A Vegetarian Insiders' Guide: Where to Eat at the Vancouver Olympics

You know how it is when you are visiting an unfamiliar city: you are faced with the unfortunate choices of going to lame world-wide chain restaurants, following the herd to a handful of spots in the ubiquitous guidebook, or taking your chances and just guessing. Well, I'm here to save the day. If you happen to be lucky enough to have tickets to the Olympic games in Vancouver...I'm jealous. But I'm still here for you.

I happen to have some very good friends who are Vancouver natives, and when my husband and I visited them in Vancouver a few years ago they had great recommendations for interesting, inexpensive local Vancouver food spots. So I emailed them and asked them to compile their recommendations for great local spots to grab tasty grub in between those Olympic events. They put their heads together with their foodie friends, and here are the results. I don't know about you all, but just reading this list makes me want to schedule a return trip to Vancouver...


Rinconcito Salvadoreno Restaurant
website
- pretty cheap (~$10//person)
- delicious, simple dishes, like burritos
- Specialize in Pupusas, which are just the best - corn tortilla pockets stuffed with deliciousness (bean and cheese, and various meats) and then fried. YUM.
- We've only had the vegetarian dishes, not sure how the meat dishes are.

Pondok Indonesian
website
- moderately priced
- large menu with some delicious items, especially the Nasi Goreng. They have a fantastic appetizer called Tahu Sayur Isi, which is basically deep-fried tofu stuffed with springroll filling, served with peanut sauce. It's fantastic.
- We've only had the vegetarian dishes, but we love ALL of them. Our friends have enjoyed the meat dishes, but one friend says the vegetarian dishes are better.

Afghan Horsemen
website
- Moderately-to-highly priced
- Huge portions of deliciousness. Afghan food is not that different from Lebanese or Greek: think falafel, roasted lamb, hommus, etc
- One of my favourite places to go out to celebrate. The food just makes me SO happy
- Their servers are wonderful and it's a great place to learn about Afghani culture

Urban Thai Bistro
website
- moderately priced
- Best Thai in the city
- I always have the same thing - the Urban Thai Platter - but I've been several times with omnivores and I've heard rave reviews of their meat dishes every time

Bandidas Taqueria
website
- cheap-to-moderately priced
- Great modern Mexican food. All vegetarian, and many vegan options
- You can order tacos by the 2s, 3s, or 4s, which means you can mix and match different tacos!
- Great place for all meals - their brunch is excellent
- Avoid Friday evenings unless you don't mind being surrounded by hipsters

Bo Kong Buddhist Vegetarian
website
- Moderately-to-highly priced
- 100% vegetarian, specializing in faux meat dishes
- Every single item on their menu is worth ordering. Go in a big group so you can order more dishes!