The City of Vancouver is looking for help choosing next year's new street food vendors. Until January 22, 2012 you can submit your ideas for new food carts and vote/comment on other people's ideas on the City of Vancouver Ideas Forum.

Three people participating in the forum will be chosen to sit on the judging panel to help decide which street food makes the cut.

 

By Sean Neild

Guest blogger Sean Neild blogs at Sean's Adventures In Flavor Town. Follow him on Twitter at @yvrbcbudz.

Nu Greek Street is slinging some of the BEST lamb pita I have ever had, that being said let’s get down to business.

I was meaning to get to Nu Greek Street for quite sometime now and I’m kicking myself in the ass for not doing it sooner. I was walking down Granville street and was looking for something quick I could eat while walking with out making a mess of myself and thanks to There is Always Room and Heather’s recent review I stopped my Nu Greek Street. Chef Robert Clark of C restaurant was working the cart that day and who better than Robert Clark to cook your lunch!. The menu here is greek on the go but this isn’t your typical greek food, the owner of this cart and namesake restaurant Nu is Harry Kambolis who also owns C restaurant and the RainCity Grill among others so your dealing with a guy who knows and cares about putting out a quality product and teaming up with the Ip brothers who have been a part of 3 other food carts in the city you know you have a solid cart with people who know what their doing from a food and service stand point.

Service here is really quick and professional, you get your choice of tomatoes and onions and homemade satsiki all on a homemade lightly grilled pita, protein options are standard but with big flavors, I went with the lamb as my meat because it’s be raved about and I can see why but chicken and vegetable are also available. Besides soulvlaki pita @$6.5 and plain meat and pita (naked as they say) $4 they also offer pita with a choice of humus or satsiki $4 and also greek salad $4 and pita bread on its own $3 as other menu options.

With my Lamb pita I chose not to have the onions and punish who I was going to meet after lunch but I did have all the other toppings. The pita bread here was amazing, it’s totally homemade and has a sprinkling of sea salt on both sides, it’s totally tender and soft and very addictive.

I really don’t know how I’m going to eat at other greek places because I’m going to be comparing everything else to Nu, the lamb was super tender and spiced nicely, it wasn’t overly gamey or heavy tasting. The satsiki was thick and not overly garlicky and the cucumber really came through~it really was a perfect lunch and hit the spot. One thing to point out is on the front of the cart the picture of the pita is a stuffed pita, what I had and was a rolled pita sandwich~2 completely different things but it’s no big deal at the end of the day.

To be totally fair and to put out a good review I’m going to also show the chicken and vegetable options they offer so keep that in mind when your reading this~I didn’t cram 3 pita in my pie hole in one day even though they are super addictive so this blog post is spread over a few days, here are the other items I tried:

the Chicken Souvlaki Pita $6.5, another solid offering from Nu, the chicken is marinated and was moist and tender. If I had to choose between the lamb and the chicken I’d go with the lamb~the flavor was bolder and gave more ban for you buck you could say.

The Veggie Pita $6.5, their vegetarian offering from Nu greet Street consists of 2 skewers of grilled whole baby tomatoes, zucchini, onions, mushrooms and peppers. The veggies are marinated in the same flavorful stuff used on the lamb and chicken, it was really full after having the toppings added and I was presently surprised by this sandwich~any vegetarian would be happy with this choice I think, it’s a substantial meal and wont leave you feeling like you ate too much and if it can satisfy a meat eater like me Nu is doing something right.

The real stand out for me after trying all 3 different pitas Nu Greek Street is the home-made pita bread~its totally delicious and is the perfect vehicle to deliver the quality fillings that will put a smile on your face and won’t break the bank. I’m really looking forward to trying Harry Kambolis’s full service Aegean restaurant Nu for some more quality eats.

If you find yourself on Granville street Monday to Saturday in front of the Bay or the Granville street Skytrain station get yourself some kick ass pita and see what great Greek can be. You can also check out there hours on the Street Food App and the Eat St app in the iTunes App store.

Twitter: @nugreekstreet

Web: nurestaurant.com

By Jim Peers

June 23 is the 5th annual Slow Food Vancouver Cycle Farm tour in beautiful Agassiz. The leisurely self-guided Slow Food Cycle Tours provide an educational and culinary experience exploring many farms; some that are open to the public for this day only!  The tours give a rare chance to meet the farmers and learn about agriculture in the spectacular Fraser Valley. For more information on the Cycle Tours, check out http://www.slowfoodvancouver.com/index.php/CycleTours.

