Welcome to Waffle Town
The very first edition of a soon to be famous (with my mother at least) newsletter.
Why am I doing a newsletter? Isn’t it enough to have Instagram, TikTok, and a YouTube channel? Do I really need to write people every week(ish) as well?
Here’s the thing… Yes.
I love writing, I love food, and I love to share things that I find. If you’ve been with me long enough you’ll know I’ve actually had 3 different food blogs since 2005. Not to sound like an elder millennial too much but these days the internet is all over the place. Tumblr is a ghost town, individual blogs get no readers, and Instagram is having a quarter-life crisis. YouTube and TikTok are great, but having lost my voice for over a month recently from Covid it made me realise the limitations of video.
So here we are! This is the first of what I hope will be many chats with all of you. I plan on sharing some of the new food I’ve tried, what’s going on in the vegan world in the Pacific Northwest, and what I’m being inspired by of late. Beyond just vegan food I will also be sharing highlights that have to do with the environment, and hopefully visit some of the great local farms here.
It’s a bit of everything, and a lot of me, but I hope you’ll enjoy it and share!
As a disclaimer, I’m not being paid by any of the products or businesses I mention. I’m just a fan and like to tell the world when I find something good.
If you’ve been following along on my instagram you might have already seen my favourite meal of the week: Belgian Waffles from the Acorn, Pumpkin Spiced Whip Cream & Strawberries. Small confession, I’ve never been to the Acorn. But you can buy their frozen waffles at Vegan Supply! And seeing as my waffle iron started making a weird noise and sparking, I figured it would be safer to just buy waffles from now on.
Why Did No One Tell Me?
Did you know there was a Vegan Night Market in Vancouver? And it’s on tonight! If you’re just hearing about it now, don’t worry you’re not alone. I learned about it while I was Insta-Stalking my favourite food truck this week.
The Vegan Market started back in 2018, and after a 2 year hiatus is back. It runs every other week until September 8th. Located in the parking lot of the Waldorf Hotel, 1489 E Hastings Street Vancouver, it will cost you a minimum $2 or donation of canned goods, clothing, or pet food per their website.
Even better? For every $10 spent one tree is automatically planted. For this season their goal is to plant 30,000 trees in total. The market is on Thursday August 11th from 6-10pm (yes, that’s today).
Food Truck Finds
My favourite food truck of the moment is VegOut YVR who is back on their Veg Out World Tour, this week bringing you to Thailand with a Spicy Peanut Chick’n Burger & Mango Shake on feature. They’ll be at the Vegan Market Thursday night from 6-10pm, over to New West for Fridays on Front Street from 5-9pm, and then Saturday in Port Moody at Yellow Dog Brewing from 3-8pm.
Back in April when the truck was in Surrey I tried out the Original Poutine and Sweet & Spicy Thai wings and I’d highly recommend both if you can’t decide what to get.
Plant Curious is Heading East!
Last year my favourite subscription box Plant Curious came up with a great coupon book for the Lower Mainland. This year they’re expanding to do Toronto’s first ever plant-based deals book. The pre-order sale is on now, and includes 36 restaurants. They make a great gift for a friend, or even just for yourself. I thought I had a pretty exhaustive list of vegan spots in Vancouver, but there were so many new places I’d never heard of in my 2021 book.
Get It Before It’s Gone…
There’s no denying it, MeeT makes the top of everyone’s “must try” list in Vancouver. And if you’re like me you dream of winning the Lotto Max so you can buy the penthouse that’s for sale above the Yaletown location. Or maybe you just always want to know what their weekly feature is. Well, here they are according to their instagram! Just remember you’ve only got until Sunday August 14th to get these…
MeeT Yaletown - The Halifax Donair
MeeT Gastown - Chicken Katsudon
MeeT Main St - 5-Spice Ribs & Golden Noodz
The Bear & The Beef
I have been waiting for what feels like years to see the Bear. The show came out in the US back in June but has only just come out in Canada and is dropping one episode a week. So far I absolutely love it, but then again I am a real sucker for anything scripted that takes place around food. Be warned though, it’s not vegan-friendly. The restaurant in the show is literally called “The Original Beef of Chicagoland”, and every food scene involves meat. I know that would be hard for some vegans, so just giving you a warning.
The New York Times Makes a Case for Killing Your Lawn
I promise I’m not just sharing this because I have terrible allergies to grass and every Saturday in the suburbs is a nightmare of lawn mowers going off.
Do you follow VerdeFlowerCo?
If you’re on TikTok and looking for someone that will warm up the rainiest of days you should take a wander over to see what Roisin is up to in the garden. Her videos make me so happy. Verde Flower Co is a mother & daughter business in Northern England that is growing flowers sustainably. Roisin shares her ups and downs, shows you how she dyes fabric, talks about climate change, and of course her goofy dog Sacha is always about for a cuddle.
That’s all for this week! I hope you all have a great weekend. If you’ve got any suggestions of what I should try next leave a comment.