There’s no better way to spend a good portion of the day than enjoying what the culinary world has to offer. The annual EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival brings the best of the city’s restaurants and mixes them in with a generous portion of merchants, distributors, bakers, farmers from throughout the province and our neighbours abroad. It’s really neat that aside from tasting fare you may never had a chance before, but to learn about where it comes from and the people behind the growing and processing of what is put forth on our plates.

For the second year in a row, BC Place Stadium played host to EAT! Vancouver; dozens of booths filled the arena floor with two stages (Food Network Celebrity Stage and International Culinary Stage), a row showcasing Vancouver’s restaurants (Bites of Vancouver), and an adults-only wine, beer and spirits sampling area (Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting Pavilion). By 11:00 am, the place had become crowded but not to the point where it was hard to move.

While each booth opted to hand out a little toothpick or spoon with a morsel of their creations, some offered slightly larger plates for purchase with tickets. Tickets were made available for purchase in sheets — 10 for $5.00 or 20 for $10.00 — at the entrance and by the Bite of Vancouver section. I went through two pages of 20 tickets easily. Most vendors accepted between 4 to 7 tickets per menu item.

What better to start your day than with some organic coconut ice cream? I got a teeny spoonful of the cherry amaretto at Luna & Larry’s Organic Coconut Bliss and boy oh boy was it delicious with chunks of dark cherry and a hint of amaretto and coconut. If only they gave away bigger servings. As we zig-zagged our way through the venue, we paused at almost every booth to see what they were exhibiting, picking up a pamphlet or business card here and there.

Urban Fare setup shop with an impressive display of fruits and passing out free cherries and strawberries; overflowing shelves stocked with oils, dressings, and snacks. Even select cuts of meat were available. I could have done all my grocery shopping here. I returned later in the day to pick up a box of California cherries for $3.99 — couldn’t pass that up.

Spicing dishes up has never been easier and with a wide array of rubs, marinades and spices. LB Emporium‘s booth makes that possible with spices and rubs for most kinds of meats and other recipes — demo bottles made it easy to get an idea what you were in for. I purchased a small bag of the amusingly named “Cook Your Own Damn Dinner” spice just to try something different. These seasonings come with no preservatives and are gluten-free.

In addition to vendors touting their products as local, fresh and good for you, many made sure to mention that they also are gluten-free or had gluten-free varieties on hand. Those suffering from celiac disease now have a wide selection of products that would normally be unavailable to them: breads, soups, cookies, candy, ice cream, and so on.

La Chocolaterie offered a unique take on chocolate. With its smooth, fudge-like consistency, these chocolates came in all sort of colours and flavours — mango (my favourite), green tea, blueberry, coffee and royal milk tea. I parted with $5.00 for a small container of the mango chocolate; it was just too amazing to pass up.

Halfway through our day, it was finally time to have “lunch”, or a stop at the Bite of Vancouver portion of EAT! Vancouver. Here, a collection of local eateries promote their menus along with tapas-sized items for purchase. When I saw that Dunn’s Famous had a spot, I immediately jumped in the line-up. Dunn’s Famous is known for a Montreal specialty: smoked meat sandwiches. While not a full-sized portion, I still devoured the tender brisket on what appeared to be a slice of sourdough bread with mustard. Overhearing a conversation with the girls and another patron, I learned the brisket is smoked some 17 hours and then steamed for another five to get the meat that succulent flavour and melt-in-your mouth texture. I also found myself back at Frankie’s Italian Kitchen and Bar getting a bowl of the pesto rigatoni. I can’t ignore pesto and I wasn’t disappointed. Not too soft and a nice distinct flavour with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

I saw people wandering around with some pretty yummy-looking sliders. When I found out that they were from Establishment, I got in line. So popular, I had to wait a few minutes due to the demand. While I waited, I had a small sample of the peanut soup. Nice and creamy, but man oh man, it has quite a kick afterwards. My slider arrived piping hot: lamb with feta cheese, crème fraîche, roasted jalapeño aioli and kalamata olive tapenade. Dare I say this, but this has to be the best slider I have ever had. Well done Establishment.

I’ve never had a beaver tail before and this was the perfect opportunity to change that. A beaver tail is pastry dough that is rolled flat and then fried and can come with a number of toppings. Gauging from the queue that snaked between the tables in the Bite of Vancouver section, it appeared to be pretty popular. A menu hung from the awning advertising the different toppings available. I opted for the apple and cinnamon and it was yummy; sweet and crunchy.

After all this, it was time for a drink. One of the more popular areas of EAT! Vancouver, the Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting Pavilion had a bit of a line waiting to enter. Once inside, I handed over 2 tickets as a deposit for a small glass which I was supposed to use for sampling. However, it wasn’t necessary as the two booths I visited poured me drinks in an individual plastic cup (my friend was able to use his at the many beer booths). As I was driving, I limited myself to two drinks. My first was the Licking Limes vodka cooler from the Jaw Drop Cooler Company. Lime green and zesty, it was refreshing. My second stop was at the Juan Santos booth for some rum. I sampled the 5 year old rum with some ginger ale. I liked it, nice flavour and aroma. Perhaps next time I’ll try more of the different aged rums and beers.

Before calling it a day, I discovered the booth selling macarons. These delicate little pastry sandwiches come in a variety of flavours and colours and are light and fluffy. I inquired about the possibility getting some to be shipped to a friend in Texas, but learned that they would spoil before they would even reach their destination. The only way I could get them to my friend would be to take them as a carry-on instead of sending them by mail. I did try the espresso chocolate macaron — feathery and coffee-like. Very tasty!

I tried so much food, I can’t cover it all here. You have to experience it for yourself. There’s still one day left for the EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival. Purchase tickets online (or at the door for $2.00 extra) and give your tastebuds a workout they won’t soon forget!

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