Pictured: Loving Hut nachos

The definitive list of places to get vegan nachos in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia.

Perch – Powell St at Commercial Drive
Served atop a bed of homous and covered in toppings and Daiya, these nachos are probably my favourite in the city. They’re served with salsa and the homous makes even the last few chips, after you’ve eaten all the cheese, delicious and not worth wasting. This tower of nachos is not cheap, however; it’ll cost you $14 (HST included) for this feast, but it will fill you and two friends up.

The Naam – West Fourth Ave at MacDonald St
The Naam will always be well-attended, but it’s not because their nachos are amazing. First of all, I don’t like the chips – they’re similar to the really cheap, flavourless ones that my thrifty parents always buy. Secondly, these nachos are piled high but not layered, so after you eat the top layer you have a bunch of dry, boring chips. Skip them and order sesame fries with miso gravy for your appetizer instead.

Bandidas Taqueria – Commercial Drive at East 12th Avenue
Also not cheap, but fairly massive, Bandidas were my favourite nachos in town before Perch came along. Bandidas is the only place where you can get three different types of nachos. Their vegan sour cream is delicious, and the savoury crumbled tofu they use on one of their nacho incarnations is great too. It fools omnivores who think it is some sort of ground meat, though we vegans know it’s far, far tastier.
Note: I’ve ordered nachos at Bandidas three times and each time they came out non-vegan before we sent them back and got vegan ones made. I don’t know if they’ve corrected this communication issue because I haven’t gotten nachos there in about a year, but it’s something to watch out for.

Loving Hut – West Broadway just west of Cambie
LOVING HUT IS CLOSED
These nachos, pictured above in size small, have potential – they include the classic vegan nacho flavours of sundried tomatoes and come with a vegan sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. The sour cream is more like a mayo spread – it doesn’t have the lightness of sour cream – and there wasn’t nearly enough guac when I ordered them, nor enough cheese, but they are okay.

It’s kind of pretty there.

Victoria! It’s only a quick ferry ride over an island-dotted strait from Vancouver, and yet it feels like an oasis far away from home… I love Victoria and even used to live there, which I’d do again if only there were jobs… and people who lived there all year. Anyway, Victoria’s a pretty vegan-friendly city, even if it’s tiny. The people who choose to live in Victoria do so for a reason – often because they love the slow pace and liberal politics of the province’s capitol.

It’s also a beautiful town, and you can ferry directly from downtown Vic to downtown Seattle, or to Port Angeles. It’s a bit more of a pain to get to Victoria from Vancouver, but it’s doable on either a bicycle or on public transit. Look it up online or ask me. I love helping. It makes me feel smart. (more…)

Loving Hut’s Vancouver location opened rather quietly in late spring 2010, to very little fanfare. In fact, I found it impossible to find it or confirm it was there at all for the first few weeks, despite rumours that it was; and then, when I finally found the address and visited, found it was closed at odd hours. Finally, however, I was able to visit and have now been three times – certainly enough to write a review.

Despite sharing a name (and cult philosophy) with a whole slew of restaurants around the world, the Vancouver Loving Hut is very different. From what I can see on their website, most Loving Huts serve vegan Asian food – but the Vancouver restaurant serves only vegan Western food. In fact, most of their dishes are more like veganized pub food than anything else – gyoza, chicken nuggets, yam fries, poutine, pizza, and salads, among a couple other dishes. Their menu is growing slowly, but is still quite limited, and nothing like the one I found online.

Having tried all of the vegan pizza in Vancouver, I can say with certainty that Loving Hut’s is probably the best. Their crust is thick and fluffy, and there are a lot of toppings on the pizza. For $4.25, you get two slices, as well as a dipping sauce (this one, the Ocean Love, came with garlic cream sauce). There are four different types of pizza, each sounding fully delicious. There’s not too much Daiya on the pizza – just enough to hold down the toppings.

The pizza is probably Loving Hut’s best dish, however. Everything else is decent, but not really exciting or interesting. Kaylie, who is a pickier foodie than me, has trouble choosing anything off the menu not because of too much choice but because nothing sounds interesting or complex to make.

I think the Vancouver Loving Hut, with its pub-food fare, would do a lot better were it a bit dim and dark, had a television playing sports, and had beer on tap. As it is, it’s a good choice if you work in the area, but not really a place you want to take your friends or a date for a meal.

Ah, the Wayward Vegan Cafe – two pages of all-day brunch and one of all-day lunch, impossible vegan brunch items that I’ve dreamed of eating all my life. I’d actually been to Wayward once before, in its old location, and wound up with approximately the same impression. Its new spot is far more convenient, snugly situated in the hopping University District in the northern part of Seattle, near 50th St.

