While we might be in the waning days of summer 2022, the many exciting food specials and celebrations going down in Vancouver is enough to fill our calendars and bellies.
Here are some noteworthy food pop-ups, collabs, and events taking place in late August and into September.
Potluck Hawker x Via Tevere: Khao Soi Pizza Sub
Potluck Hawker Eatery (3424 Cambie St) is celebrating its second anniversary with a special collaborative creation with their friends from Via Tevere. Available for two days only, from August 20 to 21, 2022, the Khao Soi Pizza Sub is inspired by the famous chicken curry noodle in Northern Thailand and Myanmar and re-imagined into a fried chicken sub with Via Tevere’s signature wood-fired dough. Guests can now pre-order the Khao Soi Pizza Sub Set ($23) online. The whole meal includes the Khao Soi Pizza Sub, Potluck’s limited-time Truffled Parmesan Malaysian Shaker Fries, and a seasonal summer slushie.
Picnic + Bubbles
Put a little sparkle in your end-of-summer fun while supporting a worthy cause via a new fundraising event called Picnic + Bubbles. Organized by the culinary group Les Dames d’Escoffier's British Columbia Chapter and taking place on Sunday, August 21, the inaugural ticketed event is a choose-your-own-adventure style experience: You choose the restaurant and its menu of food paired with a bottle of sparkling wine and head to the picnic destination of your choice.
For $150, you'll receive a multi-course picnic for two with a bottle of specially-chosen bubbles that pairs perfectly with your meal. Picnic + Bubbles is not only a way to get a top-notch meal and wine pairing to enjoy al fresco it's also a fundraiser: 50% of the proceeds will go to Food Banks BC. Pick-up times for the picnic bundles span from 3 to 5 p.m. (a time must be selected for your tickets). Purchase your picnics online.
Mochido x Boba Run
Mochi donut biz Mochido is launching a limited-edition special featuring three unique donut flavours and two drinks made in collaboration with Boba Run, a local boba tea shop in Vancouver. Available only for two weeks starting Aug. 24, the donuts are Turtle Chip (inspired by the Korean corn chip snack), Choco pong (made with Korean wheat puff cereal, jolly pong), and Injeolmi (inspired by soybean rice cake). The drinks are a black sesame latte and Korean mango milk. Pre-orders will be available via Mochido's website starting at noon on Aug. 23, and will also be available for pre-order through Boba Run's website for pickup one weekday and one weekend time slot at their store.
Beanstock
A two-day festival all about coffee will give Vancouver a shot of delicious and informative fun this month. Beanstock takes place on August 20 and 21 at the Roundhouse Community Centre. It's "bean" awhile since Beanstock held an event, due to the pandemic. The returning event will feature the opportunity to indulge in unlimited tastes of coffee from Canadian roasters (in your souvenir cup) and watch demonstrations on latte art and barista challenges with off-the-chart skill levels at the Beanstock's featured Espresso Bar. Naturally, since this is a summertime event, you'll also be able to stop by the cold brew area for some refreshing chilled pours.
Beanstock will also offer the chance to learn how to up your home coffee brewing game, and to shop from the Marketplace with beans from all the participating roasters for sale so you can take home your festival favourites to enjoy at home.
Summer Like an Italian: Dining Passport
Eight participating Kitchen Table restaurants and caffès (Ask For Luigi, Bacaro, Carlino, Di Beppe, Farina a Legna, Giovane Caffè, Motoretta, and Pizzeria Farina) are encouraging guests to soak up the last few weeks of summer and enjoy a regionally inspired dish that speaks to the story of each location. For their Summer Like an Italian promo, guests are encouraged to pick up a passport from participating locations to use as their guide and collect stamps with each feature dish ordered for a chance to win over $1,000 in gift card prizes.
