Sustainability, ethical and local might be today’s buzz words, but they’re a way of life for Edible Canada. Situated in the heart of Granville Island, this culinary tour and local gourmet retail store has added a restaurant to their quickly expanding business. With a small takeout window, summertime patio seating and upscale yet casual indoor dining, Edible is a welcome addition to the Vancouver food scene. Restaurant manager, Shannon Secours, tells me that their kitchen sources 70% of the food from BC and 20% from the rest of Canada. The remaining 10% is for all those impossible to grown in Canada but oh so hard to live without foods; think limes, coconut, mangoes and coffee.
Their Market Inspired Seafood Soup ($8/$11) was one of the best coconut based seafood soups I’ve tried. The brick-red coloured soup is as rich and aromatic as truffle infused olive oil, as smooth as silk and nearly as thick as cream. Piled high with mussels, clams and line-caught pacific cod, the large portion of this soup can easily be eaten as a lunch.
My lunch partner ordered the Roasted North Arm Farm Baby Beet Salad ($8). The bites I stole off her plate were the perfect contrast to my rich and heavy soup. This salad is light and fresh.The line of baby beets, down the side of a long plate, were both earthy and sweet while the mustard greens added a little bite. If for some reason you’ve never had goat cheese and beets together, you should, they were meant for each other.
Being warned that there was no way a person could eat both a bowl of the soup and Edible’s oyster sandwich, I shared the sandwich with a friend. I’m glad I did. I could barely waddle out of the restaurant afterwards.
While I was hoping Edible would knock Go Fish’s oyster po’ boy out of their long standing 1st place status, I’m sad to say they did not. They have joined Kaboom Box in joint second place for Best Oyster Sandwich in Vancouver. It’s okay to have 2 second place winners if I just can’t decide which one I like best, right?
Breaded in crispy corn meal and deep fried in duck fat, the oysters in this Oyster Sandwich ($10) are not for the faint of heart. The crispy yet juicy oysters (so juicy that I got an armful of oyster juice after my first bite) sit atop a thick layer of chorizo sausage relish. The crusty baguette made the sandwich just a touch too dry for my own taste, but I really like messy, saucy sandwiches. The side of Asian slaw was slightly creamy and heavy on the sesame Asian flavours. It was a refreshing change to the traditional mayonnaise forward coleslaws.
Some things just sound too good to turn down, even when you know you should. After I swore I couldn’t possibly eat another bite, I was told about Edible’s Maple Bacon Caesar. I repeat, Maple Bacon Caesar! I knew right then that there wasn’t a chance I’d be able to walk out the door without trying one. I love maple, I love bacon and I love caesars. I feel slightly ashamed at not having come up with this combination on my own. While the caesar itself was fairly typical, it came with two pieces of crispy maple bacon, and a stick of celery. I’ve always lamented the passing of the celery stick in my caesars. Now I can have a celery stick AND 2 pieces of bacon. I’m sold.
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