LunchBestie
Bestie is a German street-food influenced sausage shop that calls Chinatown home. They got their start through the crowd funding indiegogo platform, tempting patrons with promises of magical sausage cards and a really good time. It seems the people of Vancouver (literally) ate it up surpassing their funding goal and ensuring Chinatown residents would get a solid source of Currywurst.
Look no further than Bestie for a late nite sausage party.
Situated across the street from the same block that houses Chinatown stalwarts: New Town Bakery and Kam Gok Yuen, an extremely modest wooden sign announcing “late nite sausage” hangs underneath an awning beckon passerbys to come in for a nibble.
Besties talking it up about sausages and things.
Inside is a handful of booths supplemented by a dineresque bar for service and some stools. Bestie serves sausages two ways: Currywurst or over sauerkraut. There’s a choice of four kinds of sausage: Classic Pork Thuringer, Southern BBQ Turkey, Smokey Bison, and even a Veggie Wurst for vegetarians that don’t want to feel left out of the sausage fest.
Currywurst ($8): Smoky Bison sausage topped with curried ketchup served over a bed of crispy fries.
Case and I divided up the menu starting with their flagship offering: a smoky bison sausage topped with fragrant (but gently seasoned) curry infused ketchup served over a bed of crispy fries and artfully presented in a paper hot-dog liner shaped porcelain dish on a cutting board complete with a pair of Bestie branded sausage forks.
Sausage & Sauerkraut ($9.5): Classic Pork Thuringer Bratwurst served over warm sauerkraut, house mustard.
We turned our attention next to the juicy bratwurst served over warm, tangy sauerkraut which we paired with one of their rotating salads: a nice roasted cauliflower salad dressed with red onions, raisins and parsley.
Pretzel & Mustard ($3.5): A big ass, warm soft pretzel served with mustard.
Unfortunately for us, their warm pretzels were flaunting themselves — right out there in the public — calling for us. So we relented and dove into the soft, chewy twisted bread, intermittently dunking torn pieces into one of two kinds of mustards.
Ice cream sandwich ($3.5): Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two crispy ginger snappy cookies. It’s an oversized Oreo cookie had a lovechild with gingersnaps.
Finally, we ended with their ice cream sandwich, a plain jane vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two over-sized, crispy ginger cookies.
Cauliflower Salad ($3.5): Roasted cauliflowers, red onions, raisins and parsley and honey sweetened dressing.
Our meal totalled around $40 including taxes, tips and a thing of beer. The upbeat, friendly and attentive service (honestly, these guys looked like they were just having a ball), coupled with an open and bright dining area is a welcomed addition to the Chinatown neighbourhood.
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