Kaylie, myself, and our friend Michael visited Wayward on a Saturday morning after an epic night of drinking. The soft-spoken hardcore boy who took our orders was sweet and helpful, but not quite as sweet as the bottomless coffee. Divine. My first impression was that the lighting in the place was a bit dim for a breakfast restaurant, but other than that it was fairly pleasant. Our hungover brains took their time deciding what to order, but we landed on the following:

The Ex-Benedict
Kaylie’s breakfast choice. English muffin, tofu egg, soy ham, and Hollandaise sauce with shoestring potatoes. Kaylie’s opinion was that it was a little bland – it needed fresh veg, spinach or tomato. And she agreed that my tofu egg patty is better. Did learn from this dish that cutting the tofu into a thicker, round piece is a winning approach.

The Bandito Omelette
My breakfast choice was an omelette. I couldn’t resist; I’ve never successfully made a vegan omelette, so I was truly curious to try. I have a feeling this was made with okara (the soy pulp left after processing beans into tofu or soy milk) because it had that same pull-apart texture I’ve found when working with okara. It was full of veg and chunks of soy chorizo, which was okay, but I would have liked the soy chorizo and vegetables to be mixed together for better flavour distribution. It was topped with melted faux cheese and a garlic cream sauce – the sauce was maybe my favourite part, but it didn’t provide quite enough flavour. This dish, too, was a bit bland.

Smoky Seitan Scramble
Michael got a simple scramble with smoky seitan sausage in it. This was okay, but also bland, and vegetable-less.

The verdict? Wayward has a great concept, and I think it’s too funny that it’s staffed by vegan hardcore boys, but the food was bland. More flavour and more fresh vegetables would make a big difference here. If I were in the area and hungry I’d visit Wayward, but with all the other decent vegan brunches around town, I don’t know that I’d bother to go far for Wayward too often. I’ve heard that the biscuits and gravy are to die for but that dish just doesn’t toot my horn too much.

On October 23, Vancouver’s vegan and vegan-conscious community will come together for the twelfth time for the Taste of Health Festival. I’ve attended this festival a couple of times and have always found it delightful, inspiring, and full of free samples of locally produced vegan products. Often there are vendor specials, too – one year I walked away with two wheels of Sheese for $10. What a deal.

The event is happening at the Masonic Hall on West 8th near Granville St.

Mark your attendance and get details at the Facebook event or visit its page on EarthSave. The event is free for EarthSave members, or $5 for non-member attendees; there will be speakers, demonstrations, food vending, and (the best part) vegans everywhere! (I bet you didn’t realize there were so many of us!)

There’s also a gala (tickets $25 before September 23) featuring keynote speaker John Robbins and hors d’oeuvres served by Organic Lives. This is where you will find all the swishy well-to-do vegans in town, so if you are hoping to marry rich and environmental-conscious, the $25 ticket is a good investment. (I am only saying this because I attended the gala a few years ago and everyone was dressed really nicely.)

Anyway, you should go to Taste of Health, because we will be there, and you should bring your non-vegan parent, lover, child, or friend, to help inspire them down the path of granola-with-nondairy-milk-alternative.

SweetOnVeg Photo

Bandidas is nearly perfect. I could list my few and far between complaints first but that would hardly be fair!

The food at Bandidas is always great and you get a lot for what you pay for. The prices are reasonable. I never feel ripped off and I always feel full and satisfied. They can veganize just about everything, which I totally appreciate. It seems like everyone I bring here loves it.

They have a few default-vegan items, like the Ronny Russell, just in case you’re not into faux cheese. They recently switched to Daiya, which means vegan nachos, cheesy baked burritos and enchiladas, and cheese-covered tofu scramble breakfasts.

Tuesdays their tequila lemonade is only $4. It’s basically a cheap margarita and it’s damn delicious, plus it’s served in a mason jar. How charming! The daily specials are nice too. I always give myself an internal high five when the Camillo tacos are on special. They’re breaded spicy walnuts – delicious. Their tortilla soup is delightful. Their nachos are big wide plates of delicious, and are my second favourite vegan nachos in town. They are certainly better than the Naam’s.

Brunch at Bandidas is too good for words. One complaint is that most of the menu items are the same ingredients organized differently, but they all taste good. I usually just order the “breakfast” made vegan because it’s the cheapest, but when I feel like splurging I get a veganized Hicks Benny.

Endless coffee. Cute servers. There used to be a girl working there who fairly regularly screwed up orders and brought us things non-vegan, but I haven’t seen her in some time, and haven’t had a problem with the veganity of my food since she last served my table. Still, be on your toes and make sure that the server knows you want your item vegan!

