Beyond the Rhetoric

Vancouver is home to a lot of great food and the best part is that you don’t necessarily have to indulge in places with white tablecloths to have a nice meal. Sometimes, you may not be interested in foie gras and caviar. You just want some comfort food.

Burgoo Bistro is located right in the heart of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood in Vancouver, drastically renovating a location that once belonged to Subway. Burgoo promises to provide you with homestyle meals that are comforting and wholesome. Pricing is in the same range as a Cactus Club or Earl’s, with entrees going for about $15. The menu seems to have been inspired by the Southern United States, but there are several international dishes as well, like Thai Tom Kah Gai and French Ratatouille.

The interior looks like the inside of someone’s rustic home on the Mississippi and the outdoor patio is perfect for bright summer nights. There’s nothing like kicking back and sipping on a mint julep or an ice cold beer. Anyways, you’re probably interested in the food, so let’s get on with the pictures.

Susanne ordered the BLT & C sandwich. It’s an open-faced sandwich with bacon, romaine lettuce, tomato, white cheddar, and lemon parsley mayonnaise served on toasted filone. The bread was very crisp and I loved the sharpness of the cheddar. It wasn’t particularly special (or big), but it was good.

A salad usually accompanies the sandwich, but Susanne chose to upgrade that to a huge cup of Gazpacho Amarillo soup. This Spanish soup — with yellow tomato, chilled cucumber, fresh oregano, and extra virgin olive oil — is served iced cold. It was very refreshing, tasting almost like you were just drinking a cucumber.

I decided to take the ultra-traditional route, ordering the Kentucky Burgoo. Having a consistency and appearance similar to stew, Kentucky Burgoo consists of slow cooked meats, lima beans, corn, tomatoes, cabbage, and okra. I had it served over a pair of biscuits, but you can opt for mashed potatoes as well. Traditional burgoo is prepared with small game (like rabbits), but this version uses more conventional meat. It was very hearty.

After polishing off our meals, we were presented with the bill… in a dim sum steamer. This is definitely a little on the kitschy side. In any case, the total bill — including tax, tip, and a couple of drinks — came to $48. Aside from the Main Street location, you can also find Burgoo on West 10th and in Lonsdale.

Filed under Food and drink.