Dishcrawl is an international food tour company operating in New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, amongst other cities. Dishcrawl aims to provide a “culinary social experience, bringing together neighbourhood restaurants, local chefs, regional food producers and fellow food enthusiasts”.
On Tuesday, our tour brought us to four restaurants with a Silk Road theme. The Drive was an excellent neighbourhood to recreate the famous trade route stretching from China to Europe. Vancouver’s Dishcrawl team put together a package tour to give modern foodies a taste of what Silk Road merchants might have tasted on their journey back in the first century BC.
The meeting location was kept secret until two days prior, to keep us all guessing which Commercial Drive eateries would be part of this culinary crawl.
We began at Siddhartha’s Kitchen, where our hosts Yana and Irina introduced Chef “Sid” Siddhartha, a talented chef with close to 13 years experience under his belt, having worked in various kitchens in India, England, Ireland, and now Canada. Siddhartha’s is a modern Indian restaurant infused with traditional values, serving up hearty and healthy Indian fare, with all the usual favourites on the menu.
[Aloo Tiki, Bhoona Baigan Masala, Palak, naan bites, butter chicken sauce]
We were served a tasting plate with Aloo Tiki, a crispy potato cake served with a blend of Delhi, tamarind, and mango sauces, Bhoona Baigan Masala (seasoned mashed eggplant), Palak (spinach purée), naan bites and a bowl of butter chicken sauce for dipping. A few fans of the spice were brought dishes of the chef’s own spicy sauce. All were delicious and hearty (view my Van Eats preview of Siddhartha’s here).
Carthage Café, owned by chefs/brothers Zico and Mohammed Draoui, was our next stop. This French/Tunisian restaurant is small and intimate, an oasis of Tunisian hospitality offering food for the soul.
[Carthage Café Chef Zico Draoui]
It’s also a place to try Doight de Fatima, a spring roll stuffed with cheese, tuna, beans, and egg, served with a Mechouia salad. All ingredients here are super fresh, and while I am not a lamb eater, our next two dishes were also lovingly brought to the table: Lamb and Beef Merguez and Braised Lamb Tagine.
[Doight de Fatima, Mechouia salad]
[Lamb and Beef Merguez on a bed of couscous]
[Braised Lamb tagine]
I dug into the beef, vegetables, and couscous, all warmly seasoned with Mediterranean herbs, reminiscent of dining during my 1989 trip to Morocco. The tagine is brought out in its traditional colourful pointed clay pot, and when the lid is removed, the steam and aromas flood your nostrils!
We then headed north to Famoso Pizza, where a fire-roasted tomato bisque, caprese salad, and slices of hand-stretched Margherita pizza were brought to our tables.
The pizzas are cooked at 900 degrees for 90 seconds. More on Famoso can be found in my earlier feature.
Our final stop stop of the evening was at Vancouver’s favourite old-world Italian café, Café Calabria. The cafe is run by two brothers; Dad Francesco Murdocco arrived from Italy in 1951, envisioning opening his own café. In 1976, he did just that, and has never looked back. This is one of our favourite destinations when we head to The Drive; their biscottis are remarkable as is their coffee.
A trio of sorbetto was brought in cups to our back room tables. A few fruit variations were used: mine contained lemon, raspberry, and blackberry. Delightfully bursting with flavour, it was a light finish to a full evening of food tasting.
Each restaurant closed for a portion of the evening, devoting their staff and energy to our sold-out group of 30. This added to the social component, as we switched our dining mates from restaurant to restaurant, meeting new fellow foodies while creating new conversations.
Fellow food lovers such as Daddy Blogger, Grace Cheung, Lisa Manfield, Jeremy and Adrian of Food Gays, Caroline of Food Persuasion and Joann Pai of Slice of Pai made the evening more fun and lively. Glad you were all along for the ride!
This event was priced at $60. Though I was an invited guest, a few of us discussed the price point and found it worth the ticket, as you’re relaxed and seated at restaurants that are closed to the public at that time, pacing is relaxed enough to get a feel for your dishes and the atmosphere, and the stops are all on the same street.
The next Dishcrawl event is set for May 14 at 7 pm, featuring a series of Main Street eateries. Visit the website for tickets and (a few) details. Remember, you won’t know the starting point until two days before the night. It’ll be worth the secret, trust me.