They also have delicious brownies that are vegan. A vegan dessert option is rare and delightful, so if you happen to have space left in your digestive system after that burrito, I recommend the brownies.

Paul Galipeau photo

Budgies Burritos is a vegetarian burrito joint on Kingsway near where it splits off from Main Street, at about 8th Avenue. It expanded a couple of years ago and now offers a downstairs area with tables; recently they got licensed and are now selling alcohol as well. They offer burritos (my favourite), tacos, chips, and some other items too – but I always, always get the burrito.

When you order a burrito vegan at Budgies, they sub fresh, delicious guacamole for the normal cheese and sour cream. Having accidentally ordered a non-vegan burrito, I can say that they are better vegan.The freshness of the guacamole really makes a difference.

My favourite burrito is the Jame-Dog. It’s garlic potatoes and it’s delicious. The chipotle tofu is just marinated chunks of tofu and it tastes like… tofu. It’s firm tofu with a good texture, but I wish it were fried or roasted. The Tofurky burrito contains Tofurky sausage, which I’m not a personal fan of, but if Tofurky rocks your boat then I bet this is a great burrito. They also added a ground round burrito to their menu that I haven’t tried.

If you want a truly delicious burrito, here is what I always order:

10″ Vegan Jame-Dog on whole wheat with refried beans and mix salsa (all three).

I definitely think that they should have breakfast burritos, of course with a tofu scramble option. And if they were to crumble their chipotle tofu, marinate it in the same sauce, and then panfry it a bit, it’d be about ten million times better. Still, this is a reliably cheap and delicious place to get a burrito that will fill you up and give you the energy you need to continue being a vegan warrior. For $7, you just can’t beat the amount of food that comes in one of those.

Our new internet friends over at The Vegan Project reposted one of our recipes (my chicken salad – and yes – I have some in the fridge right now, sounds great to me). They’re three Vancouver vegans who I’ve never met, which I find really strange… but hopefully we will. We don’t seem to know enough vegans!

Speaking of Vancouver vegan, I brought Kaylie to Sejuiced on West 4th in Kitsilano yesterday and she, picky picky foodie Kaylie, really liked it! It’s healthy, delicious vegetarian food and smoothies. Hard to go wrong. I wish I’d had stomach-room for that vegan Nanaimo bar.

Carrot Coconut Soup and Veggie Burger Wrap from Sejuiced

Just in time for you to make a weekend brunch date..
This is the hopefully definitive list of tofu scrambles available in Vancouver, BC. If you know of any that we haven’t included, please let us know and we’ll sample them and add them to the list as soon as possible.

West Side

Kitsilano

The Naam – West 4th Ave and MacDonald
The Naam offers a tofu scramble as well as Daiya and some other delicious breakfast options like a tempeh benny-type thing with miso gravy. You can sub tofu in most of the breakfast foods, but beware that your food will probably have been baked beside something with cheese. They also forget to bring tofu instead of eggs every once in a while, too. It is a flavourful tofu scram, which is nice.

Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe – West 4th and Arbutus
Sophie’s is a long-line type of breakfast diner that offers a tofu scramble. I haven’t had it, but I did sub tofu in the huevos rancheros, which I wouldn’t suggest. It was another case of floppy, medium-firm, unflavoured tofu covered in a sauce that was originally designed to go with more flavourful non-vegan foods.

Sejuiced – West 4th and Cypress
I have never managed to make it to Sejuiced early enough to eat their tofu scramble. They stop serving it at 11am or so and I live across town… but I’ve heard good things and everything else I’ve eaten at this little vegetarian place has been fantastic.

Cafe Zen – Yew St and York Ave
Passable tofu scramble in a cute diner-style restaurant that’s very popular for brunch. They offer bottomless coffee and tonnes of different brunch options for omnis and vegetarians as well.

East Side

Roundel Cafe – East Hastings St and Nanaimo St
This is definitely one of the best tofu scrambles in the city and it’s a great place to bring your omnivorous friends too – they have a breakfast special every morning and they’re always very creative. This place is awesome. Their tofu scramble is to die for. They also have a veggie burger that’s simply perfect.

Perch – Powell St and Commercial Drive
Perch offers an all-day flavourful baked tofu scramble with mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach, topped with Daiya, invented by Vegan Mischief’s very own Kaylie (who works there). They also do an all-vegan brunch menu on Saturdays. Note: not open Sundays (yet).