Participating restaurants and featured menu items are as follows:
- Ask For Luigi: Rigatoni alla Bolognese*
- Bacaro: Spritz + Chips (made in-house with crispy herbs)
- Carlino: Frico (fried montasio, onion & potato)
- Di Beppe: Carbonara* (with guanciale, pecorino, egg yolk & black pepper)
- Farina a Legna: Cipolla Pizza (onion & calabrian chili sauce, zucchini, sweet peppers, pickled fennel)
- Giovane Caffè: Espresso Shakerato (espresso shaken on ice)
- Motoretta: Gelato or Garnita (flavour of choice)
- Pizzeria Farina: Finocchiona Pizza* (tomato sauce, fennel sausage, provolone, parmesan, sweet pepper)
*Vegetarian options available
Rosie’s BBQ & Smokehouse: Katsu-Style Smoked Turkey Sandos
Vancouver BBQ truck Rosie's will take you to Japan by way of Texas with its limited edition katsu-style smoked turkey sandwich, or sando. During August and through Labour Day, Rosie’s will be cooking up a delicious Smoked Turkey Katsu Sandwich inspired the rolling smokehouse's chef/owner Karl’s memorable culinary explorations of Tokyo. Rosie’s starts by smoking Rossdown Farms turkey thighs, which are finished by being fried katsu-style and served on a potato bun with Japanese mayo, cabbage, and quick Japanese pickles. Here's where you'll find Rosie's in the coming weeks:
Aug. 20-21 - Parkside Brewing, Port Moody
Aug. 22-23 - Batch 44 Brewing, Sechelt
Aug. 27 - Riverside Street Vibe Festival, Vancouver
Aug. 28 - Vancouver Canadians Tailgate, Vancouver
Sept. 3-4 – Jonathan Rogers Park, Vancouver
The Fair at the PNE
It's that time of year again: The Fair at the PNE runs Aug. 20 through Sept. 5. This year's food vendor lineup for the annual Fair at the PNE is packed with all things familiar, fusion, and "what the f is that?" When it comes to traditional PNE Fair food staples, 2022 is right on track with its array of tornado potatoes, giant hot dogs, freakishly long fries, cotton candy, pretzels, corn dogs, funnel cakes, burgers, ice cream, lemonade, and slushies. There are over 65 vendors on tap for the 2022 Fair at the PNE, and every year they try to outdo themselves from previous years by coming up with dishes inspired by global food trends that will tempt your tastebuds and fuel your Instagram feed. Here's a look at some of the wildest items they're cooking up this time around, like Pop Rocks Popcorn Chicken and Cotton Candy Noodles.
Free coffee from Honolulu Coffee
Great news: Honolulu Coffee is brewing up a third Vancouver location in Olympic Village. While the new Honolulu Coffee won't be open until sometime this fall, that won't stop the biz from a little early celebration. All guests at Honolulu Coffee’s two existing Vancouver locations can receive a free drip Kona coffee on Monday, Aug. 22 and Tuesday, Aug. 23 at Honolulu Coffee Downtown (888 Nelson St.) and Kerrisdale (2098 W 41st Ave.).
Pizzeria Farina turns 11
It’s celebration time at Pizzeria Farina, and the iconic 915 Main St eatery (that got a reprieve from clsoing earlier this year, phew!) will be offering two pizza promotions to celebrate its birthday month: the classic Margherita pizzas will be priced at $11 over Farina’s 11th birthday weekend (from August 18 - 21), and the fan-favourite Pistacchio pizza will make a special appearance on the menu from August 18-September 5.
Nancy Go Yaya one-day "Last Call" pop up
Singaporean restaurant Nancy Go Yaya broke a few hearts in June when they announced their permanent closure. Now, for one day only — Sunday, August 21 — fans can experience their famous kaya toast and laksa marinated chicken wings for one final time at a special pop-up. Beverage add ons (iced Milo and teh tarik) are also on the advance menu to complete your perfect Sunday picnic. Limited tickets for pre-order are available via Resy.
