink pots of tea whilst working on my writing. Having been such an enjoyable part of my trip so far, here are my top five places to hang out. Places to get some nosh down me and put my thinking cap on, or relax with friends who help to conjure up my imagination.

1) Burgoo : Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver.
    On the snowiest day Vancouver had seen for some years, and after my little drive up to Mount Seymour, my stomach was a' roarin' for some decent warming food. So when we walked past this place named Burgoo with a blackboard sign reading 'hungarian goulash!' just outside the door, my heart was set. Having been to Hungary and tasted the real deal, my standards were high for this perfect winter dish, and luckily I was not disappointed. Soups and sandwiches also grace their menu. Fairly pricey but utterly worth it coming in from teh cold.

2) Our Town: Braodway East, Vancouver.
    This place was introduced to me by a young lady named Katja who I was couchsurfing with for four days whilst in Vancouver. Granted, I haven't really eaten here properly, but if you're a fan of cinammon rolls, this is well and truly the place for you. We actually came here to join in with the quiz nights they hold two Thursdays a month. Albeit fairly complicated, it was an imaginative, alternative and original trivia night. If you're quirky, participated in or was a fan of Movember, and wear knitted jumpers with winter animals on them, this is probably the place for you to hang out and drink some coffee or $3.50 cans of beer. That's probably the best way to describe the clientele!

3) Local Public Eatery: Cornwall Avenue, Kitsilano Vancouver

    Opposite the beach on which we built a snow man, we enjoyed warmth, honey beer and the greatest and most gimormous burgers and yam fries I have ever tasted. Enough said.

4) Lady Marmalade: Johnson Street, Victoria
    A discovery I (ashamedly) made from a Lonely Planet guidebook, plagarist travel writer that I am! But damnnn are they right. I felt utterly at home with some bloody good warming soup and David Bowie on the stereo. Again, a little quirky place who's only source of fresh air being their open front door, so wear some layers or sit round the corner. Neither of which I did so I speak from experience. Nonetheless, it's a perfect lunch spot, that also has a liquor license, hooray! (I stuck to tea...)

5) Flynns (or at least that's what I think it was called, useful!) somewhere in Victoria.
    A vague description, but I was only there but a few hours ago. If you have a hangover, look this place up. Mine was satisfied with some seriously amazing BC Hash (vaguely translates to all the breakfast ingredients you could think of all smushed into one.) Huge protions but half sizes are available.

This post is dedicated to Dan, Kirsty, Matt, Bryan, Brad, Katja and Michele. All of which have contributed to my visits to each of these places and made some great memories with me. Cheers folks!