Street food vendors are invited to help fuel up the cyclists with a tasty breakfast at the start area. We expect up to 1000 riders in Agassiz this year. Anyone interested please contact Cycle Tour Coordinator Jim Peers at jim.peers@gmail.com or call (604) 761-4192.

By Jeff Voon

After operating for several years from different locations on the Sunshine Coast and gathering a passionate following, bylaw issues prevented Feastro from opening up full-time this year. However, the Sunshine Coast's loss is Vancouver's gain, as the bright purple truck is serving its fresh seafood and tacos from its permanent location just across from the Olympic Cauldron at West Cordova and Thurlow.

Feastro is home to the largest menu on Vancouver’s streets, serving up fantastic seafood / meat / vegetarian tacos, fish & chips, oysters, crab and shrimp cakes, scallops, chowders, yam fries, tuna carpaccio, salads and ever-changing daily specials - all fresh, local, organic, sustainable and cooked to order! Above is one of Feastro's most-loved dishes, the Banzai Prawns - local prawns, sautéed in white wine, garlic, tomatoes, lemon, served on basmati rice and grains, with a grilled pineapple brochette.

Feastro is co-owned by the friendly and hard-working Paul Fenton and Steve Myddleton. Classically trained Chef Steve has a long culinary history in Vancouver, as he was formerly executive sous chef at Salmon House on the Hill in West Vancouver and chef/co-owner of Village Bistro in North Vancouver. Paul brings his background in tourism, sales and adventuring to running the order board, managing the business end of things, and proudly promoting the Sunshine Coast to the truck’s visitors.

To further the anticipation ahead of the truck's arrival in Vancouver, Feastro was featured on a recent episode of Food Network and Paperny Films' “Eat Street,” where viewers all over North America got to see the wonderful food being served up from its Sunshine Coast locale. You can view the clip here.

Follow Feastro on Twitter or check out their Facebook page to get the latest info on opening times and daily specials. As word is getting out about the purple truck, you might find a long lineup, but everything served up by Feastro is well worth the wait.

Guest blogger Jeff Voon is a food cart fiend. Follow him on Twitter at @jvoon.

Location

Thurlow & Cordova [opposite Jack Poole Plaza and the Olympic Cauldron]

Hours

Monday to Friday, 11:00am - 3:00pm [open some weekends]

Sample menu

Grilled Soft Shell Tacos – $7 each
Fresh Halibut Taco
Pulled Pork Taco
Beef Taco
Chicken Taco
Vegetarian Taco
Prawn & Grilled Prosciutto Taco

Local Seafood:
Bonzai Prawns – $13
Fish & Chips – $12
Fanny Bay Oysters – $11
Crab & Shrimp Cake – $13
Albacore Tuna Carpaccio – $11

Website: http://www.feastro.ca/

Email: greatfood@feastro.ca

Twitter: http://twitter.com/coastfeastro

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feastro-Taco-Truck-Catering/118788819240

By Jeff Voon

After opening for a short time late last year at Burrard St & Georgia St and gaining a large number of regulars, Cartel Taco is back serving Korean fusion tacos at its new location on the corner of Dunsmuir St & Hamilton St. Located in a nice little courtyard outside the BC Hydro building, the Cartel Taco stand is open weekdays for lunch (Monday-Friday from 11:00am - 3:00pm).

Cartel Taco specializes in hand-made Korean fusion tacos, made completely from locally sourced ingridents, using top quality free range meats prepared in the traditional Korean style of Bulgogi. Cartel's aromatic Bulgogi 'fire meat' features sweet, juicy, tender beef (or pork) marinated in soy, chili, sesame oil, brown sugar & spices.

Each taco is constructed on hand-made white corn tortillas from El Comal in Burnaby, topped with your choice of thinly-sliced, grass-fed, free range Pemberton Meadows beef ribeye or free range Fraser Valley Farms pork butt, which are marinated and braised before being barbecued. Tacos are completed with a topping of chopped onion & cilantro, some salsa, delicious kimchi, and wedges of lime and orange, bringing together all these wonderful flavours beautifully.

Though only beef and pork tacos were on the menu during this first week visit, they will soon be offering vegetarian options, including a fresh green papaya salad with kimchi vinaigrette and will bring back the Sunrise Organics mushroom and tofu taco.

