Our food editor's best meals, drinks and restaurants this winter

Today’s list skews more towards spots in Mount Pleasant and lunches. I blame my recent move and the slow restocking of my kitchen. Luckily, the lack of cooking appliances means I’ve tried more lunch places than I normally would.

Ba Le Deli and Bakery, Hanoi Drip

Beloved by many, and for good reason, Ba Le Deli and Bakery is an institution in the city. 

On my walk to Ba Le at 691 E Broadway from my new apartment, I passed people waiting in line at Subway near Ba Le. I find street preachers infuriating, but I was overcome with the holy sandwich spirit, ready to proselytize that there is a better sandwiche shop only a block away.

Ba Le’s Banh Mi is a perfectly solid sandwich, with many classic fillings. But where it really shines is the value. Find me another place that offers such a filling sandwich for under $10. I’ll wait. While I prefer my veggies more pickled, the crusty bread and filling were better quality than you’d imagine for the price. 

Making a sandwich this good for $10, in this era of over-priced meals, is a public service. Ditto for their rice and noodle bowls. The Lemongrass Chicken Rice Bowl at $16.50 had more chicken than I could eat in one sitting. It was both my lunch and dinner. 

Vietnamese coffee culture doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Luckily, you can grab a drink at Hanoi Drip while enjoying your sandwich. While a bit pricey at $7.75, their Famous Egg Coffee was a treat, thick with fluffy whipped egg yolk on top, with a cloyingly sweet and rich dark coffee flavour. They also have more unique options like Black Sesame and Saigon Oat.

Nonna’s Italian Street Food

Long-time readers know my feelings on Italian food in Vancouver — there’s too much and a lot of it tends to be mediocre. 

Nonna’s at 1728 Commercial Dr. is their second brick-and-mortar restaurant, which started out as a food truck serving Italian street food. The company has seen substantial growth in recent years, with this second restaurant, its first one in East Hastings and a third in Coquitlam.

Before you interpret my next sentence as an insult, know I say this in the nicest way possible: Nonna’s feels like an upscale Spaghetti Factory if it served good food. While Spagehtti Factory is for families, Nonna’s is a glitz-infused darkened room that can host both an intimate date or a fun-filled night with new friends.

My night was the latter, as I met up with some friends and others, including a couple who I found out later were longtime Lookout readers.

I ordered the lasagna for $27. The addition of pomodoro sauce surrounding the pasta was a novel idea and helped add contrast to the dish, though the bolognese needed more time or wine/milk to break down the meat. We all shared tiramisu, but it was only average.

Nonna’s isn’t the best Italian restaurant in the city. But for a night out on the town, you won’t leave disappointed. 

The Boxcar Cocktail Bar

I’ve been once to Boxcar at 917 Main St. and have wanted to return ever since. While there’s lots of bar seating, the space can fill up fast. I arrived early to make sure there was a seat, but it wasn’t as packed as expected. That changes in the summer!

Boxcar doesn’t have the upscale pretentiousness of Prophecy or the swagger of Keefer Bar. It’s a place you could pull up to on any given night, whether on a date, an after-work drink or catching up with friends. It’s the kind of spot I love. The cocktails are approachable and reasonably priced, between $13 to $18, meaning you still have room for a nice meal after.

The Oaxacan Dreamsicle consists of 400 Conejos mezcal, chili liqueur Ancho Reyes, hints of orange, vanilla and lemon, mole bitters and vegan foamer. Like the place, it’s fancy, but the quality shines through, with the mezcal serving as a vehicle for the drink, rather than the smoky flavour overwhelming everything else.

I recommend it as a first stop on an evening out. Their summer patio is a wonderful place to visit when the weather improves. 

Carp Sushi & Bowl

Poke bowls are a dime a dozen, with little differences between most places. Carp Sushi & Bowl at 2516 Prince Edward St. stands out for one very big reason – their rice.

As soon as you taste the first bite, you realize it’s a cut above. I had the large salmon poke bowl, and while the fish and avocado were fresh, the rice made it worthwhile. Whatever seasoning they’re using, it’s working. I also appreciated how simple it was, without extravagant additions like pineapple or edamame, letting the quality of the ingredients shine through. 

It’s a small spot, but if you live in Mount Pleasant near Kingsway Mall, check it out for lunch.

The Lunch Lady

Readers might be wondering why I’m not writing a full review of The Lunch Lady at 1046 Commercial Dr. Enough has been said about this Michelin Bib Gourmand Vancouver institution that I hesitate to think what I could add in a full review. 

Situated squarely in between the fancy upscale Anh and Chi, and the more casual bring-your-whole-family dining at Phnom Penh, The Lunch Lady sits in the middle, perfect for both a casual lunch or a lovely date night.

As places become more popular, quality and service can decline. It’s an inevitable function of wanting to serve more people. That’s not the case here, especially when it comes to the front of house team, who were attentive to my questions and extremely friendly.

My lunch consisted of Bò Tái Chanh beef carpaccio and Mì Vịt Tiềm, the Sunday lunch special consisting of duck leg and five-spiced duck broth with Chinese noodles.

Bò Tái Chanh consists of layers of thinly cut beef, doused in peanuts, crispy shallots, lime vinaigrette, basil, mint and perilla. The beauty of this dish is the contrasting flavours and textures, sweet and sour, the meltingly-soft beef paired with the crunchy peanuts. You can tell I’m enamoured. I would still rank Phnom Penh’s Vietnamese beef carpaccio as the best in the city, but The Lunch Lady is a close second. 

The duck soup had fall-off-the-bone meat reminiscent of Fat Mao’s decadent Braised Duck Noodles. Clear, smooth and well-cooked, the oily sheen on the broth showed the kitchen’s talents. 

Though I’m not quite ready to rank Lunch Lady above Phnom Penh, the idea that Vancouver can hold so many incredible restaurants like this is another reason why Vancouver’s food scene is special.

Zaab Zaab Thai Cuisine

Zaab Zaab at 1211 Hamilton in Yaletown ranks highly amongst Thai restaurants in the city. And if a Monday evening is any indication, it’s as popular as ever.

The menu is extensive, but that’s not a bad thing. For anyone looking to explore a variety of dishes, Zaab Zaab hits all the notes with curries, stir fries and fried rice. While it doesn’t get into more niche dishes you find at places like Maenam and Thai Ni Yom, it’s more affordable and a cut above what you normally find in Yaletown (sorry Yaletown readers). 

I tried the Pad Kee Mao, a less-tangy, more-rounded umami version of Pad Thai, sometimes called drunken noodles, featuring fresh basil and chillies. The dish is cooked fast in a wok, and Zaab Zaab’s had the wok-cooked depth of flavour. My only complaint was the spice level, as medium tasted more like mild.

The dish was cooked well, the noodles at a perfect density, a mix of both crunchy peppers and softer chicken. I’ll note that the food there is reasonably priced for the quality, with main dishes hovering around $19 to $21.