Zankou Chicken - Originally Published 2010

There are some who would say that butter makes food taste better.  Possibly.  Then, there is the camp that argues that anything battered and deep-fried wins the contest.  Again, it’s tough to argue with that.

But here is my assertion.  The finest flavors in life accompany foods prepared on a stick.  If you want to test this theory out for yourself, I suggest that you take a ride over to your neighborhood Zankou Chicken.  This is a place that has mastered taking meat and cooking it slowly over sticks.

What’s good?  All of it.  How do I know?  Haven’t you been paying attention?  Because it’s all cooked on a stick.  Kebobs, shwarma, chicken, tarna.  All of it has been gloriously skewered and roasted to perfection.

Orange International Street Fair - Originally Published 2010

You’ll have to forgive me, but I peaked ahead at the end of the book.  I know how it all turns out.  I’ll keep the majority of it to myself but I will tell you this much.  In heaven, there are not restaurants.  Not a one.  Just street food.  One guy who knows how to do one thing really well and that’s all he does.

The Orange International Street Fair is an event that may give you a general idea of what heaven is like.  Set up around the intersection of Glassell and Chapman, the fair is divided into sections that all represent a cuisine from a given region.

Some nice souvlaki at Greek Street.

I have no idea what you call these things, but now I am planning to one day visit Norway.

Good tacos and ceviche over on Mexican Street.

I’m not sure what qualified it as Australian Ice Cream but it was good.

Feel free to spend lots of money there because it all goes to support local charities, schools, and sport teams.

Japadog - Originally Published 2009

My sister-in-law recommended this place, not because she had eaten there, but because she saw Anthony Bourdain eat there.  I’m not much into celebrity chefs [this portion edited out in 2018.  Please see note below]*

Well, once again yours truly was wrong about something.  It turns out that Bourdain was on to something.  This place is great.  It was one of the more original places I have eaten at in a while.

Japadog offers up grilled hotdogs topped of with Japanese style condiments.  Imagine if a sushi chef ran into a hotdog salesman.  Two great tastes that taste great together.  This is a must do while in Vancouver.

*The portion of this post was written in 2009 when I was a younger man and had a much smaller outlook on life.  I made a cheap joke about Anthony Bourdain's drug addiction. Now that I am older, I would like to believe that I would have taken the higher road.  Rest in peace, Anthony Bourdain.