Cartel Taco is the first project by the Cartel Street Food Company, whose three founders are bringing a combined forty years of restaurant experience in some of Vancouver's best-known rooms to the streets: Joel Watanabe (Araxi, Bin 942, La Brasserie, Bao Bei), Jesse Grasso (Sanafir, The Flying Tiger, Abigail's Party, La Taqueria, Bao Bei), James Iranzad (The Flying Tiger, Abigail's Party).

Cartel Taco is completely mobile, self-sufficient and available to cater any event. Follow them on Twitter to get the latest info and location updates.

Guest blogger Jeff Voon is a food cart fiend. Follow him on Twitter at @jvoon.

Location

Dunsmuir & Hamilton [outside BC Hydro building]

Hours

Monday to Friday, 11:00am - 3:00pm

Menu

Free range beef ribeye
Free range pork butt
Fresh green papaya salad

One taco $3.00
Two tacos $5.75
Three tacos $8.00
Four tacos $10.00
Drinks $2.00

Website: http://www.carteltaco.ca/

Email: eat@carteltaco.ca

Twitter: http://twitter.com/carteltaco 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carteltaco

On Tuesday May 10th 2011, Visa is shooting a commercial at Slingers. They'll be parked at Granville St & W Broadway from 11 AM to 3 PM. If you haven't had a chance to try Slingers yet this is a great opportunity to eat some great food, meet other street food fans & possibly be on TV.

Slinging signature parmesans, Italian breakfast burritos, the cheesiest of the cheesy macaroni and more using fresh local ingredients

Here's where you can find Slingers:

An established downtown Vancouver street food vendor has commissary space to share, 5 minutes from downtown. Here's the details:

Shared commissary space, base of operations or commissary, meets all VCH requirements and heath code, approved. Commercial stainless steel sinks and prep tables, dishwasher, stove, garbage bin, washroom with showers, one office, very high over head door, private front yard with double gated, lots of storage room, 5 minutes drive from downtown.

One spot left for one vending cart. $600(HST included) per month (cheaper for hotdog cart).

Available from beginning of May. Please email for more information. Thanks.

The winners of the new street food vending permits have been announced. We'll be adding them to Street Food Vancouver for iPhone as soon as we know their schedules. In the meantime, all Vancouver street food vendors (new & existing) are invited to write a guest post on Vancouver Street Eats introducing themselves and the food they will be serving this year. Get in touch at vancouver@streetfoodapp.com.

Here's a list from the Vancouver Sun website.

Vancouver's push for healthy street food was featured in this Al Jazeera English video today:

Vancouver has become the first North America city to impose strict healthy food regulations for potential street vendors. 

In its attempt to cut down on unhealthy street food, the Canadian government is trying to lessen the number of carts selling foods that are high in sodium, fats or sugars.

But public opinion about the move remains divided.

Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab reports from Vancouver.

Our time at vancouverstreeteats.ca has come to an end. Amy and myself are moving on to other projects. We are planning to hand over the 'VSE keys' later this week to an interested party who can continue the site as s/he wishes. All 8 months of content are currently off until then. I am glad to have been there at the birth of Vancouver's street food scene, providing maps and information on food carts around town. We enjoyed some great food and made some friends along the way. I'd like to give a shout out to some of Vancouver's finest food cart vendors, and some of the most genuine people I've met since I've moved to this city.

• Andy Fielding of Kaboom Box - His ever smiling, easy going ways brighten up an otherwise bland section of Granville Street. Awesome guy!
• Derek and Michael Ip of PanDa Fresh and Lully's Sandwich Bar - 2 awesome guys who have a passion for food and a great sense of humour about everything they've been though..stand up gents!
• Team Re-Up - Super friendly folks skilled in the ways of the BBQ and DIY. They're just so.... 'Portland'.. (I like Portland)
• Alan from Fast-Trac fusion - A Class act all the way. He vowed to stick it out by Langara college even when business was slow because he believes in his product. So do I. His teriyaki beef and wasabi subs alone are worth the trip to 49th and Cambie.
• Eli of Eli's Serious Sausage - Eli is such a chill guy..I'm really not sure how else to describe him. (if I needed a point man in a zombie-apocalypse scenario, he's my 1st choice) .

These vendors and others like them have the  entrepreneurial spirit and sense of community that I was hoping to see much more of when I started the site last year. Unfortunately, I feel that this may not be the case for the scene as a whole the way things are progressing. My objectivity is no longer there when it comes to Vancouver's food carts. When I wrote the 'about' page, I said "Spread the love". I'm not feeling the love any more and there's more than enough negativity in the world (especially online) as it is. I'm not wired for that. A geznut der in pupik!