Noshwellmenu

[rating:3]

This tasty joint is located upstairs in the food fair of the Richmond Public Market — home style Taiwanese food served at cheap prices. Tre and I come here once in awhile whenever we feel like some home cooked food. This isn’t your typical public market, however. With run down, messy fruit stands scattered about; a bakery that has some yummy old school sweets; questionable looking meat shops — um, I wouldn’t buy meat here; a florist that’s sorely lacking in floral selection and some strange looking shops that sells who knows what or why.

Based on the awesome experience we had at the Butchershop and Deli, Case and I felt that we couldn’t go wrong with breakfast at So.Cial the Restaurant.

One thing So.Cial has going for it, is the location. It’s got a great atmosphere and a simple yet elegant interior with dark brown and red accents throughout. We were seated by the window so we could do a little people watching amidst the backdrop of old Gastown.

[rating: 4]

I love Filipino food, especially from Josephine’s, an eat-in place located along the Main corridor. From the outside, it looks more like an office with the blinds usually closed. Like many Filipino joints, this restaurant runs like an old school cafeteria instead of full serviced restaurant. Not much service and a glare or two lets you know they don’t have much patience — so I wouldn’t take too long ordering. But we like the food and the owner’s seem alright.

[rating:4]

Fries are normally considered a side item. But there’s been a rise in its popularity, elevating its status to actually becoming part of a dish’s name: Steak Frites, Moules & Frites (Mussels & Fries). And in some cases, it’s become the dish itself (i.e. Poutine). One place that keeps its focus on the sliced tater is Belgian Fries on Commercial Drive.

[rating:1]

Konbiniya is a quaint little store on Robson. It’s a mish mash of Japanese groceries, video rental and Internet cafe that caters to overseas Japanese students and the occasional brave tourist. I like to drag Tre here once in awhile to pick up some yummy snacks. They have a huge variety of interesting chips, cookies and frozen treats. I had come here in hopes of finding a certain kind of Glico Pretz that a friend had brought us from Shanghai. They were so good that Tre and I have been looking for them ever since — but nope — not here. We ended up grabbing something else and was paying for it when we noticed the Green Tea Kit Kat at the counter.