Smooch Food: Love Letters to Every Bite

🥐 Bakery Run: Swiss Bakery Location: 143 E 3rd Ave, Vancouver, BC V5T 1C7 The Sweet Treats: Double Baked Almond & Double Baked Chocolate Croissants ($6.90 each) The Savoury Rolls: Chicken Sausage Roll & Pork & Beef Sausage Roll It is only Monday, and I honestly feel like I have already powered through a full five-day work week. Whew! I had to attend an in-person Physical First Aid training today. While I am incredibly appreciative that the company stepped up to pay for it, sitting through an exhausting six hours of intensive learning left my energy completely zapped. Before heading all the way home, I desperately needed a little afternoon pick-me-up. I looked over a...

🍣 Restaurant Spotlight: Sushi Nami (Main Street) Location: Corner of Main Street & 12th Ave, Vancouver, BC Current Status: Soft Opening Mode NAMI Special Combo B: $29.95 (Choose any 4 items) NAMI Aburi Combo: $28.75 (12 pieces of premium flame-seared nigiri and oshi sushi) It is wild how fast the food scene moves in this city. At the end of June, the corner of Main Street and 12th Ave was still home to AFURI Ramen . We actually managed to swing by and enjoy their food for the very first and last time.  Fast forward less than a month later, we found ourselves back in the neig...

☕ Cafe Spotlight: Pallet Coffee (Olympic Village) Location: Olympic Village (Yukon St & West 2nd Ave—formerly Starbucks) The Drinks: Latte ($6.00) & Mocha ($6.75) Beef Brisket Sandwich: $18.00 (Tender beef, touch of BBQ sauce, greens) Nordic Salmon Toast: $18.00 (Poached eggs, avocado, greens, salmon) Waking up early on a weekend for a routine dental appointment is never the ideal start to a Saturday, but it does offer the perfect excuse to treat yourself to an incredible brunch afterward. To soften the blow of a 9:00 AM appointment, we decided to check out the recently opened Pallet Co...

🥙 Dinner Spotlight: Shawarma Time (CBC Building) Location: Downtown Vancouver (Formerly Popeye's / Triple O's) Mixed Shawarma Plate: $22.99 (Tender chicken & beef, rice, salad, pita) Arabic Mixed Meal: $19.99 (Saj bread wraps served with fries) The Refreshment: Fresh Mint Lemonade ($6.99) If you have lived in Vancouver long enough, you probably play the mental game of tracking what certain iconic retail spaces used to be. For the longest time, the spot in the CBC building downtown was a classic Triple O's, which later transitioned into a Popeye's. Today, that exact same cor...

🇲🇽 Happy Hour Spotlight: Patron Taco and Cantina The Occasion: Weekly Company-Paid Team Lunch Happy Hour Timing: Tuesday to Friday, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Beef Tostada: $8.00 (Crunchy base, tender pull-apart beef) Vegetarian Nachos: $12.00 (Massive layers of melted cheese) There is nothing quite like hitting the ground running after an incredible annual leave! My colleagues decided to welcome me back to the office with a hilarious twist for our weekly company-paid team lunch. To make sure I wouldn't experience immediate withdrawal from the vibrant food scene in Mexico City, they themed this we...