Commercial Drive

Cafe Deux Soleils – Commercial Drive and East 5th Avenue
This is one of my favourite tofu scrams in the city. It’s a great hangover breakfast. It’s a teriyaki-flavoured scramble with big chunks of medium-firm tofu, peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms, served with delicious potatoes. They also include toast but the bread isn’t vegan and they will butter it unless asked not to. Get French bread instead if you want toast. Their veggie sausage is delicious, too.

Cafe Du Soleil – Commercial Drive and Kitchener St
This is not the same place as the other Cafe! It’s much smaller and posher. Their tofu scramble is delicious, full of veg, and served with great potatoes and English muffin. When I went there they knew not to butter the English muffin, but you might want to mention that just in case.

Sweet Cherubim – Commercial Drive and Napier St
This vegetarian restaurant does have a tofu scramble but I’ve never ordered it because there are so many other delicious things on the menu. Their veggie burger is one of the best I’ve ever had.

Bandidas Taqueria – Commercial Drive and East 12th Avenue
Bandidas is a Mexican-inspired vegetarian restaurant that can sub tofu (and butternut squash – a delicious mix) for eggs in most of their breakfast dishes. You can have a vegan benny – but it’s not a traditional benny. Corn muffins, salsa, red cabbage, and guacamole are staples at Bandidas. It’s a great breakfast joint, though, with bottomless coffee.

Theresa’s – Commercial Drive and Charles St
This little co-operatively owned and run joint on the Drive has mix and match breakfasts and a fun atmosphere. Unfortunately their tofu scramble resembles vomit in texture and appearance, and doesn’t have much flavour. I have found it difficult to finish on occasion, which, if you’ve ever eaten with me, should indicate to you how blah this tofu scram is.

Main Street

Rhizome Cafe – East Broadway and Scotia St
Rhizome is a queer- and family-friendly space that serves some truly delicious and ethical food. They are not a vegetarian restaurant but do have vegan and veg options. I love to support this little community cafe. There are four vegan breakfast options, including pancakes and a breakfast polenta, plus two tofu scrambles.

The Wallflower Modern Diner – Main St and East 8th Avenue
The Wallflower offers two tofu scrambles. One’s a hash and the other is a Mexican-style scramble with corn and black beans.

The Whip – East 6th and Main
I was terribly underwhelmed by this scramble. Tomatoes and mushrooms with unflavoured tofu. Maybe they used salt and pepper? It seems like omnivorous chefs think that vegans eat tofu for the pure unseasoned flavour of it. They did remember to serve our toast unbuttered and it does say “vegan” right on the menu.

Sunny Spot Cafe – Main St and East 10th Avenue
I would not recommend this place for breakfast. Their tofu scram is warm tofu flavoured with soy sauce and the potatoes are cooked on a very meaty grill. They do serve their tofu scram with rice, though, which is pretty cool.

The Foundation – Main St and East 7th Avenue
This isn’t technically breakfast because Foundation doesn’t open until noon, but if you’re a late riser, they have three scrambled (on spinach) tofu dishes on their lunch menu. Choose from pesto, peanut, and sweet (mango) – all delicious, though I’m partial to the p-nut. It’s a decent amount of food for a good price, too. If you are not a bee-gan, make sure to ask whether they use honey in their sauces, though I’m pretty sure the pesto scram at least is honey-free.

Downtown

Templeton Diner – Granville St and Helmcken St
This fifties diner is pretty much the only place to get a vegan breakfast when you’re on the downtown peninsula. Their tofu scramble is passable and they serve Yves veggie bacon if, for some reason, you like that stuff.

Central Bistro – Denman St and Nelson St
Central Bistro offers a pesto tofu scramble. For $11 it’s surprisingly bland. We did get excellent service, however. Watch out – their “West End Hipster Benny” replaces egg with tofu, but the tofu’s crust is held on with egg wash and there’s egg and dairy in the sauce. Not vegan!

Dim Sum

Whole Vegetarian Restaurant (formerly Bo Kong) – Main St and East 14th Avenue
Colloquially referred to as “Faux Kong”, this recently renamed Main Street institution offers vegan breakfast dim sum on weekends.

3G Restaurant – Cambie St and West 18th Avenue
This friendly vegan Chinese restaurant offers weekend dim sum.

Pssst… The Perch is now selling 5lb bags of shredded Daiya in both mozzarella and cheddar for $40 including tax – that’s cheaper than Karmavore, and there’s no trip to New Westminster required.

The Perch is located at Commercial Drive and Powell Street in Vancouver, BC – it’s the cafe in the ARC building. They also serve vegan and gluten-free food along with non-vegan and gluteny food, coffee, and alcoholic beverages. Kaylie is their new vegan chef (yay Kaylie!).

Here’s a Google map of the location.

NOTE: The Perch is open Monday – Friday from 9am to 9pm.